Dawn of the Dead (1978) Movie Script
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Description
Artifact Summary
This 1977 Dawn of the Dead screenplay excerpt, credited to George A. Romero, preserves the opening pages of the script for the landmark horror film filmed in part at Monroeville Mall. The excerpt begins with the film’s famous apocalyptic line and moves into the chaotic television studio sequence, where Francine and other station employees struggle to report on a rapidly collapsing society. As arguments rage over the nature of the dead and the failure of rescue systems, the script establishes the film’s tense mixture of horror, media criticism, and social breakdown. As an archive artifact, the document is significant because it offers a direct look at Romero’s written vision during the film’s 1977 production period.
Title: Dawn of the Dead screenplay excerpt
Creator: George A. Romero
Date: 1977 - the title page reads © Dawn Associates 1977.
Type: Motion picture screenplay / script excerpt. The uploaded PDF contains the title page, quotation page, and the opening 18 numbered script pages.
Physical / publication details:
The title page identifies the script as Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero, copyrighted by Dawn Associates in 1977, manufactured in the U.S.A., with Dawn Associates / The Laurel Group, Inc. listed at 150 East 58th Street, New York, New York 10022.
Historical significance:
This script is important because it documents Romero’s early written conception of Dawn of the Dead and shows how the film’s opening was structured on the page: a media environment overwhelmed by chaos, moral argument, and collapsing institutional control. Even in this short excerpt, the screenplay already establishes the film’s signature combination of horror, social commentary, and critique of modern systems under pressure.
Suggested archive note:
This surviving excerpt preserves the opening portion of Romero’s 1977 screenplay and helps illustrate the development of one of the most important horror films ever made at the Monroeville Mall. It is especially valuable for researchers because it shows the story’s opening newsroom sequence in script form, before viewers encounter it on screen.