Marketing executive Desmond Caine (Stephen Baldwin) is stricken with a bizarre form of insomnia, spending his nights walking the city's dangerous streets at night. Caine ends up at a local deli where he encounters some unusual characters: a nice, if bit lost, young woman (Macha Grenon) and a slightly deranged man who looks homeless (Michael Ironside), and an anti-social policeman.
During one of his half-hallucinogenic journeys, Caine witnesses a brutal murder. He finds the victim's watch and goes to the police. Returning to the scene, there is no sign of the crime.
Stranger still, Caine's girlfriend (Maxim Roy) is completely unaware that he gets up at night and wanders the city, while his personal assistant (Janet Kidder) seems to know all about his exploits. The police discover that the murdered man was connected to Caine's girlfriend; no longer only a witness, he is now the prime suspect...
In July 2000, Dead Awake was described[by whom?] as "a thriller with a dark twist of comedy".[3]
Productionedit
Backgroundedit
Locomotion Films, part of the Montreal Exponent Group, comprising commercial houses La Fabrique d'Images and S.W.A.T Films, and post and digital effects house Buzz Image Group, was officially launched in 1999 with a view to develop English and French-track feature films, television series, and dramatic shorts. Director and co-producer Marc S. Grenier said he and his colleagues were ready "to do something entirely serious", moving into fiction after working many years in commercials (Grenier directed the 1999 Cinequest Films entry Cause of Death, and the 1998 Motion International television movieFatal Affair).[3]Dead Awake was made for television,[4] and was Locomotion's second feature production for the year 2000 with a budget of $4.2 million.[3][4]
Writingedit
The screenplay was written by Chicago-based Terry Abrahamson.[3] Two working titles for the film were Wild Awake and Dead of Night.[1]
Filmingedit
Principal photography took place over twenty days in Montreal, June 9 to July 6, 2000, under the working title Dead of Night.[3][4] Grenier said that cinematographer David Franco used a lot of interesting wide angle shots, giving the film "an unusual and edgy look."[3] Grenier elaborated: "The whole movie is like a maze. You know there's an exit but it seems unreachable and everything just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
Release and receptionedit
Dead Awake was first broadcast on November 6, 2001.[5]
With a generic title and low-level American star, this could easily be dismissed as another bland straight-to-video thriller... it's a surprisingly eccentric, comic thriller, that plays around with chronology and expectations. A little confusing at times, as it rushes through some explanations, but definitely worth a look. Lots of quirky characters and decent performances -- particularly Grenon and Ironside (both in slightly smaller parts than their billing would suggest) who give delightfully atypical performances as inhabitants of an all-night diner the hero frequents. That's Conrad Pla as the transvestite hooker.
In July 2000, it was announced that Dead Awake would be distributed by Lions Gate Films in Canada, by Millennium Pictures in the United States and by Martien Holding internationally.[3]
Home mediaedit
Dead Awake was released on VHS (Millennium) and DVD (First Look Home Entertainment) in 2002.[7][8]
The author of Critic Online calls Dead Awake one of the better Canadian thrillers of the early 2000s because of its interesting characters, and one of Stephen Baldwin's best films, because "it incorporates his morose acting style into the script."[10]The Great Canadian Movie Guide assigns the film 3 stars, praising the unconventional performances and imaginative story.[6] Johnny Betts was "surprised" to find that Dead Awake "is actually a decent little movie" with "a plot and doesn't rely on women taking off their clothes every two minutes (a staple in most straight-to-video movies)." Betts also praised the "mix of plot twists, dark humor, and weirdness."[11]
Referencesedit
^ abc"Dead Awake". collections.cinematheque.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^"Dead Awake". Elephant (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ abcdefg"La Vie, la vie for 39 episodes on Radio-Canada". Playback. July 10, 2000. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
^ abc"Quebec film preprod update". Playback. June 12, 2000. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^"Dead Awake". Oldies.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ ab"Dead Awake". The Great Canadian Movie Database. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^"Dead Awake VHS". Amazon.com. January 29, 2002. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^Dead awake. OCLC. OCLC 48856825. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via WorldCat.
^"Dead Awake". Amazon Prime. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^"DIRECT TO VIDEO (DTV) FILMS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD 1997 - 2015". Critic Online. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^Betts, Johnny. "June 18, 2002". The Doorless Stall. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
dead, awake, 2001, film, this, article, about, 2001, film, 2010, film, dead, awake, dead, awake, also, released, dead, night, 2001, canadian, american, dark, comedy, thriller, film, made, television, directed, producer, marc, grenier, starring, stephen, baldwi. This article is about the 2001 film For the 2010 film see Dead Awake Dead Awake also released as Dead of the Night 1 is a 2001 Canadian American dark comedy thriller film made for television directed by co producer Marc S Grenier and starring Stephen Baldwin Macha Grenon and Michael Ironside Dead AwakePosterDirected byMarc S GrenierWritten byTerry AbrahamsonProduced byJoanne Forgues Marc S Grenier Avi Lerner executive producer Martha Fernandez line producer StarringStephen Baldwin Macha Grenon Michael IronsideCinematographyDavid FrancoEdited byYvann ThibaudeauMusic byE P BergenProductioncompaniesLocomotion Films Nu Image FilmsDistributed byLions Gate Films Canada Millennium Pictures U S Release dateNovember 6 2001 2001 11 06 Running time98 minutes 1 2 CountriesCanada U S LanguageEnglishBudgetC 4 2 million Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Genre 4 Production 4 1 Background 4 2 Writing 4 3 Filming 5 Release and reception 5 1 Distribution 5 1 1 Home media 5 1 2 Streaming 5 2 Critical response 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis edit nbsp Stephen Baldwin in 2008Marketing executive Desmond Caine Stephen Baldwin is stricken with a bizarre form of insomnia spending his nights walking the city s dangerous streets at night Caine ends up at a local deli where he encounters some unusual characters a nice if bit lost young woman Macha Grenon and a slightly deranged man who looks homeless Michael Ironside and an anti social policeman During one of his half hallucinogenic journeys Caine witnesses a brutal murder He finds the victim s watch and goes to the police Returning to the scene there is no sign of the crime Stranger still Caine s girlfriend Maxim Roy is completely unaware that he gets up at night and wanders the city while his personal assistant Janet Kidder seems to know all about his exploits The police discover that the murdered man was connected to Caine s girlfriend no longer only a witness he is now the prime suspect nbsp Michael Ironside in 2009Cast editStephen Baldwin as Desmond Caine Macha Grenon as W D Michael Ironside as Skay Maxim Roy as Chaney Streeter Janet Kidder as Kimberly Kick Birmingham Claudia Ferri as Lena Savage Conrad Pla as Veronica Daniel Brochu as Pit Bull Owner Rachelle Lefevre as Randi Baum Mark Camacho as Window Washer Angelo Tsarouchas as Night ManagerGenre editIn July 2000 Dead Awake was described by whom as a thriller with a dark twist of comedy 3 Production editBackground edit Locomotion Films part of the Montreal Exponent Group comprising commercial houses La Fabrique d Images and S W A T Films and post and digital effects house Buzz Image Group was officially launched in 1999 with a view to develop English and French track feature films television series and dramatic shorts Director and co producer Marc S Grenier said he and his colleagues were ready to do something entirely serious moving into fiction after working many years in commercials Grenier directed the 1999 Cinequest Films entry Cause of Death and the 1998 Motion International television movie Fatal Affair 3 Dead Awake was made for television 4 and was Locomotion s second feature production for the year 2000 with a budget of 4 2 million 3 4 Writing edit The screenplay was written by Chicago based Terry Abrahamson 3 Two working titles for the film were Wild Awake and Dead of Night 1 Filming edit Principal photography took place over twenty days in Montreal June 9 to July 6 2000 under the working title Dead of Night 3 4 Grenier said that cinematographer David Franco used a lot of interesting wide angle shots giving the film an unusual and edgy look 3 Grenier elaborated The whole movie is like a maze You know there s an exit but it seems unreachable and everything just keeps getting weirder and weirder Release and reception editDead Awake was first broadcast on November 6 2001 5 With a generic title and low level American star this could easily be dismissed as another bland straight to video thriller it s a surprisingly eccentric comic thriller that plays around with chronology and expectations A little confusing at times as it rushes through some explanations but definitely worth a look Lots of quirky characters and decent performances particularly Grenon and Ironside both in slightly smaller parts than their billing would suggest who give delightfully atypical performances as inhabitants of an all night diner the hero frequents That s Conrad Pla as the transvestite hooker The Great Canadian Movie Database 6 Distribution edit In July 2000 it was announced that Dead Awake would be distributed by Lions Gate Films in Canada by Millennium Pictures in the United States and by Martien Holding internationally 3 Home media edit Dead Awake was released on VHS Millennium and DVD First Look Home Entertainment in 2002 7 8 Streaming edit The film is currently available on Amazon Prime 9 Critical response edit The author of Critic Online calls Dead Awake one of the better Canadian thrillers of the early 2000s because of its interesting characters and one of Stephen Baldwin s best films because it incorporates his morose acting style into the script 10 The Great Canadian Movie Guide assigns the film 3 stars praising the unconventional performances and imaginative story 6 Johnny Betts was surprised to find that Dead Awake is actually a decent little movie with a plot and doesn t rely on women taking off their clothes every two minutes a staple in most straight to video movies Betts also praised the mix of plot twists dark humor and weirdness 11 References edit a b c Dead Awake collections cinematheque qc ca in French Retrieved November 11 2019 Dead Awake Elephant in French Retrieved November 11 2019 a b c d e f g La Vie la vie for 39 episodes on Radio Canada Playback July 10 2000 Retrieved November 10 2019 a b c Quebec film preprod update Playback June 12 2000 Retrieved November 11 2019 Dead Awake Oldies com Retrieved November 11 2019 a b Dead Awake The Great Canadian Movie Database Retrieved November 11 2019 Dead Awake VHS Amazon com January 29 2002 Retrieved November 11 2019 Dead awake OCLC OCLC 48856825 Retrieved November 11 2019 via WorldCat Dead Awake Amazon Prime Retrieved November 11 2019 DIRECT TO VIDEO DTV FILMS THE GOOD AND THE BAD 1997 2015 Critic Online Retrieved November 11 2019 Betts Johnny June 18 2002 The Doorless Stall Retrieved November 11 2019 External links editOfficial trailer on YouTube Dead Awake at IMDb Dead Awake at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dead Awake 2001 film amp oldid 1177979544, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
