The Dark Half
by George A. Romero
List Price:
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $1.49 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $2.96 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Amy Madigan, Julie Harris, Michael Rooker, Robert Joy, Timothy HuttonDirector: George A. Romero
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Pan & Scan, 1.33:1
Running Time: 121 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Dark Half
DVD Review: A movie based on a book by Steven King... there's something new.
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie really only has one main cast member. He is Timothy Hutton. He has been in many films. A couple you may remember are Taps 1981 and French Kiss 1995. He is also in several films coming up 2008-09. Two are completed and five are still being produced. He actually plays two roles in the film. But I don't want to get ahead of myself, nor do I want to give away to much. Below I will tell you a little about the movie without ruining it for everyone.
This movie has a real mid - late 80's/ early 90s feel to it. It is set in Main. This only adds to the small town spooky feel. The movie is about a man who as a young boy likes to write. One day he is heading out to the bus when he passes out and is having seizures on the ground. Turns out he has something wrong in his brain. The doctors say it is something that must be removed. While doing this they find something that shocks them all. I don't want to ruin it so I will not say what. So they remove it and it says like 18 years later.
The man has become a writer. He made up a name and face for his writing though. He writes dirty stuff and does not want anyone to know. A man finds out who he is and threatens to let every know unless he gives him money. He tells him that he will call and let him know how much. The writer decides to come out and tell everyone thus allowing him to feel free and not have to pay. Well murders start to happen and the mans friend (who is the sheriff) thinks he has something to do with it. Also, his prints were found on stuff at the crime scene. I will not say anymore because I do not want to give anything away. Trust me though.... It gets weird.
The only problem I had with this movie was it kind of dragged on. It was about 2 hours. SO much could have been taken out to make it like an hour and forty minutes. You find out what is happening pretty fast and from then on it's just repeat, repeat, repeat. It will get old rather quickly. It is a neat movie that has some strange horror/sci-fi feel to it. I was at the movie store and I saw it sitting there. I had never seen it before so I decided to rent. I would say this was definitely more a rental than a buy. Go read the book if you want instead of seeing the movie first. Then watch the film and see what is different. I will probably never watch this again though. It just kind of hung there. Kind of telling you what would happen and kind of not. I guess it's like most books made into movie. There always just ok. Except Harry Potter. All though I finished the last book the day before I saw the movie and the movie was SO much worse than the book. It left out a lot of things that at the time I was reading seemed important. Not sure if this film did that or not but see the movie as well as read the book and you can decide.
DVD Review: MAINELY OUTSTANDING
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever wonder what Alfred Hitchcock would have done with material written by Stephen King? "Dark Half" may be the closest we'll ever come to finding out. But,whereas in Hitchcock's "The Birds" (1963) we see nature on the rampage with Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time,in "Dark Half " nature is employed as a useful vehicle, gorging Timothy Hutton's hidden half and finallly returning it to Satan,from whence the original body tissue came. Director Romero does an excellent job of reproducing Hutton's hidden "twin" who sprang to life as an alias,protecting a young college professor's true identity. But,devilry often seems to feed upon itself, especially here when Hutton goes on writing binges which satiate his dark side on paper, but also fuel the flames of his "twin". The repellent violence does become a bit much at times, and this is certainly no film for youngsters.But,"Dark Half" is, and will always be a first rate horror movie.DVD Review: timothy hutton should be ashamed of himself
Summary: 1 Stars
why are most stephen king novels that are mildly brilliant all turn out to be absolute decrepid gutter ca-ca? (tommyknockers, storm of century, Needful Things) I mean Stand by Me, classic, Shawshank classic, this is just so awful, and its amazing the fan base George A. Romero has, he has got to be the biggest joke in the industry, save for some really visually impressive scenes in Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead was just an absolute B Movie joke.
To think this movie has a fan base, reminds me totally why I live alone, and choose my friends wisely. The film has no depth, no character interpersonal qualms, lacks emotion and undearing understanding of consequence, and utterly sinks beneath the spectrum of talent, and Hutton should cringe whenever he is flipping through the channels, and happens to see this on TBS.
A 1.5 for some sophmoric cinematic magic.
DVD Review: Underrated adaptation from Romero
Summary: 4 Stars
Stephen King's The Dark Half is one of the few big screen adaptations of his work to actually be pretty good. Zombie meister George Romero adapted King's tale, which features Timothy Hutton as a writer attempting to put an end to his popular, horror writing, pen name alter ego, but gets a big surprise instead. Soon enough, he's literally struggling with himself while trying to protect his family, all concluding in one of the most memorable endings you'll ever see in a big screen King adaptation. While it may be longer than it had to have been, Romero successfully weaves a film that does King's work justice while also putting a bit of his own spin on it at the same time. The gore and makeup effects are very well done as well, and the cast, which also includes Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, and Robert Joy (who would be in Romero's Land of the Dead a little over a decade later) also take memorable turns, but it's Hutton who shines above the rest in one of the best performances of his entire career. All in all, The Dark Half is not only an underrated King adaptation, but it's one of Romero's most underrated films as well, and regardless of you being a fan of either or both horror maestros, The Dark Half is definitely worth a look.DVD Review: ROMERO IS A GENIUS! A great film that does justice to the book.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Timothy Hutton's best performance, for he was born to play George Stark and Thad Beaumont. Yes, it did do some changes to the storyline, but it was overall faithful to the book. They pulled off King's conclusion greatly. This is a great film, but the title of the best adaptation goes to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. This film does the book perfect justice and it is as good as the novel. Well shot, acted, and directed. Recomended to fans of horror, George Romero, and Stephen King.
Description of The Dark Half
Masters of horror Stephen King (The Shining) and George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) have created a "gripping, creepy, frightening" (L.A. Reader) film that "thrills, shocks and works us over" (Los Angeles Times)! Featuring an "intelligent screenplay and first-rate cast" (The New York Times), including Oscar?(r) winner* Timothy Hutton, The DarkHalf will keep you captivated to the chilling end. Horror writer Thad Beaumont (Hutton) hopes to distance himself from his murder novels and from George Stark, the name he has used to anonymously author them. To achieve this, he cooks up a murder of his own: a publicity stunt that should lay Stark to rest forever. But when the people around him are found gruesomely slainand his own fingerprints dot the crime scenesBeaumont is dumbfounded until he learns that Stark has taken on a life of his own and begun a gruesome quest for vengeance! *1980: Supporting Actor, Ordinary PeopleAlthough it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticized finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction.
Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable, pseudonymous alter ego George Stark (the bestselling "dark half" to Thad's light), who then assumes an evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to lethally defend his role in Thad's creative endeavors. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies, and his own survival as an artist. Romero skillfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, and Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favors a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon
General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
![Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Young-Frankenstein-Blu-ray-B001DDBD0O-X.jpg)
Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray]Release date: 2008-10-07; DVD
Best price: $20.97
Price in other shops:
Shaun of the DeadPEGG,SIMON; Release date: 2004-12-21; DVD
Best price: $4.80
Price in other shops:
The Shining (Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
1408 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)Release date: 2007-10-02; DVD
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Edition)Release date: 2007-10-09; DVD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon)Release date: 2008-10-14; DVD
Best price: $16.99
Price in other shops:
![The Happening (Special Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/The-Happening-Special-Edition-Digital-Copy-Blu-ray-B001DZOC3W-X.jpg)
The Happening (Special Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]Release date: 2008-10-07; DVD
Best price: $18.22
Price in other shops:
Supernatural - The Complete Third SeasonRelease date: 2008-09-02; DVD
Best price: $35.98
Price in other shops:
The HappeningHAPPENING, THE (DVD MOVIE); Release date: 2008-10-07; DVD
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
The Nightmare on Elm Street CollectionENGLUND,ROBERT; Release date: 1999-09-21; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Stephen King's Storm of the CenturyLions Gate; Release date: 1999-06-22; DVD
Best price: $4.02
Price in other shops:
Apt PupilSony; Release date: 1999-04-13; DVD
Best price: $4.11
Price in other shops:
Nightmares & Dreamscapes - From the Stories of Stephen KingWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-10-24; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops:
Salem's LotRelease date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $5.54
Price in other shops:
Stephen King's Cat's EyeWarner Brothers; Release date: 2002-10-01; DVD
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Graveyard ShiftParamount; Release date: 2002-05-28; DVD
Best price: $4.34
Price in other shops:
The TommyknockersLions Gate; Release date: 1998-09-09; DVD
Best price: $3.39
Price in other shops:
Stephen King's DesperationLions Gate; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
The Night FlierRelease date: 1998-05-27; DVD
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Needful ThingsRelease date: 2002-08-27; DVD
Best price: $4.02
Price in other shops: