Dead Timeline

[ssbib]

Sorry if this has been discussed before but I want to get some clarification on the timeline in the Dead films.

Night is obviously immediately after the outbreak or at most a day later, when the number of undead has risen sufficiently to be a threat.

Dawn could be within the first week or maybe two at the start, and continues with the film ending a month or two after the initial outbreak.

Day most likley 3-6 months after the initial outbreak, maybe even a year.

Land I would say takes place at least 10 years after the outbreak, maybe even 20+ as slade says she's never been outside of the city until she does with Riley.

What do you guys think, have I got it right? If not what is correct! Thanks

[EvilNed]

The general opinion is that Land of the Dead takes place at least 3 years after the zombie outbreak, because of things the characters say.

"The last car rolled out of here three years ago." etc. etc.

So, Land is AT LEAST three years after the outbreak, but it may be even longer ahead. Who knows.

[capncnut]

From what I understand, Dawn is set 3 weeks after Night, Day a year after Dawn and Land 3-5 years after Night. Phew!

[Danny]

oh dear god, please not another "is day before land" thread.

there is one in the land seciton that states which one came first with proof.

search engine people.

[Andy]

my personal take is that night is a couple of days after the initial outbreak, dawn begins around the same time as night, and lasts for about 6-7 months, and that day begins where dawn leaves off and lasts for a few days only.. and land is a bull**** mistake GAR made in his old age and dosn't occur on the dead timeline.

and yes if this turns into a "which comes first, land or day" topic, i will close it.

[Chakobsa]

I can feel the will to live draining out of me at the thought of another one of these threads. Wait a minute, what the hell am I doing posting in the bloody thing?:mad::p

Does it matter? Really?:rolleyes: :D. I for one can accept the very loose timeline provided simply by watching the films in the order they were made and am happy to leave it at that.

[creepntom]

ok, this topic ends now

Though never specified in the film, many believe the events of the series take place in a continued timeline beginning with Night of the Living Dead, then Dawn of the Dead a few weeks after, Day of the Dead between a few months to a year afterwards, and concluding with Land of the Dead between 3-5 years later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_of_the_dead

[Deadman_Deluxe]

A rough guide to the timeline is ALL you really need to enjoy each movie.

The amount of time which has passed since the initial outbreak at the heart of each movie, and the point at which we "join" the story, is always open to individual interpretation, more so with Day of the Dead ... but as a general rule of thumb you can not go wrong with the four three's.

NIGHT = 3 DAYS AFTER THE INITIAL OUTBREAK
DAWN = 3 WEEKS AFTER THE INITIAL OUTBREAK
DAY = 3 MONTHS AFTER THE INITIAL OUTBREAK (3-10 Months)
LAND = 3 YEARS AFTER THE INITIAL OUTBREAK




From what I understand, Dawn is set 3 weeks after Night, Day a year after Dawn and Land 3-5 years after Night. Phew!


You have misunderstood. But that is ok, this is a common misunderstanding around here. What you are attempting to do is to connect one movie to another movie, in sequential order, via a direct timeline ... this is the WRONG way to aproach and understand GARs dead movies.

The movies ALL take place in the same "universe" but do not share the same "timeline". Once you have understood that, then things should become a lot more clearer.

Instead of thinking that DAWN comes three weeks after NIGHT, you should understand that DAWN comes three weeks after the initial outbreak.

Likewise DAY would come (approx.) three months after the initial outbreak, and NOT three months after DAWN.

Just as LAND comes three years after the initial outbreak, and NOT three years after DAY.

I hope that helps some of you new guys out.

[capncnut]

A rough guide to the timeline is ALL you really need to enjoy each movie.

Words of wisdom. I have friends who have only seen Dawn and Day and none of them even question the timeframe. If somebody thinks Dawn is a year after Night or if Land is 10 years after Day then who cares right? As long as you can enjoy these movies, that's all that matters.

[tju1973]

Sorry if this has been discussed before but I want to get some clarification on the timeline in the Dead films.

Night is obviously immediately after the outbreak or at most a day later, when the number of undead has risen sufficiently to be a threat.

Dawn could be within the first week or maybe two at the start, and continues with the film ending a month or two after the initial outbreak.

Day most likley 3-6 months after the initial outbreak, maybe even a year.

Land I would say takes place at least 10 years after the outbreak, maybe even 20+ as slade says she's never been outside of the city until she does with Riley.

What do you guys think, have I got it right? If not what is correct! Thanks


SOme say night,dawn,day, land....some say night,dawn,land, day..

me, I watch them in al lf'd up order and take them as parts to one big story..and enjoy them for what they are---

movies.:shifty:

[Danny]

Does it matter? Really?:rolleyes:

damn straight.

it doesnt by the way, or if romero stuck them in a proper "timeline" then the zombies would be piles of crap by land.



and if someones about to do a rake yohn and jump in and say "well actually the rate of decompsition...", stop .think before you do, how would you know said information?:rockbrow:

[Philly_SWAT]

Here is my take ssbib. First of all, I must say that I disagree with this quote from Deadman Deluxe
The movies ALL take place in the same "universe" but do not share the same "timeline". Once you have understood that, then things should become a lot more clearer.
I agree that the movies do all take place in the same universe, but I think that the very definition of that means they also take place in the same timeline. The four stories are not necesarily connected to each other in any way, but assuming that time passes normally in the GAR zombie universe, then the stories must take place in relation to each other; the events of one movie happening either before, after, or at the same time as events in another. Here is what I think can be taken by examing the movies themselves as far as where they occur in time in relation to each other.

THE ENTIRE SERIES - It is important to note that the entire series is in fact "timeless" in and of itself. By this I mean that Night doesnt take place in 1968, or any other specific year, but more or less in "present day". Romero chose to ignore time stamps in the movies in regards to era, and just used music, clothing styles, movie techniques, etc. that were available in the time period that he made each movie. So to ask the question "what years do the events in Romero's movies take place" would require an answer of "not applicable".

NIGHT - The events in Night quite obviously start near the beginning of the outbreak. Whether it is the "first" day or not is not made clear in the movie, and is not necesary information to have to enjoy the story. It was almost prurposely left a little vague as to exactly when and why the outbreak started, as the two characters in the movie have been driving for hours with the radio not working, therefore with no access to hearing any news, and may have not been listening to any news for a while prior to making the trip to the cemetary. Suffice it to say, it is very near the intial outbreak, probably either the first or second day of the problem being known about.

DAWN - Again, using the movie as our guide, the events in Dawn take place about three weeks after the initial outbreak, which would mean about three weeks after the events seen in NIGHT. We know this because in the beginning of DAWN, Dr Foster clearly says "For three weeks, for three weeks you have not listened". He is clearly making a direct reference to the zombie problem.

DAY-LAND - Here some debate exists as to when these two movies take place in relation to each other, however, almost everyone agrees that both movies take place some time after the events in Dawn. Most people seem to think that the events in LAND take place after the events in DAY, and that the events in LAND happen 3 years after the initial outbreak, and therefore the events in DAY take place sometime between 3 weeks and 3 years after the initial outbreak. These people point to a couple of quotes in LAND where a character makes reference to "three years", specifically Cholo saying that he worked for Kaufman for three years, and the guy in the garage telling Riley that no car had driven out of there in three years. These quotes can easily be intrepreted to be making a reference as to the start of the outbreak. Unlike Dr. Foster in DAWN however, they are not specifically talking about the beginning of the problem, and therefore could also be interpreted that the events in LAND take place less than 3 years after the outbreak, or even 30 years after the outbreak started. It is all how you intrepret what the "3 years" references mean, if anything.

Even if you accept that the events in LAND take place three years after the initial outbreak, there is still some debate as to when the events in DAY take place. Some have said a year after DAWN, some have said the events are taking place at the same time as the events in DAWN, and some have said the events in DAY take place after the events in LAND. I would suggest that you examine both movies with a critical eye and make up your own mind.

Some simply believe that since LAND was made years after DAY, then obviously the events in that movie take place after the events in DAY. Others point out that STAR WARS was made many years before EPISODE I, however, the events in EPISODE I clearly take place before the events in STAR WARS, so make up your own mind as to the validity of that argument.

Some also point to the fact that GAR himself said that the events in LAND happened after the events in DAY, recently posting a link to a site where he gave an interview and said just that. Others pointed out how the site in question was to a local video rental store, and that the "interview" could have contained errors, either purposeful or accidental. And even if GAR did make those comments, you might ask yourself if Stephen Speilberg said that Schindler's List was the funniest comedy of all time, would you accept that to be true? Again, watch the films and make up your own mind.

In any event, if you are a fan of these movies, a discussion of topics like these can be worthwhile and entertaining. Some people feel that once they have made up their own mind about something, that everyone else is naturally wrong and the topic should not be discussed again. I feel that any topic should be discussed by anyone who wants to discuss it, and those who dont want to dont have to. BTW, welcome to the board ssbib.

[jimis]

what I find interesting is the technology used in each film. If the world went to pot around the end of the '60s (or a universe that was similar to the '60s), then shouldn't you assume that technological advancements would stop?

[Chakobsa]

what I find interesting is the technology used in each film. If the world went to pot around the end of the '60s (or a universe that was similar to the '60s), then shouldn't you assume that technological advancements would stop?
....Will....to....live.....fading.....as..is....a. .bility....to.....type.......at......normal...
...rate....apparently........:dead:

[Philly_SWAT]

what I find interesting is the technology used in each film. If the world went to pot around the end of the '60s (or a universe that was similar to the '60s), then shouldn't you assume that technological advancements would stop?

This post is a reply to a post that I made. I dont know if you actually read my post or not, but if you had, the answer to your question was addressed there. Here is a cut and paste.

THE ENTIRE SERIES - It is important to note that the entire series is in fact "timeless" in and of itself. By this I mean that Night doesnt take place in 1968, or any other specific year, but more or less in "present day". Romero chose to ignore time stamps in the movies in regards to era, and just used music, clothing styles, movie techniques, etc. that were available in the time period that he made each movie. So to ask the question "what years do the events in Romero's movies take place" would require an answer of "not applicable".

[jimis]

....Will....to....live.....fading.....as..is....a. .bility....to.....type.......at......normal...
...rate....apparently........:dead:

some one stand guard over this guy.... just in case;)


This post is a reply to a post that I made. I dont know if you actually read my post or not, but if you had, the answer to your question was addressed there.

i read it! I was adding weight to your arguement with a rhetorical question

[Andy]

i warned you guys.