Dead of Night - Brandon Routh is Dylan Dog
Superman Actor Stars in Italian Comic Book Adaptation
Sep 23, 2009
Dead of Night is a supernatural thriller based on the Italian comic ‘Dylan Dog.’ Superman Returns star Brandon Routh plays Dylan, an investigator into unusual happenings and the paranormal. Created by Tiziano Sclavi in the mid-80’s, ‘Dylan Dog’ has a huge following in Italy, but remains an unknown quantity in the United States and Britain.
Dead of Night Production Information
The producers have taken the decision to relocate Dylan Dog in New Orleans. Joining Brandon Routh are Taye Diggs (Way of the Gun) and Anita Briem. Kevin Munroe (TMNT) directs from a screenplay by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly. As ever with Dylan, there is a beautiful woman involved and the plot sees Dylan drawn back into the world of the supernatural after a mysterious artefact causes unrest amongst the Undead.
Dylan Dog
Although the comic is Italian, Tiziano Sclavi set ‘Dylan Dog’ in a London derived from British films and television shows from the 50’s and 60’s. Dylan has an assistant named Groucho who bears an uncanny resemblance to Groucho Marx. A recovering alcoholic, Dylan Dog occasionally falls off the wagon at his lowest moments. Dylan always wears the same clothes, a pair of blue jeans with a red shirt and black jacket.
By Americanising ‘Dylan Dog’ the producers run the risk of creating a film that bears only a passing resemblance to the comic. Fans of ‘Dylan Dog,’ including The Name of the Rose author Umberto Eco, may turn away from a movie they feel bastardises its source material. Presumably the studio decided to set Dead of Night in America for financial reasons. Dylan Dog is not well known enough in the US to attract a mainstream audience on the strength of his name alone.
Dellamorte Dellamore
An Italian movie made in 1994 called Dellamorte Dellamore (Michele Soavi) features a character from the ‘Dylan Dog’ comics, Francesco Dellamorte, who appears in the story ‘Orrore Nero.’ Dellamorte bears a startling resemblance to Dylan Dog and is essentially an Italian alter-ego for the Nightmare Detective. Sclavi based Dylan Dog’s appearance on the English actor Rupert Everett, so it was perfect casting when Michele Soavi managed to cast him in Dellamorte Dellamore.
Michele Soavi’s dream-like masterpiece sees Dellamorte trying to oversee a cemetery whose occupants have a tendency to return from the dead. Visually stunning, with a truly twisted sense of humour, Dellamorte Dellamore is one of the finest zombie films ever made. Its US distributor re-titled it as Cemetary Man and buried it on video. There is still no UK DVD release available for the film, yet you can buy Michael Winner films in HMV. What a world.
Dead of Night is due for release in 2010. Dellamorte Dellamore is available on DVD, except for those living in the UK who will either have to import a copy, or rent Death Wish 3. The first option is preferable.
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