Fails the Bechdel test

Land of the Dead

Name: Land of the Dead
Released: 2005

2005. Directed by George A. Romero, written by George A. Romero.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 3 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

Now that zombies have taken over the world, the living have built a walled-in city to keep the dead out. But all's not well where it's most safe, as a revolution plans to overthrow the city leadership, and the zombies are turning into more advanced creatures.

Released: 24 Jun 2005
Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.2 / 10
Metascore: 71 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 17 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Riley 115 lines, man
Cholo 79 lines, man
Kaufman 39 lines, man
Slack 39 lines, woman
Charlie 36 lines, man
Iley 19 lines
Knipp 12 lines, man
Foxy 9 lines, man
Holo 9 lines
Mike 8 lines, man

Full cast, 76 people

Simon Baker as Riley
John Leguizamo as Cholo
Dennis Hopper as Kaufman
Asia Argento as Slack
Robert Joy as Charlie
Eugene Clark as Big Daddy
Joanne Boland as Pretty Boy
Tony Nappo as Foxy
Jennifer Baxter as Number 9
Boyd Banks as Butcher
Tony Munch as Anchor
Shawn Roberts as Mike
Sasha Roiz as Manolete
Krista Bridges as Motown
Alan van Sprang as Brubaker
Phil Fondacaro as Chihuahua
Bruce McFee as Mulligan
Earl Pastko as Roach
Jonathan Whittaker as Sutherland
Peter Outerbridge as Styles
Lara Amersey as Dead Teenage Girl
Matt Birman as Kaufman's Security Guard
Devon Bostick as Brian
Christopher Russell as Barrett
Richard Clarkin as Steele
David Sparrow as Arena Policeman
Ted Ludzik as Weapons Storage Guard
Sandy Kellerman as Kissing Woman
Erica Olsen as Cheerleader Zombie
Simon Pegg as Photo Booth Zombie
Edgar Wright as Photo Booth Zombie
Greg Nicotero as Bridgekeeper Zombie
Tom Savini as Machete Zombie
Pedro Miguel Arce as Pillsbury
Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Mouse
Jasmin Geljo as Tambourine Man
Gene Mack as Knipp
Christopher Allen Nelson as Veteran Soldier
Debra Felstead as Female Soldier
Tina Romero as "High Noon" Soldier
Colm Magner as Guard at the "Throat"
Scott Wickware as Guard at the "Throat"
Ron Payne as Hobo
Darrin Brown as Bettor
Eldridge Hyndman as Deke
James Binkley as Grenade Soldier
Dawne Furey as Topless Dancer
Donna Croce as Kissing Woman
Heidi von Palleske as Woman
David Stinson as Young Man
Trevor Bain as Security Man
Dwayne McLean as Hanged Man Zombie
Wilbert Headley as Dead Tuba Player
Ross Sferrazza as Dead Trombone Player
Liise Keeling as Zombie Mother
Sonia Belley as Zombie Daughter
Chad Camilleri as Refrigerator Zombie
Gino Crognale as Policeman Zombie
Shane Cardwell as Fence Fry Zombie
Kevin Rushton as Arena Fight Zombie
Nick Alachiotis as Arena Fight Zombie
James Canton as Child Zombie
Ermes Blarasin as Clown Zombie
Jake McKinnon as Hillside Zombie
Susan Wloszczyna as Temperance Street Zombie
David Campbell as Legless Zombie
Joey Luthman as Zombie
George A. Romero as Puppeteer (voice) (uncredited)
John Migliore as Zombie (uncredited)
Gary Ugarek as Earless Fence Zombie (uncredited)
Jovanka Vuckovic as Zombie (uncredited)
Jonathan Walker as Cliff Woods
Michael Belisaro as Dead Teenage Boy
Jason Gautreau as Gus
Matthew Blazi as Zombie (uncredited)
Adam Alleca as Zombie (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 19% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 157

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 4	0	4
5 to 8	0	3
9 to 12	2	25
13 to 16	0	3
17 to 20	0	4
21 to 24	0	6
25 to 28	0	9
29 to 32	1	12
33 to 36	0	18
37 to 40	3	15
41 to 44	9	38
45 to 48	0	11
49 to 52	0	8
53 to 56	0	14
57 to 60	0	17
61 to 64	8	28
65 to 68	5	24
69 to 72	4	7
73 to 76	1	3
77 to 80	0	6
81 to 84	0	1
85 to 88	0	9
89 to 92	1	11
93 to 96	1	14
97 to 100	0	5
101 to 104	0	5
105 to 108	0	1
109 to 112	0	5
113 to 116	0	5
117 to 120	3	15
121 to 124	2	4
125 to 128	1	1
129 to 132	2	4
133 to 136	0	0
137 to 140	2	12
141 to 144	1	6
145 to 148	0	1
149 to 152	1	3
153 to 156	1	3
157 to 157	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 12 are women's.

48 lines from women, 360 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 56 men in the cast. 3 women and 23 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 32 of 504. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 64 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (418), men 90% (3,646). Women have 12% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: George A. Romero (man)
Written by: George A. Romero (man)
Produced by: Bernie Goldmann (man), Mark Canton (man), Peter Grunwald (gender not listed)
Shot by: Mirosław Baszak (man)
Edited by: Michael Doherty (man)
Music by: Johnny Klimek (man), Reinhold Heil (man)
Production design by: Arvinder Greywal (man)
Costumes by: Alex Kavanagh (woman)
Cast by: Marci Liroff (woman)