| Director: | Daniel Petrie Jr. |
| Composer: | Jonathan Goldsmith |
| Producer: | John Kemeny |
| Cinematography: | Thomas Burstyn |
| Editor: | Ronald Sanders |
| Runtime: | 99 minutes |
| Network: | HBO |
Dead Silence is a 1997 Canadian-American crime thriller television film directed by Daniel Petrie Jr. and written by Donald E. Stewart, based on the 1995 novel A Maiden's Grave by Jeffery Deaver.[1] [2] The film stars James Garner, Kim Coates, Marlee Matlin, and Lolita Davidovich.
A veteran FBI agent negotiates the release of a bus load of hearing impaired school children taken hostage by three desperate escaped convicts.
Dead Silence premiered on HBO during January 1997. That year the film was also released on VHS in Australia,[3] the UK and several other countries.
A few months after its HBO premiere, the film was screened at the 1997 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, despite being a made for TV production. It also received a theatrical release in Japan.[2]
It was released on DVD in the USA in 2005, and in 2007 in Australia.[4]
In their June 1997 review, Variety labelled it "strictly for undemanding thriller fans",[2] and commented that, "For most of its length, Dead Silence is a routine hostage drama, though a couple of plot twists in the final reel, while implausible, enliven the hitherto mundane fodder."[2]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 12th Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Kim Coates | |
| Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series | Ronald Sanders | |||
| Best Sound in a Dramatic Program or Series | David Evans Lou Solakofski Orest Sushko Dan Latour Tony Currie David Rose Steve Baine David Yonson John Douglas Smith Clive Turner | |||
| Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series | Jonathan Goldsmith | |||