166-565: The Belfast Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival in Northern Ireland with an attendance over 25,000. In 2022, it launched its International Competition program. BFF includes the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well as an Audience Development and Inclusion program. The festival also sponsors year-round film screenings around Belfast. Co-founded in 1995 by Michele Devlin and writer Laurence McKeown ,
332-509: A first-person video-game perspective at the beginning of the film to be praiseworthy, more so than those of the video game films Resident Evil (2002) and House of the Dead (2003). The lack of dark humor of the original was a source of criticism, although the scene in which survivors shoot zombified celebrity look-alikes with a sniper rifle was considered by most to be funny, among other jokes; The Hollywood Reporter cited it as some of
498-572: A 2-days event hosted in the City Hall. In 2018, it also launched Pull Focus , a two-day summer festival of Irish documentary. Music has also featured strongly in BFF's programming; some highlights include the collaborations with local talents such as Duke Special and David Holmes on audiovisual performances, hosting the Italian progressive rock band Simonetti's Goblin to perform a live score to Dawn of
664-524: A committee with planning another home rule bill. Headed by English unionist politician Walter Long , it was known as the 'Long Committee'. It decided that two devolved governments should be established—one for the nine counties of Ulster and one for the rest of Ireland—together with a Council of Ireland for the "encouragement of Irish unity". Most Ulster unionists wanted the territory of the Ulster government to be reduced to six counties so that it would have
830-451: A general, sheriff, and televangelist, respectively. Plans to remake 1978's Dawn of the Dead were conceived by producer Eric Newman , a fan of zombie films who cited the George A. Romero horror film as the best in this genre. With the remake, Newman and producer Marc Abraham wanted to reinvigorate the zombie genre for modern audiences as well as "make the old fans happy and make
996-420: A group coming together to work as a community who wouldn't otherwise work together. So there is that foundation of love, that basic message, within even Dawn of the Dead ... Zack Snyder chose to direct the remake as his first feature film because it gave the television commercial director "a reason to care about every shot". Not wanting his version inevitably compared to George A. Romero 's, he concurred with
1162-421: A huge fire that completely the internal part of the building. Despite losing their base and all their records, the festival recovered, relocated to Donegall St, and staged the event again the following year. The 2005 festival was launched by award-winning actor Stephen Rea . In 2010, the festival raised a record of £230,000 ($ 346,000). By 2016, the festival expanded to a total of 133 films from 30 countries, while
1328-431: A larger Protestant unionist majority, which they believed would guarantee its longevity. The six counties of Antrim , Down , Armagh , Londonderry , Tyrone and Fermanagh comprised the maximum area unionists believed they could dominate. The area that was to become Northern Ireland included counties Fermanagh and Tyrone, even though they had nationalist majorities in the 1918 Irish general election . Events overtook
1494-509: A lot of new fans". Newman and Abraham bought the rights to Dawn of the Dead from its producer and rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein , who was reluctant at first as he was "concerned that somewhere along the way a studio would sanitize Newman's vision for producing a version with 'attitude'", but that it was "Marc Abraham's long track record in keeping the creative integrity of the studio distributed films he has produced intact that gave me reason to say 'yes'". Newman hired James Gunn to write
1660-464: A minority. The UUP governments, and some UUP-dominated local authorities, discriminated against the Catholic and Irish nationalist minority; especially by the gerrymandering of local electoral boundaries, the allocation of public housing, public sector employment, and policing, showing "a consistent and irrefutable pattern of deliberate discrimination against Catholics". Many Catholics/Nationalists saw
1826-705: A near-certainty in 1912 after the Government of Ireland Act 1914 was first introduced. The Liberal government was dependent on Nationalist support, and the Parliament Act 1911 prevented the House of Lords from blocking the bill indefinitely. In response, unionists vowed to prevent Irish Home Rule, from Conservative and Unionist Party leaders such as Bonar Law and Dublin-based barrister Edward Carson to militant working class unionists in Ireland. This sparked
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#17327870912831992-666: A paramilitary organisation, the Irish Volunteers . It sought to ensure Home Rule was implemented, and it smuggled its own weapons into Ireland a few months after the Ulster Volunteers. Ireland seemed to be on the brink of civil war. Unionists were in a minority in Ireland as a whole, but a majority in the province of Ulster , especially the counties Antrim , Down , Armagh and Londonderry . Unionists argued that if Home Rule could not be stopped then all or part of Ulster should be excluded from it. In May 1914,
2158-514: A preference for membership of a united Ireland. This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK (93%), while Catholic preferences are spread across several solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK (47%), a united Ireland (32%), Northern Ireland becoming an independent state (4%), and those who "don't know" (16%). Official voting figures, which reflect views on
2324-549: A preliminary step to the restoration of devolved government. Following the election on 7 March 2007 , the devolved government returned on 8 May 2007 with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin deputy leader Martin McGuinness taking office as First Minister and deputy First Minister, respectively. In its white paper on Brexit the United Kingdom government reiterated its commitment to
2490-538: A province both of the United Kingdom and the traditional country of Ireland. The UK Office for National Statistics and the website of the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom describe the United Kingdom as being made up of four countries, one of these being Northern Ireland. Some newspaper style guides also consider country as an acceptable term for Northern Ireland. However, some authors reject
2656-433: A quarter of the electorate. While the majority of disenfranchised electors were Protestant, Catholics were over-represented since they were poorer and had more adults still living in the family home. NICRA's campaign, seen by many unionists as an Irish republican front, and the violent reaction to it proved to be a precursor to a more violent period. As early as 1969, armed campaigns of paramilitary groups began, including
2822-465: A screenplay by James Gunn . A remake of George A. Romero 's 1978 film of the same name , it stars an ensemble cast that includes Sarah Polley , Jake Weber , Ving Rhames , and Mekhi Phifer , with Scott Reiniger , Tom Savini , and Ken Foree from the original film appearing in cameos. Set in Milwaukee , the film follows a group of survivors who try to survive a zombie apocalypse holed up in
2988-436: A sentiment also shared by IGN . Lisa Schwarzbaum praised Snyder's direction in "a killer feature debut", while Roger Ebert said in a positive review that anyone paying to see it is guaranteed to get their money's worth. Abundant praise was given to the film's opening sequence, which an otherwise negative review from The Hollywood Reporter called "pulse-poundingly good". Gingold found Snyder's camerawork utilizing
3154-492: A series of raids that were the most deadly seen outside London. Working-class areas in the north and east of the city were particularly hard hit, and over 1,000 people were killed and hundreds were seriously injured. Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of future attacks. In the final raid, Luftwaffe bombs inflicted extensive damage to the docks and the Harland & Wolff shipyard, closing it for six months. Half of
3320-401: A similar situation. The script was given uncredited rewrites by Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank ; co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein said Tolkin further developed the characters while Frank provided some of the bigger, upbeat action scenes. Gunn revealed he received internet backlash over the film due to his past screenwriting credit on Scooby-Doo (2002), believing him to be unqualified for
3486-428: A suburban shopping mall. Producers Eric Newman and Marc Abraham developed the film rather as a "re-envisioning" of the original Dawn of the Dead , aiming to reinvigorate the zombie genre for modern audiences. They bought the rights from co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein (who produced the original) and hired Gunn to write the script, which oriented the original's premise around the action genre . Intent on making
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#17327870912833652-519: A suitable upscale mall location for the film, production designer Andrew Neskoromny looked for existing malls that were scheduled for demolition. His search yielded no results until he found the now-defunct Thornhill Square shopping mall in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, which measured approximately 45,000 square feet (1.0 acre). Dubbed the "Crossroads Mall", the crew completely redid the mall over an eight-week period, adding an expensive water feature near
3818-522: A total of 3,000 makeups completed when filming ended on September 6, 2003. The visual effects for the film were provided by Canadian VFX studio Mr. X Inc., with its president Dennis Berardi serving as the film's co- VFX supervisor . The production shot scenes for which Snyder wanted as many as 4,000 live-action zombies, which Berardi created rather as a combination of practical zombies and CG zombies which he built as 3D models with Autodesk Maya . One such scene involved tens of thousands of zombies at
3984-585: A two-disc collector's edition Blu-ray of Dawn of the Dead , which contains the film's theatrical version and the director's cut. The Blu-ray, which is said to have been "derived from the digital intermediate archival negative ", contains bonus features found in previous releases in addition to new and exclusive ones featuring interviews with actors Ty Burrell and Jake Weber , screenwriter James Gunn , and makeup effects artists David LeRoy Anderson and Heather Langenkamp . A 4K Ultra HD collector's edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory with extras ported over from
4150-478: A united Ireland. The vote went heavily in favour (98.9%) of maintaining the status quo. Approximately 57.5% of the total electorate voted in support, but only 1% of Catholics voted following a boycott organised by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The Troubles were brought to an uneasy end by a peace process that included the declaration of ceasefires by most paramilitary organisations and
4316-407: A zombie follows through the dog door. Nicole, fond of Chips, crashes the delivery truck into the gun store, where a now zombified Andy traps her. Kenneth, Michael, Tucker, Terry, and C.J. reach the gun store via the sewers, kill Andy, and rescue Nicole. They grab ammunition and go back to the mall; along the way, Tucker breaks his legs, and C.J. mercy-kills him. Back to the mall, they are unable to lock
4482-400: A zombie infant, which they kill immediately. The group plans to get to the local marina, find Steve's yacht and travel to an island on Lake Michigan . They reinforce two shuttle buses from the parking garage for their escape. To rescue Andy, the group straps supplies onto Chips's body and lower him into the parking lot; the zombies have no interest in him. Chips enters Andy's store safely, but
4648-556: A zombified neighborhood girl, Vivian, enters their bedroom and kills Luis, who immediately reanimates and attacks Ana. She flees the chaotic neighborhood in her car, crashes, and passes out. Upon awakening, Ana joins police sergeant Kenneth Hall, electronics salesman Michael, petty criminal Andre and his pregnant wife Luda. They break into a nearby mall and are attacked by a zombified security guard, who scratches Luda. Three living guards — C.J., Bart, and Terry — force them to surrender their weapons in exchange for refuge. Together they secure
4814-609: Is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland that is variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares an open border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland . At the 2021 census , its population was 1,903,175, making up around 3% of the UK's population and 27% of the population on the island of Ireland . The Northern Ireland Assembly , established by
4980-653: Is thought to be all of its arsenal . This final act of decommissioning was performed under the watch of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) and two external church witnesses. Many unionists, however, remained sceptical. The IICD later confirmed that the main loyalist paramilitary groups, the Ulster Defence Association , UVF, and the Red Hand Commando , had decommissioned what
5146-582: Is thought to be all of their arsenals, witnessed by former archbishop Robin Eames and a former top civil servant. Politicians elected to the Assembly at the 2003 Assembly election were called together on 15 May 2006 under the Northern Ireland Act 2006 to elect a First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and choose the members of an Executive (before 25 November 2006) as
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5312-453: Is too ill to walk; she is wheeled inside, only to die and reanimate. After she is killed, the group determines the disease is passed by bites. Frank, who has been bitten, elects to be isolated. When he dies and turns, Kenneth shoots him. Andre leaves to see Luda, who has hidden her scratch. Kenneth and Andy start a friendship, communicating with messages written on whiteboards; romance also buds between Ana and Michael, and Nicole and Terry. When
5478-554: The 1921 Irish elections were held on 24 May, in which unionists won most seats in the Northern Ireland parliament. It first met on 7 June and formed its first devolved government , headed by Ulster Unionist Party leader James Craig . Irish nationalist members refused to attend. King George V addressed the ceremonial opening of the Northern parliament on 22 June. During 1920–22, in what became Northern Ireland, partition
5644-585: The Albert Clock , which featured heavily in the film. BFF hosted screenings at unique architectural sites, including the US political drama The West Wing at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Oh, Mr Porter! at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum , Cultra , The Warriors in a dystopian landscape beneath a city center motorway flyover, and Stanley Kubrick 's cult sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey in
5810-531: The BBC , who also credited the actor with "bringing a redoubtable decency and charisma to a potentially bland part, like the young Roy Scheider in Jaws ". On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 76% of 195 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "A kinetic, violent and surprisingly worthy remake of George Romero's horror classic that pays homage to
5976-634: The British Film Institute . Site-specific screenings are a signature part of the festival. Through the years, the management team strived to include people and the fabric of the city in the program. They have screened films in used and disused swimming pools, on a boat in the River Lagan , with live piano accompaniment in St Anne's Cathedral (16mm original version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame ). Carol Reed 's Odd Man Out beside
6142-606: The Home Rule Crisis . In September 1912, more than 500,000 unionists signed the Ulster Covenant , pledging to oppose Home Rule by any means and to defy any Irish government. In 1914, unionists smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers (UVF), a paramilitary organisation formed to oppose Home Rule. Irish nationalists had also formed
6308-614: The Kingdom of Great Britain pushed for the two kingdoms to be merged, in an attempt to quell violent sectarianism, remove discriminatory laws, and prevent the spread of French-style republicanism. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in 1801 and governed from London. During the 19th century, legal reforms known as the Catholic emancipation continued to remove discrimination against Catholics, and progressive programs enabled tenant farmers to buy land from landlords. By
6474-535: The Nine Years' War (1593–1603), an alliance of Gaelic chieftains led by the two most powerful Ulster lords, Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill , fought against the English government in Ireland . The Ulster-dominated alliance represented the first Irish united front; prior resistance had always been geographically localized. Despite being able to cement an alliance with Spain and major victories early on, defeat
6640-747: The North/South Ministerial Council , which coordinates areas of cooperation (such as agriculture, education, and health) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, "in recognition of the Irish Government's special interest in Northern Ireland", the Government of Ireland and Government of the United Kingdom co-operate closely on non-devolved matters through the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference . Elections to
6806-742: The Northern Ireland Act 1998 , holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the UK Government . The government of Northern Ireland cooperates with the government of Ireland in several areas under the terms of the Belfast Agreement . The Republic of Ireland also has a consultative role on non-devolved governmental matters through the British–Irish Governmental Conference (BIIG). Northern Ireland
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6972-662: The Northern Ireland Assembly are by single transferable vote with five Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected from each of 18 parliamentary constituencies . In addition, eighteen representatives (Members of Parliament, MPs) are elected to the lower house of the UK parliament from the same constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. However, not all of those elected take their seats. Sinn Féin MPs, currently seven, refuse to take
7138-496: The Northern Ireland Assembly , the former Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Parliament of Ireland , along with some Acts of the Parliament of England and of the Parliament of Great Britain that were extended to Ireland under Poynings' Law between 1494 and 1782. There is no generally accepted term to describe what Northern Ireland is. It has been described as a country, province, region, and other terms officially, by
7304-740: The Orange Order , as were all but 11 of the 149 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MPs elected during this time. Almost all judges and magistrates were Protestant, many of them closely associated with the UUP. Northern Ireland's new police force was the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which succeeded the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). It too was almost wholly Protestant and lacked operational independence, responding to directions from government ministers. The RUC and
7470-551: The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has confirmed that British forces, and in particular the RUC, did collude with loyalist paramilitaries, were involved in murder, and did obstruct the course of justice when such claims had been investigated, although the extent to which such collusion occurred is still disputed. As a consequence of the worsening security situation, the autonomous regional government for Northern Ireland
7636-680: The Provisional IRA campaign of 1969–1997 which was aimed at the end of British rule in Northern Ireland and the creation of a United Ireland , and the Ulster Volunteer Force , formed in 1966 in response to the perceived erosion of both the British character and unionist domination of Northern Ireland. The state security forces – the British Army and the police (the Royal Ulster Constabulary ) – were also involved in
7802-456: The Stormont government (1921–1972) gave rise to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. While some unionists argue that discrimination was not just due to religious or political bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic, socio-political and geographical factors, its existence, and the manner in which nationalist anger at it was handled, were a major contributing factor to
7968-588: The Stormont Estate , which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties. These institutions were suspended by the UK Government in 2002 after Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Féin at the Assembly ( Stormontgate ). The resulting case against the accused Sinn Féin member collapsed. On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign and has since decommissioned what
8134-520: The neutral Irish state to join with the Allies , British Prime Minister Winston Churchill indicated to Taoiseach Éamon de Valera that the British government would encourage Irish unity, but believing that Churchill could not deliver, de Valera declined the offer. The British did not inform the government of Northern Ireland that they had made the offer to the Dublin government, and de Valera's rejection
8300-518: The partition of Ireland in 1921. Northern Ireland is a common law jurisdiction and its common law is similar to that in England and Wales. However, there are important differences in law and procedure between Northern Ireland and England and Wales. The body of statute law affecting Northern Ireland reflects the history of Northern Ireland, including Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,
8466-691: The siege of Derry (1689) and Battle of the Boyne (1690) are still celebrated by some Protestants in Northern Ireland. Many more Scots Protestants migrated to Ulster during the Scottish famine of the 1690s . Following the Williamite victory, and contrary to the Treaty of Limerick (1691), a series of Penal Laws were passed by the Anglican Protestant ruling class in Ireland. The intention
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#17327870912838632-420: The "national question" along with issues of the candidate, geography, personal loyalty, and historic voting patterns, show 54% of Northern Ireland voters vote for unionist parties, 42% vote for nationalist parties, and 4% vote "other". Opinion polls consistently show that the election results are not necessarily an indication of the electorate's stance regarding the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Most of
8798-491: The 2018 edition spread to 22 locations and featured 178 films. In 2022, the festival launched an International Competition for first or second features, sponsored by several organizations, notably Greg Darby's Yellow Moon. Best Film award goes with a £7,000 monetary prize, while £1,500 are given with Jury Prizes for Outstanding Craft Contribution and Breakout Performance. BFF screens feature and short films, documentaries, host retrospectives as well as world premieres. As of 2023,
8964-539: The Amending Bill, and instead rushed through a new bill, the Suspensory Act 1914 , suspending Home Rule for the duration of the war, with the exclusion of Ulster still to be decided. By the end of the war (during which the 1916 Easter Rising had taken place), most Irish nationalists now wanted full independence rather than home rule. In September 1919, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George tasked
9130-467: The Assembly some time in the future. Excepted matters (such as international relations , taxation and elections) are never expected to be considered for devolution. On all other governmental matters, the Executive together with the 90-member Assembly may legislate for and govern Northern Ireland. Devolution in Northern Ireland is dependent upon participation by members of the Northern Ireland executive in
9296-587: The Belfast Agreement. Concerning Northern Ireland's status, it said that the UK Government's "clearly-stated preference is to retain Northern Ireland's current constitutional position: as part of the UK, but with strong links to Ireland". On 3 February 2022, Paul Givan resigned as first minister, which automatically resigned Michelle O'Neill as deputy first minister and collapsed the executive of Northern Ireland. On 30 January 2024, leader of
9462-508: The Body Snatchers (1978), The Thing (1982), and The Fly (1986) as influences on the remake, considering these to be "amazing updates" as well as "great movies that add to rather than diminish the original films". By way of respect to Romero's film, the producers cast the original's Tom Savini , Scott Reiniger , and Ken Foree in cameos; and incorporated visual references to Gaylen Ross and James A. Baffico . In writing
9628-523: The Christ in its United States opening weekend, with an audience base comprising largely young males and estimated gross of $ 22 million. In the U.S. and Canada, the film was released alongside Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Taking Lives , on March 19, 2004. Dawn of the Dead ended up performing above projections, debuting to $ 27.3 million in its U.S. opening weekend and claiming
9794-593: The DUP Jeffrey Donaldson announced that the DUP would restore an executive government on the condition that new legislation was passed by the UK House of Commons. The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who wish to see Northern Ireland unified with the Republic of Ireland, independent from
9960-677: The DVD and Blu-ray include Snyder and co-producer Eric Newman 's audio commentary ; the featurettes Attack of the Living Dead , Raising the Dead , Drawing the Dead , Splitting Headaches , Surviving the Dawn , and Special Report: Zombie Invasion ; the short film The Lost Tape: Andy's Terrifying Last Days Revealed ; deleted scenes with optional commentary by Snyder and Newman; and the film's theatrical trailer . On Halloween of 2017, Shout! Factory 's horror sub-label Scream Factory released
10126-452: The Dead was a commercial success, grossing $ 102.3 million worldwide on a $ 26 million budget. Retrospective reviews have called it Snyder's best film. A spiritual successor , Army of the Dead , was released in 2021. After finishing a long shift as a nurse in the Milwaukee area , Ana returns to her suburban neighborhood and her husband, Luis. Caught up in a scheduled date night, they miss several emergency news bulletins . The next morning,
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#173278709128310292-408: The Dead was theatrically released on March 19, 2004, by Universal Pictures . Despite Romero's distaste for it, the film earned generally positive reviews from critics, who saw improvements over the original in terms of acting, production values, and scares. However they felt it lacked character development, was excessively gory and also indifferent to Romero's preoccupation with consumerism . Dawn of
10458-439: The Dead ; and many more. Additionally, every year the festival hosts various special events. Belfast Film Festival also sponsors year-round film screenings around Belfast. In 2019, the documentary section was separated into an independent festival, Docs Ireland. It is operated by the same team, but has its own program, industry section, etc. The festival's industry section, the marketplace, spans for two days and offers filmmakers
10624-653: The IRA launched a guerrilla offensive along the new Irish border . The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed between representatives of the governments of the UK and the Irish Republic on 6 December 1921, laying out the process for the creation of the Irish Free State . Under the terms of the treaty, Northern Ireland would become part of the Free State unless its government opted out by presenting an address to
10790-517: The North (formed in 1928), the Northern Council for Unity (formed in 1937) and the Irish Anti-Partition League (formed in 1945). The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) of 1922 allowed for the altering of municipal and rural boundaries. This Act led to the gerrymandering of local election boundaries in the Nationalists majority cities of Derry City, Enniskillen, Omagh, Armagh and many other towns and rural districts. That action ensured Unionist control over local councils in areas where they were
10956-401: The Plantation. It developed into an ethnic conflict between Irish Catholics and British Protestant settlers and became part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–53), which ended with the English Parliamentarian conquest . Further Protestant victories in the Williamite-Jacobite War (1688–91) solidified Anglican Protestant rule in the Kingdom of Ireland . The Williamite victories of
11122-487: The Republic's government also has the right to "put forward views and proposals" on non-devolved matters about Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . Northern Ireland is a distinct legal jurisdiction , separate from the two other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom ( England and Wales , and Scotland ). Northern Ireland law developed from Irish law that existed before
11288-402: The Richard Cheese version in favor of the Disturbed version, but he managed to convince them that the former was appropriate for the scene. Snyder also stated his rationale behind the decision to play " People Who Died " by The Jim Carroll Band at the end of the film: "I really love that [opening chords of 'People Who Died'] DANG! DANG! DANG, DANG, DANG! I thought that it was cool as a way to end
11454-443: The Taoiseach, Seán Lemass . It was the first meeting between the two heads of government since partition. The Troubles, which started in the late 1960s, consisted of about 30 years of recurring acts of intense violence during which 3,254 people were killed with over 50,000 casualties. From 1969 to 2003 there were over 36,900 shooting incidents and over 16,200 bombings or attempted bombings associated with The Troubles. The conflict
11620-427: The Toronto set and set up their makeup effects lab next to the mall. To depict a heightened realistic look to the zombies, Anderson researched on the appearance of decay following human death , looking through several medical books, war footages, and crime scene photographs showing graphic images of trauma victims; he broke down the look of decomposition into three stages: The first stage looks like someone who
11786-437: The Troubles. The political unrest went through its most violent phase between 1968 and 1994. In 2007, 36% of the population defined themselves as unionist, 24% as nationalist, and 40% defined themselves as neither. According to a 2015 opinion poll, 70% express a long-term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom (either directly ruled or with devolved government ), while 14% express
11952-434: The U.S. first" in order to avoid this conflict. Dawn of the Dead was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival . Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released Dawn of the Dead on DVD , Blu-ray , and digital with director Zack Snyder's unrated director's cut of the film: he described this version as longer, gorier, and more character-driven than the theatrical one. Bonus features found on
12118-551: The UK Government introduced an Amending Bill to allow for 'Ulster' to be excluded from Home Rule. There was then debate over how much of Ulster should be excluded and for how long. Some Ulster unionists were willing to tolerate the 'loss' of some mainly-Catholic areas of the province. The crisis was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, and Ireland's involvement in it . The UK government abandoned
12284-466: The UK as being made up of two countries (England and Scotland), one principality (Wales) and one province (Northern Ireland). However, this term can be controversial, particularly for nationalists for whom the title province is properly reserved for the traditional province of Ulster, of which Northern Ireland comprises six out of nine counties. Some authors have described the meaning of this term as being equivocal: referring to Northern Ireland as being
12450-523: The United Kingdom until a majority of voters in Northern Ireland decides otherwise. The Constitution of Ireland was amended in 1999 to remove a claim of the "Irish nation" to sovereignty over the entire island (in Article 2). The new Articles 2 and 3 , added to the Constitution to replace the earlier articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland, and its relationships within
12616-535: The United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . From 1956 to 1962, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a limited guerrilla campaign in border areas of Northern Ireland, called the Border Campaign . It aimed to destabilize Northern Ireland and bring about an end to partition but failed. In 1965, Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Terence O'Neill met
12782-633: The United Kingdom. These two opposing views are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly Ulster Protestant , descendants of mainly Scottish , English, and Huguenot settlers as well as Gaels who converted to one of the Protestant denominations. Nationalists are overwhelmingly Catholic and descend from the population predating the settlement, with a minority from the Scottish Highlands as well as some converts from Protestantism. Discrimination against nationalists under
12948-482: The United States and Canada and $ 43.3 million in other territories. The release of Dawn of the Dead in the U.S. nearly coincided with that of Shaun of the Dead , another zombie film distributed by Universal Pictures . In a February 2004 Variety report, a spokesman at Universal revealed that the studio had greenlit Shaun of the Dead "with the condition that Dawn of the Dead would be released here in
13114-489: The appeals of the various parties within the population. Of the 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) , 37 are unionists and 35 are nationalists (the remaining 18 are classified as "other"). The 1998 Good Friday Agreement acts as a de facto constitution for Northern Ireland. Local government in Northern Ireland since 2015 has been divided between 11 councils with limited responsibilities. The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are
13280-490: The back of the actor's head to be detonated. Concerned about the risk thereof, Anderson developed an alternative method in which his team would attach wires to the scalps loaded with blood packs and yank them with a remote-controlled "air ratchet system", lending a similar gruesome effect as with the squibs sans potential harm. Filming began on June 9, 2003, on location in various parts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hundreds of zombie extras had to be constantly available for
13446-492: The camcorder drops. Additional members of the cast include stuntman Ermes Blarasin as the bloated woman, Natalie Brown as a CDC reporter, and dog actor Blu as Nicole's adopted pet dog Chips. Director Zack Snyder cameos as a soldier battling zombies at the United States Capitol during the film's title sequence , as do Scott Reiniger , Tom Savini , and Ken Foree (who were in the original film) as
13612-421: The characters show a lack of common sense , "it's inevitable that most of them end up as one-dimensional throw-aways whose sole purpose is to increase the body count " and that "not many people go to a horror film looking for character development and drama". He and Ebert found the subplots of Kenneth and Andre to be "touching", with Berardinelli stating that these were "handled with a deft hand". Although Ebert
13778-489: The city's houses had been destroyed, highlighting the terrible slum conditions in Belfast, and about £20 million worth of damage was caused. The Northern Ireland government was criticised heavily for its lack of preparation, and Northern Ireland Prime Minister J. M. Andrews resigned. There was a major munitions strike in 1944. The Ireland Act 1949 gave the first legal guarantee that the region would not cease to be part of
13944-411: The commission's final report recommended only small transfers of territory, and in both directions. The Free State, Northern Ireland, and UK governments agreed to suppress the report and accept the status quo , while the UK government agreed that the Free State would no longer have to pay a share of the UK national debt. Northern Ireland's border was drawn to give it "a decisive Protestant majority". At
14110-476: The complete decommissioning of their weapons, the reform of the police, and the corresponding withdrawal of army troops from the streets and sensitive border areas such as South Armagh and Fermanagh , as agreed by the signatories to the Belfast Agreement (commonly known as the " Good Friday Agreement "). This reiterated the long-held British position, which had never before been fully acknowledged by successive Irish governments, that Northern Ireland will remain within
14276-412: The concept of running zombies, which he said was his "fresh, new way" of giving it a sense of verisimilitude and rendering zombies as if they were real threats, especially when they attack in hordes. Snyder maintained Gunn's decision not to reveal the origin of the zombie outbreak, believing it was "obvious that in this fallen society , you wouldn't know where the whole plague started". In searching for
14442-536: The director on 300 (2006), Watchmen (2009), and Sucker Punch (2011). In a 2023 interview with Total Film , Snyder revealed he had lobbied for the inclusion of the Richard Cheese cover of " Down with the Sickness ", originally sung by the heavy metal band Disturbed , which plays in a montage where the characters relieve boredom in the mall. According to Snyder, the studio originally declined
14608-458: The door, forcing an evacuation via the buses. The survivors fight their way out as the buses drive to the marina. Glen loses control of a chainsaw, accidentally killing himself and Monica; blood splatters on the windshield, causing their bus to crash. Steve leaves the group and is killed by a stowaway zombie. While C.J., Kenneth, and Terry leaves the other bus to look for survivors, Ana kills the zombified Steve and retrieves his boat keys. Eventually
14774-751: The end of the century, especially during the County Armagh disturbances , where the Protestant Peep o' Day Boys fought the Catholic Defenders . This led to the founding of the Protestant Orange Order . The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was led by the United Irishmen ; a cross-community Irish republican group founded by Belfast Presbyterians, which sought Irish independence. Following this, the government of
14940-423: The entire shoot. To handle the volume of willing extras, Anderson and his team built a large "factory" where painted extras would stay put until they are spoken for by either the main or second unit film crew. They built various makeup rooms for the artists to work in: one consisted of camper trailers where they would apply detailed prosthetic makeups to extras playing "hero zombies", a special type of zombie; and
15106-399: The entrance, 14 stores, parking structures, and warehouse areas. Since Snyder wanted the stores palpable in terms of design and stood not merely as storefronts , Neskoromny's team accordingly built them as actual retail stores complete with merchandise. These stores were given fake names, since only two major retail brands agreed to be featured in the film. The special makeup effects for
15272-434: The face of all that and some of the people are redeemed and end up becoming good people and some of them are not redeemed and they end up, you know, not redeemed. And that's what kind of drove me throughout the story, was it was a story about redemption. I also think that there's a lot about how people survive and what people turn to in the face of such tragedy. The tragedy in this case being flesh-eating zombies. And really it's
15438-487: The fantastic special effects makeup, the brief flirtation with found footage , and the reverence for its source text while introducing something new makes 2004's Dawn of the Dead one of the best remakes on the market. Likewise, Dawn of the Dead has appeared on several lists of the top zombie films, including number 3 by Rolling Stone (2012), number 12 by Empire (2020), by Collider (2021), number 17 by IndieWire (2022), and by Variety (2023); as well as
15604-635: The festival began as a part of Féile an Phobail , and operated as the West Belfast Film Festival (WBFF) from 1995 to 2000. In its third and fourth years, WBFF ran as an independent event and included venues throughout the city. In the year 2000 it became the Belfast Film Festival and expanded into a citywide event. In 2003, the line-up grew to 70 films. On 17 April 2004, the North Street Arcade suffered
15770-434: The film after he was recommended to it by its music supervisor , G. Marq Roswell , who learned he made little money from his work on Mario Van Peebles 's film Baadasssss! (2003), on which Roswell also served as music supervisor. The studio was not convinced with hiring Bates because they felt he was not an established composer at the time, but director Zack Snyder insisted on him, and he was ultimately hired. In scoring
15936-555: The film as a "stylish, gore-drenched shoot-em-up", and Dargis attributed its appeal not to the bloody violence but to "the filmmakers' commitment to genre fundamentals". Writing in a positive review, internet-based critic James Berardinelli said fans of "tight, tense, graphic horror" should be able to enjoy the same aplenty in Dawn of the Dead . While Schwarzbaum and Dargis complimented Gunn's script as "sharp" and propulsive, respectively, others took issue with what they believed to be
16102-420: The film on its 15th anniversary in 2019, Joe Lipsett wrote the following verdict for Bloody Disgusting : Fifteen years later, Dawn of the Dead completely holds up. The film's flaws are mostly at the character level, though having a dumb zombie baby and a few undeveloped red shirts in the mix is hardly a deal breaker. The action – particularly the opening scene and the propane explosion climax – in addition to
16268-428: The film were created by David LeRoy Anderson , with assistance from his actress wife Heather Langenkamp . Prior to accepting the job from Universal Studios ' then-executive James D. Brubaker , Anderson had been in a two-year hiatus from working as a makeup effects artist to operate his company DLA Silverwear. Anderson completed his test makeups for the film over a four-week period, and then he and his team traveled to
16434-583: The film's "moments of inspired audacity". Many noted that the fast-moving zombies of Dawn of the Dead were similar to those of 28 Days Later , but felt that the Danny Boyle film was "darker and creepier", "smarter, more rigorously structured", and could pass for a remake of the original. Despite the general praise, some critics said the film gave scant consideration to Romero's satirical critique of consumerism , among other sociopolitical issues. Ebert and Variety stated that whereas Romero used
16600-407: The film, Bates avoided taking cues from the original's music by the band Goblin , finding its style to be incompatible with what Snyder had filmed. Bates's score combines elements of electronic music and 20th-century orchestra , which was influenced by the works of composers adept at creating dissonance , such as Béla Bartók and Krzysztof Penderecki . Bates employed these musical choices with
16766-417: The gerrymandered local electoral boundaries and the abolishing of proportional representation as proof of government-sponsored discrimination. Until 1969 a system was in place called plural voting which was a practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. Property and business owners could vote both in the constituency where their property lay and that in which they lived, if
16932-485: The government. In the 1918 Irish general election, the pro-independence Sinn Féin party won the overwhelming majority of Irish seats. Sinn Féin's elected members boycotted the British parliament and founded a separate Irish parliament ( Dáil Éireann ), declaring an independent Irish Republic covering the whole island. Many Irish republicans blamed the British establishment for the sectarian divisions in Ireland, and believed that Ulster unionism would fade once British rule
17098-545: The historic dry dock in the city's old shipyards where the RMS Titanic last sat on dry ground. The 2017 screenings of The Exorcist and The Omen were made in the former Holy Rosary Church on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast, which was deconsecrated for almost 40 years. Still, some criticized the choice of the location as insensitive and disrespectful. In partnership with Belfast One, BFF hosts Belfast Summer Cinema,
17264-443: The intention of making the audience "very, very uncomfortable". Milan Records released Bates's score in physical format for the first time on October 23, 2012, a week after the record label released it digitally via iTunes Store and Amazon Music . The album comprises 31 tracks, all of which were composed by Bates. Dawn of the Dead also marks the first of several collaborations between him and Snyder: he would later compose for
17430-401: The job. However, film critic Harry Knowles , initially an opponent of the remake, read Gunn's script and gave it a positive response on his website Ain't It Cool News , which Gunn said helped eliminate doubts cast upon him by fans of the original. With Dawn of the Dead , Gunn wanted to explore the human condition as well as tell a wholly different story about redemption. He elaborated on
17596-576: The joint heads of government of Northern Ireland. Since 1998, Northern Ireland has had devolved government within the United Kingdom, presided over by the Northern Ireland Assembly and a cross-community government (the Northern Ireland Executive ). The UK Government and UK Parliament are responsible for reserved and excepted matters . Reserved matters comprise listed policy areas (such as civil aviation , units of measurement , and human genetics ) that Parliament may devolve to
17762-541: The king, although in practice partition remained in place. The Irish Free State came into existence on 6 December 1922, and on the following day, the Parliament of Northern Ireland resolved to exercise its right to opt out of the Free State by making an address to King George V . The text of the address was: Most Gracious Sovereign, We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Senators and Commons of Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, having learnt of
17928-423: The label's previous release was released on January 31, 2023. Dawn of the Dead received generally positive reviews upon its release, with critics praising it as a worthy remake of the original and a fine addition to the zombie genre. The film was considered by most to be an improvement over the original in terms of acting, production values, and scares, although Variety and Derek Malcolm felt that it
18094-454: The lack of plot and character developments. Morris found most of the characters to be too irritating that he believed audiences might want them "thrown from the mall roof to the throngs of undead". The Chicago Tribune said that the characters were clichéd and about as dumb as the undead, though sympathized with the "tragic" moral dilemma faced by Andre as an expectant father. Conversely, Berardinelli said that while there are moments in which
18260-435: The late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17.2% in 1986, but dropped back down to below 10% in the 2010s, similar to the rate of the rest of the UK. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, with Northern Ireland sharing both the culture of Ireland and the culture of the United Kingdom . In many sports, there is an All-Ireland governing body or team for
18426-549: The late 19th century, a large and disciplined cohort of Irish Nationalist MPs at Westminster committed the Liberal Party to "Irish Home Rule" —self-government for Ireland, within the United Kingdom. This was bitterly opposed by Irish Unionists , most of whom were Protestants, who feared an Irish devolved government dominated by Irish nationalists and Catholics. The Government of Ireland Bill 1886 and Government of Ireland Bill 1893 were defeated. However, Home Rule became
18592-657: The line" to "respectable" and "annoying". Schwarzbaum and the Chicago Tribune described Sarah Polley 's screen presence as "a perfect against- type heroine" with "a nice anxious stare". IGN was dismayed that least attention was given to Phifer's "naturally charismatic presence" with such a large cast, though felt that Rhames was effective as Polley's "quietly authoritative foil " and praised Jake Weber 's performance in "a thankless role". While giving equal praise to Polley, Phifer, and Rhames, Gingold singled out Weber's existentialist role as "the best of all", as did
18758-459: The major kingdoms of Ulster would mostly remain intact with English authority in the province contained to areas on the eastern coast closest to Great Britain. English power gradually eroded in the face of stubborn Irish resistance in the centuries that followed; eventually being reduced to only the city of Dublin and its suburbs. When Henry VIII launched the 16th century Tudor re-conquest of Ireland , Ulster once again resisted most effectively. In
18924-532: The majority in Southern Ireland (which became the Irish Free State in 1922), and a significant minority in Northern Ireland, were Irish nationalists (generally Catholics ) who wanted a united independent Ireland . Today, the former generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see themselves as Irish, while a Northern Irish or Ulster identity is claimed by a significant minority from all backgrounds. The creation of Northern Ireland
19090-483: The mall's parking lot, which was shot with motion-control passes whose green screen elements of 200 extras, combined with the CG zombies, were later composited to create a "digital crowd simulation that looks realistic". Kyle Cooper designed the title sequence for the film, using real human blood. The score for Dawn of the Dead was composed by Tyler Bates , his first for a horror film. Bates became involved with
19256-481: The mall. On the roof, they see another survivor, Andy, stranded in his gun store across the zombie-infested parking lot. The group notices a military helicopter and attempts to get the pilot's attention, but to no avail. The next day, a delivery truck carrying survivors enters the lot, pursued by zombies. C.J. and Bart want to turn them away but are overruled and disarmed. The newcomers include Norma, Steve, Tucker, Monica, Glen, Frank and his daughter Nicole. Another woman
19422-426: The most part, Protestants feel a strong connection with Great Britain and wish for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Many Catholics however, generally aspire to a United Ireland or are less certain about how to solve the constitutional question. Catholics have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to the latest Northern Ireland census. The make-up of the Northern Ireland Assembly reflects
19588-531: The movie because it's so dark. It's a bleak ending, in a cool way." "[Y]ou could see a movie with one guy rising from the dead or you can see one with thousands." — James Gunn on the likelihood of Dawn of the Dead being overtaken by The Passion of the Christ at the box office Dawn of the Dead was marketed with its 10-minute opening sequence that was broadcast on cable television four nights prior to its theatrical release. Entertainment Weekly projected that it would outperform The Passion of
19754-512: The oath to serve the King that is required before MPs are allowed to take their seats. In addition, the upper house of the UK parliament, the House of Lords , currently has some 25 appointed members from Northern Ireland . The Northern Ireland Office represents the UK Government in Northern Ireland on reserved matters and represents Northern Ireland's interests within the UK Government. Additionally,
19920-442: The original while working on its own terms." As of 2024 , Dawn of the Dead is Zack Snyder's highest-rated film on the website. Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. In 2005, George A. Romero spoke briefly of how dissatisfied he
20086-519: The original, leaving the audience rather numbed and "less mercifully handled, even at the end-credits". Wesley Morris gave a negative review in which he said the film "feels like the product of the PlayStation era" as opposed to a reverence for Romero. Elvis Mitchell had similar objections, writing that "[t]he flesh-eaters are picked off like video-game targets". Conversely, the BBC complimented
20252-467: The other consisted of tents where they would produce painted masks for extras playing background zombies. Extras playing foreground zombies were painted with plain palette makeups in Anderson's mall lab. The makeup artists were given his concept images to work on as references. According to Anderson and Heather Langenkamp, the most extras they ever had in a given day sat between 200 and 400, with
20418-512: The other twenty-six counties ( Southern Ireland ) being ruled from Dublin . Both would have a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , who would appoint both governments and a Council of Ireland , which the UK government intended to evolve into an all-Ireland parliament. The Act received royal assent that December, becoming the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It came into force on 3 May 1921, partitioning Ireland and creating Northern Ireland.
20584-741: The passing of the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 , being the Act of Parliament for the ratification of the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, do, by this humble Address, pray your Majesty that the powers of the Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland. Shortly afterwards, the Irish Boundary Commission
20750-406: The population of Northern Ireland is at least nominally Christian, mostly Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations. Many voters (regardless of religious affiliation) are attracted to unionism's conservative policies, while other voters are instead attracted to the traditionally leftist Sinn Féin and SDLP and their respective party platforms for democratic socialism and social democracy . For
20916-657: The possibility to pitch their projects, meet sponsors, distributors and exhibitors. Other sections are: Pull Focus Irish Documentary Competition, Irish Shorts Programmes, New International Documentary, and Back to the Archive. Northern Ireland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom (green) Northern Ireland ( Irish : Tuaisceart Éireann [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ; Ulster Scots : Norlin Airlann )
21082-490: The power goes out, C.J., Bart, Michael and Kenneth go to the parking garage to activate the emergency generator; they find a friendly dog named Chips, signifying a breach. Zombies attack and kill Bart, forcing the others to douse the zombies in gas and set them ablaze. Meanwhile, Luda — tied up by Andre — dies giving birth and reanimates as Norma checks on the couple. When Norma kills the zombified Luda, Andre snaps; they exchange gunfire and both are killed. The others arrive to find
21248-470: The press, and in common speech. The choice of term can be controversial and can reveal one's political preferences. This has been noted as a problem by several writers on Northern Ireland, with no generally recommended solution. ISO 3166-2:GB defines Northern Ireland as a province. The UK's submission to the 2007 United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names defines
21414-418: The producers on reimagining the latter film as opposed to doing it as a "remake", which, in his view, would have entailed re-shooting Romero's script. For that matter, he aimed to make his film a straight horror that was "as serious as a heart attack" and keep every aspect of its production as grounded in reality as possible. His approach included previsualizing the film with storyboards and introducing
21580-410: The prospective, the so-called "Irish dimension": the principle that the people of the island of Ireland as a whole have the right, without any outside interference, to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent. The latter statement was key to winning support for the agreement from nationalists. It established a devolved power-sharing government, the Northern Ireland Assembly , located on
21746-540: The redemptive theme of the film in an interview with IGN during a press junket for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed released that same year: [...] Dawn of the Dead is about redemption because it's about a bunch of people who have lived certain lives, who have maybe not been the best people, and suddenly they have everything that they've used to define themselves: Their careers, their churches, their jobs, their families are stripped away. They're gone. They start at nothing and they have to become who they really are in
21912-417: The remaining survivors get to the marina, and C.J. sacrifices himself so the others can escape. Michael reveals a bite wound and kills himself as Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry, and Chips drive away on the yacht. Footage from a camcorder found on the boat shows Steve's escapades before the outbreak and concludes as the group runs out of supplies, approaches an island, and is attacked by a swarm of zombies before
22078-433: The remake a straight horror, Snyder took over to direct with the goal of keeping every aspect of the production as grounded in reality as possible. Filming took place from June to September 2003, on location at a Toronto shopping mall that was slated for demolition. The special makeup effects were created by David LeRoy Anderson , and the music was composed by Tyler Bates in his first collaboration with Snyder. Dawn of
22244-765: The reserve Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) were militarized police forces due to the perceived threat of militant republicanism. In 1936 the British advocacy group - the National Council for Civil Liberties characterised the USC as "nothing but the organised army of the Unionist party". They "had at their disposal the Special Powers Act , a sweeping piece of legislation which allowed arrests without warrant, internment without trial, unlimited search powers, and bans on meetings and publications". This 1922 Act
22410-399: The rest of the United Kingdom and with the Republic of Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of voters in each jurisdiction. This aspect was also central to the Belfast Agreement which was signed in 1998 and ratified by referendums held simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. At the same time, the UK Government recognised for the first time, as part of
22576-587: The script, Gunn took an action-oriented approach while remaining faithful to the basic premise of Romero's version. To develop the plot, he declined to write a treatment in favor of a discovery writing method whereby he would devise hypothetical situations which would ultimately force the characters to evacuate the mall. Gunn decided to leave the origin of the zombie outbreak ambiguous, believing this would give not only equal consideration to each audience's viewpoint (scientific or otherwise) but also something to think about what they would do if they found themselves in
22742-490: The script, and the studio brought Gunn in despite not wanting to deliver them a signal idea for the film beforehand. A fan of the original Dawn of the Dead since he was a young boy, Gunn explained that he took the job because he "kind of saw generally what it could be". The producers conceptualized the remake as more of a "re-envisioning" which would work in some references to the original but would primarily work on its own terms. Co-producer Eric Newman cited Invasion of
22908-442: The shopping mall to stage a metaphor about consumer society, Snyder used it merely as a convenient shelter for his characters. Gingold lamented that unlike Romero's film, Snyder's provided no social commentary on racism through its Black characters Kenneth and Andre as well as the interracial relationship between Andre and Luda. In contrast, Manohla Dargis commented that Romero's consumerist metaphor has lost its significance in
23074-521: The team includes: International Programmer Jess Kiang, UK and Ireland Programmer Rose Baker, Head of Industry and Marketplace Roisin Geraghty, Chair Mark Cousins, and others. BFF's patrons are: Terry George , David Holmes , Pat Murphy , William Crawley , and Stephen Rea . Belfast Film Festival is sponsored by NI Department for Communities, Arts Council NI, Film Hub NI, Yellow Moon, British Council , Belfast City Council , Northern Ireland Screen and
23240-422: The term. "Region" has also been used by UK government agencies and newspapers. Some authors choose this word but note that it is "unsatisfactory". Northern Ireland can also be simply described as "part of the UK", including by the UK government offices. Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 action horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his feature directorial debut, with
23406-668: The time of its creation, Northern Ireland's population was two-thirds Protestant and one-third Catholic. Most Protestants were unionists/loyalists who sought to maintain Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom, while most Catholics were Irish nationalists/republicans who sought an independent United Ireland . There was mutual self-imposed segregation in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics such as in education, housing, and often employment. For its first fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Ulster Unionist Party governments . Every prime minister and almost every minister of these governments were members of
23572-416: The top spot The Passion of the Christ held for three consecutive weekends. Variety reported, "Some 63% of Dawn [audiences] were under age 25, with 57% of patrons male. Hispanic moviegoers comprised 21% of its supporters and African-Americans 14%." Dawn of the Dead ended its theatrical run as a commercial success, grossing $ 102 million worldwide on a $ 26 million budget; it grossed $ 59 million in
23738-413: The two were different. This system often resulted in one person being able to cast multiple votes. Decades later, UUP First Minister of Northern Ireland , David Trimble , said that Northern Ireland under the UUP had been a "cold house" for Catholics. During World War II , recruitment to the British military was noticeably lower than the high levels reached during World War I. In June 1940, to encourage
23904-429: The violence. The UK Government's position is that its forces were neutral in the conflict, trying to uphold law and order in Northern Ireland and the right of the people of Northern Ireland to democratic self-determination. Republicans regarded the state forces as combatants in the conflict, pointing to the collusion between the state forces and the loyalist paramilitaries as proof of this. The "Ballast" investigation by
24070-570: The whole island; the most notable exception is association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games , and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games . The region that is now Northern Ireland was long inhabited by native Gaels who were Irish-speaking and predominantly Catholic. It was made up of several Gaelic kingdoms and territories and
24236-453: The years since the original's release, "with the politics of consumption now an established academic field and shopping now considered a statement of identity ". IGN praised the film's tonal departure from Romero's, calling it "a calculated risk that paid off". The Hollywood Reporter and Chicago Tribune commented that Dawn of the Dead was content to indulge in bloody zombie killings devoid of meaning and introspection once present in
24402-505: Was a major step in the peace process , including paramilitary disarmament and security normalisation, although sectarianism and segregation remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued. The economy of Northern Ireland was the most industrialised in Ireland at the time of partition, but soon began to decline, exacerbated by the political and social turmoil of the Troubles. Its economy has grown significantly since
24568-985: Was accompanied by violence "in defence or opposition to the new settlement" during The Troubles (1920–1922) . The IRA carried out attacks on British forces in the north-east but was less active than in the rest of Ireland. Protestant loyalists attacked Catholics in reprisal for IRA actions. In the summer of 1920, sectarian violence erupted in Belfast and Derry, and there were mass burnings of Catholic property in Lisburn and Banbridge . Conflict continued intermittently for two years, mostly in Belfast , which saw "savage and unprecedented" communal violence between Protestants and Catholics, including rioting, gun battles, and bombings. Homes, businesses, and churches were attacked and people were expelled from workplaces and mixed neighbourhoods. More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, most of them Catholics. The British Army
24734-418: Was accompanied by violence both in defence of and against partition. During the conflict of 1920–22 , the capital Belfast saw major communal violence , mainly between Protestant unionist and Catholic nationalist civilians. More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, mostly Catholics. For the next fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Unionist Party governments . There
24900-714: Was caused by escalating tensions between the Irish nationalist minority and the dominant unionist majority ; Irish nationalists object to Northern Ireland staying within the United Kingdom. From 1967 to 1972 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), which modelled itself on the US civil rights movement, led a campaign of civil resistance to anti-Catholic discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and electoral procedures. The franchise for local government elections included only rate-payers and their spouses, and so excluded over
25066-523: Was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , creating a devolved government for the six northeastern counties . As was intended by unionists and their supporters in Westminster , Northern Ireland had a unionist majority, who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom; they were generally the Protestant descendants of colonists from Britain . Meanwhile,
25232-486: Was deployed and the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) was formed to help the regular police. The USC was almost wholly Protestant. Members of the USC and regular police were involved in reprisal attacks on Catholic civilians. A truce between British forces and the IRA was established on 11 July 1921, ending the fighting in most of Ireland. However, communal violence continued in Belfast, and in 1922
25398-638: Was ended. The British authorities outlawed the Dáil in September 1919, and a guerrilla conflict developed as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began attacking British forces. This became known as the Irish War of Independence . Meanwhile, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 passed through the British parliament in 1920. It would divide Ireland into two self-governing UK territories: the six northeastern counties (Northern Ireland) being ruled from Belfast , and
25564-516: Was established to decide on the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Owing to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War , the work of the commission was delayed until 1925. The Free State government and Irish nationalists hoped for a large transfer of territory to the Free State, as many border areas had nationalist majorities. Many believed this would leave the remaining Northern Ireland territory too small to be viable. However,
25730-645: Was far enough away to be safe. The city's fire brigade was inadequate, and as the Northern Ireland government had been reluctant to spend money on air raid shelters, it only started to build them after the Blitz in London during the autumn of 1940. There were no searchlights in the city, which made shooting down enemy bombers more difficult. In April–May 1941, the Belfast Blitz began when the Luftwaffe launched
25896-593: Was informal mutual segregation by both communities, and the Unionist governments were accused of discrimination against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority. In the late 1960s, a campaign to end discrimination against Catholics and nationalists was opposed by loyalists , who saw it as a republican front. This unrest sparked the Troubles , a thirty-year conflict involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured 50,000 others. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement
26062-538: Was just in the ER – pale, with lots of fresh blood. The second stage has moist wounds but the skin is beginning to break down. There is a lot of discoloration and mottling, mostly blues and greens. The third stage is the most intense, with the skeletal form coming through. The wounds are dried-up, the skin is sloughing off and colors are oily blacks. Head hits were done practically through various methods, such as bullet hit squibs covered with prosthetic scalps and attached to
26228-479: Was made permanent in 1933 and was not repealed until 1973. The Nationalist Party was the main political party in opposition to the UUP governments. However, its elected members often protested by abstaining from the Northern Ireland parliament, and many nationalists did not vote in parliamentary elections. Other early nationalist groups which campaigned against partition included the National League of
26394-502: Was not publicised until 1970. Belfast was a key industrial city in the UK's war effort, producing ships, tanks, aircraft, and munitions. The unemployment that had been so persistent in the 1930s disappeared, and labour shortages appeared, prompting migration from the Free State. The city was thinly defended, and had only 24 anti-aircraft guns. Richard Dawson Bates , the Minister for Home Affairs, had prepared too late, assuming that Belfast
26560-419: Was only intermittently scary. Despite giving it a negative review, Variety said that the film was otherwise "more palatable" than the "atrocious" Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake released the previous year. Michael Gingold stated, "[...] Dawn of the Dead joins The Ring and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as an update that both honors its source and emerges as an effective horror film in its own right",
26726-468: Was part of the province of Ulster . In 1169, Ireland was invaded by a coalition of forces under the command of the English crown that quickly overran and occupied most of the island, beginning 800 years of foreign central authority. Attempts at resistance were swiftly crushed everywhere outside of Ulster. Unlike in the rest of the country, where Gaelic authority continued only in scattered, remote pockets,
26892-456: Was personally not on board with the characters' "risky" plan to escape from the mall in lieu of awaiting the zombies' natural death, he remarked that "taking chances makes for good action scenes". Mitchell criticized the plot as "strictly by the numbers" and said that the climactic gun store scene "shows why zombie pictures aren't unsettling anymore". The ensemble cast was generally praised: comments ranged from "superlative" and "convincing down
27058-405: Was suspended in 1972. Alongside the violence, there was a political deadlock between the major political parties in Northern Ireland, including those who condemned the violence, over the future status of Northern Ireland and the form of government there should be within Northern Ireland. In 1973, Northern Ireland held a referendum to determine if it should remain in the United Kingdom, or be part of
27224-657: Was to disadvantage Catholics and, to a lesser extent, Presbyterians . Some 250,000 Ulster Presbyterians emigrated to the British North American colonies between 1717 and 1775. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the United States, along with many Scotch-Irish Canadians in Canada. In the context of institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in Ulster and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. This escalated at
27390-717: Was virtually inevitable following England's victory at the siege of Kinsale . In 1607, the rebellion's leaders fled to mainland Europe alongside much of Ulster's Gaelic nobility. Their lands were confiscated by the Crown and colonized with English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, in the Plantation of Ulster . This led to the founding of many of Ulster's towns and created a lasting Ulster Protestant community with ties to Britain. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began in Ulster. The rebels wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to roll back
27556-451: Was with Dawn of the Dead during an interview with actor Simon Pegg for Time Out . Romero said that although the remake could pass for a good action film, he felt it was aimless and "more of a video game" for that matter, as well as maintained he was "not terrified of things running at me". Numerous publications have named Dawn of the Dead as Zack Snyder's best film, with Den of Geek considering it his magnum opus . Revisiting
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