The Green Mile (1999)

The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Frank Darabont (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse

Top 250 #64 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Paul Edgecomb
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	John Coffey
David Morse	...	Brutus 'Brutal' Howell
Bonnie Hunt	...	Jan Edgecomb
James Cromwell	...	Warden Hal Moores
Michael Jeter	...	Eduard Delacroix
Graham Greene	...	Arlen Bitterbuck
Doug Hutchison	...	Percy Wetmore
Sam Rockwell	...	'Wild Bill' Wharton
Barry Pepper	...	Dean Stanton
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Harry Terwilliger
Patricia Clarkson	...	Melinda Moores
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Toot-Toot
Dabbs Greer	...	Old Paul Edgecomb
Eve Brent	...	Elaine Connelly

Storyline

Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930's, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has a special gift.

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Plot Keywords:

Prison | Death Row | Prison Guard | 1930s | Murder | 

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Taglines:

Miracles happen in the most unexpected places.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sex-related material

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

10 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Green Mile

Filming Locations:

Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£83,473 (UK) (25 February 2000)

Gross:

AUD 7,730,847 (Australia) (15 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Darkwoods Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

189 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early in the film Paul yells at Percy to "Get the fuck off my block", but it was later re-dubbed to "Get the hell off my block".

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Goofs

When John Coffey first enters the bedroom in the warden's house, the warden's wife's nightgown is pulled up somewhere halfway her thigh. In the next shot, a few seconds later it covers her knee again.

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Quotes

William 'Wild Bill' Wharton: [Brutus Howell hands out cold sodas to the other guards] Hey, hey, I'm gonna get some too, ain't I?
Brutus "Brutal" Howell: My ass you get some too.
Paul Edgecomb: What makes you think you deserve any?
William 'Wild Bill' Wharton: [mutters] 'Cause I got a big pecker...

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Connections

Referenced in Prisoner (2007)
mentioned in newspaper article

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Soundtracks

"Charmaine"
Written by Lew Pollack and Erno Rapee
Performed by Mantovani
Courtesy of LaserLight Digital and San Juan Music Group by arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

A profoundly moving experience.

THE GOOD:

--The story to the film on the outside appears astoundingly simple, though once inside the film and into the plot, there is a lot more to the eye than what appears. Death Row in the olden days might sound like a boring setting for a film, but there are many intricate webs of storyline and a number of surprises and twists along the way, many which had me gasping aloud.

--"The Green Mile" is easily one of the most dramatic films I've ever seen. It's because we care so much for these characters (even a mouse!) that the events of the film are so affecting. I cared about everyone (who's not a bastard) so much and I was enthralled to see how the film would be resolved. Mix this with a number of absolutely tear-inducing scenes (the final 15 minutes especially) and you have what is nothing less than a masterfully constructed drama.

--Death Row is the setting for this film, and death row is not a place where bunnies dance around singing happy-happy joy-joy. Darabont knows the audience is aware of this, and makes the old death row set gritty and atmospheric, dripping with dread just as it should. The execution sequences are not taken lightly either, in fact many will find them extremely hard to watch, as they are very graphic.

--Characterisations and performances are a definite good point of this film, a lot of the time the performances are what drives the story. Tom Hanks is terrific as usual, injecting a lot of emotion into the character. I especially liked the way he played his character's silent suffering with God's judgement of his life. David Morse was very underrated for his performance here, personally I thought he was extremely effective and added a little something to many scenes. Patricia Clarkson was moving, Bonnie Hunt was lovely, James Cromwell was good as always.but there's no secret that the real revelation here is within Michael Clarke Duncan's absolutely fascinating performance as John Coffey (like the drink, only not spelt the same). His child-like manners are so touching to watch, the character is so sweet, but Duncan makes him so much more memorable. He does more than just cry in the film, he transfixes you with every glance as the gentle giant John. Damn, if it weren't for Haley Joel, Duncan would easily be my favourite supporting actor performance of 1999.

--This movie just proves how much director Frank Darabont can do with such little setting. For example, how many neat camera angles and cinematography techniques can you think of for the setting of death row? Not many.but Darabont utilises his setting and pulls off some truly wonderful cinematography that catches the sometimes magical and at others truly horrific feeling of the green mile. The performances by the cast also show how much effect a great director can project on a performance, or several.

THE BAD:

--At just over 3 hours, "The Green Mile" is a little over-long, and you get the feeling a few scenes could've been cut down to make the film run a little smoother pace-wise.

RATING:

9/10 - Frank Darabont's second outing is a profoundly moving film experience.

IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE I RECOMMEND:

Forrest Gump (10/10) Frailty (9/10) The Hurricane (9/10) Monster's Ball (9/10) The Shawshank Redemption (10/10)