Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-10-30
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, German, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Arabic, Finnish, Romanian, Bulgarian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 188 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
"The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of films. The Green Mile is Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison drama The Shawshank Redemption was the first) and is a very faithful adaptation of King's serial novel. In the middle of the Depression, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) runs death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Into this dreary world walks a mammoth prisoner, John Coffey (Michael Duncan) who, very slowly, reveals a special gift that will change the men working and dying (in the electric chair, masterfully and grippingly staged) on the mile.

As with King's book, Darabont takes plenty of time to show us Edgecomb's world before delving into John Coffey's mystery. With Darabont's superior storytelling abilities, his touch for perfect casting, and a leisurely 188-minute running time, his film brings to life nearly every character and scene from the novel. Darabont even improves the novel's two endings, creating a more emotionally satisfying experience. The running time may try patience, but those who want a story, as opposed to quick-fix entertainment, will be rewarded by this finely tailored tale. --Doug Thomas

Synopsis
Director Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison tale (the first being 1994's nearly flawless THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) is a hopeful charmer with a hint of the supernatural. The story focuses on Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), a Louisiana security guard who works on death row during the Great Depression. When John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a gigantic black man convicted of raping and murdering two white girls, joins the other prisoners on the row, Paul's life is forever altered. Coffey doesn't fit the mold of a psychopathic killer; he's kind, gentle, and afraid of the dark. As the story progresses, Edgecomb learns that there is something more than simple goodness to Coffey. Building to a hopeful climax, Darabont once again proves that he is King's most loyal cinematic translator. The film features uniformly excellent performances in leading and supporting roles, notably Duncan as Coffey; David Morse and Barry Pepper as Hanks's fellow prison guards; and Michael Jeter as condemned killer Edward Delacroix.

Customer Reviews

Not enough stars to rate this film
It would take all the stars in the sky to measure how enjoyable, emotive, shocking, heartstopping, funny and mind occupying this film is. I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as wept my heart out, to this film. The emotions extracted from you throughout this film are provided by the magnificent talents of the director Frank Darabont and numerous mesmerising actors. Frank Darabont preformed a miracle as Screen Writer when interpreting Stephen King's novel. I forget how a few simple words can give you goosebumps when written, and said, in just the right way.

Each character has their personality and traits highlighted, some good, some bad and some very very bad. All the actors constantly unveil their talent by making the audience understand completely how their characters are feeling and what their intent is.

This story incorporates the present day and memories from the 1930s as Paul Edgecomb's (Hanks) intense tale unfolds. The scenes of the outside prison, the cells and of course 'old sparky' where the prisoner's are executed are so cleverly filmed from an amazing set. Look out for a range of brilliant camera angles, which even to my untrained eye looked clever.

Of course this film contains those emotion packed narrative speeches by the principle chararter, but don't assume they will be tacky and unheartfelt as this would be the biggest misjudgement you could make. Each word is relevent and is expressed so genuinely.

Lastly I defy anyone not to recognise the acting talent displayed in this fine film, especially from Sam Rockwell (William 'Wild Bill' Wharton) who's cheeky behaviour is both funny as well as cringingly awful, and Doug Hutchison (Percy Wetmore) who displays such intense feeling and attitude ranging from his arrogance, naivity, obsessiveness, fear and embarassment during the story.

Please do yourself a favour and when you think you're ready to be blown away from every angle and have all your emotions tried and tested, then please please make an effort to watch this film. You will not be disappointed... unless you have no heart.

Only after you've watched it will you too realise that there are just not enough stars in the sky for this unforgettable film.

Surprisingly brilliant
When I got this DVD I was dreading sitting through the best part of 3 hours of dreary, dull America in the depression, how wrong could I have been. I was gripped from the very beginning, all of the actors, not just Tom Hanks, made their characters totally believable. The storyline is simply magic, in more ways than one! And is dealt with superbly. Paul, Hanks' Character has, at one stage a severe bladder infection and you can almost feel his pain and discomfort.
You can also feel the fear and dread of the prisoners when they have to face the 'Chair'. the compassion shown by the warders only highlights the awfull reality of the execution, though one of them is, shall we say, a little over cooked!
As the secret of John Coffey is slowly revealed you become more and more gripped by the film, I didn't want this film to end, three hours may seem a long time for a film but I could have sat through six hours of this if I could.
I feel that the music used deserves a mention too, the soundtrack is wonderfully understated and counterpoints the acting beautifully.
For me this is a film I will watch again and again, buy this film and enjoy, you won't be sorry.

Worth Seeing, Even if There ARE Some Problems...
Such a great film is The Green Mile, which is based on the six-part novelette by Stephen King. yes, I can hear some of you now: "Stephen King? No way would I watch such a thing!" But in this case, you would be wrong, as the story, faithfully adapted to film, and the acting are beyond reproach, IMO.

I'm not much of a Stephen King novel fan (Carrie and The Shining took care of that), but I did a bit of research on the novel to see how it corresponded/not corresponded to the film. Apparently, King issued the Green Mile as a series of 6 short stories/semi-novels from 1995-1996, which were later combined into one long novel which became the film. The continuity of the film is done amazing well, when one considers its origins.

The Green Mile is a flashback story of a Paul Edgecomb, a one-time upper ranked correctional officer at Cold Mountain Prison in Louisiana, whose work area was "The Green Mile," the long corridor of jail cells set aside for men destined for execution. His story/ies take place in 1935, so during the depths of the Depression, which hit the South and Midwest at its hardest. Like funeral parlor workers, correctional officers are not without work, though the threat of firing/layoff always hangs heavy over all the correctional officers' heads throughout the film.

The story revolves around Edgecomb's correctional charges, but most particularly around a prisoner name John Coffey ("...like the drink, only not spelt the same," says Coffey [Michael Duncan Clark] upon arrival). Condemned for the brutal rape/murder of two little Louisiana girls, it doesn't take Edgecomb (brilliantly played by Tom Hanks in a dramatic role worth his muster) long to realise that the man and the act don't seem to correspond.

The film takes time to develop each character, which I always enjoy: Edgecomb's fellow officers are decent upstanding men with a tough job, but they do it well - combining their jobs into father-confessors and tough disciplinarians, but never forgetting that, except by the grace of God, they could easily be behind those bars as well. Certain "nemesis" characters are also well-developed - for example, Percy Wetmore [Doug Hutchison], the nephew of the governor's wife, whose purpose in being a correctional officer becomes clear by midway through the film. More chilling is the prisoner William Wharton [Sam Rockwell], aka "Wild Bill/Billy the Kid" (the references are explained in the film) who hides a secret beyond his evil deeds known to the officers. As in the case of many King films, Wharton's character looks eerily like Stephen King himself (I have always suspected it's written into movie contracts with King that at least one character must faintly resemble him).

However, the enigma of the film (and its main thrust) is the character of John Coffey - a slow, child-like mountain of a man played with pathos and and earthiness. Like Wharton, he too has a secret to hide, but as this slowly reveals itself, it is far more uplifting than that of the former.

The film (rated 18(UK), corresponding to its R rating in the US) runs 188 minutes (slightly over 3 hours), but the story is so intriguing, you rarely notice the length (in many ways, you want the story to keep going). There is obviously some violence (it's a prison, after all, as the main locus) including three executions in the old-style electric chair of the times (one such execution is really quite graphic and worth fast-fowarding after about a minute or so, as you'll get the point). However, none of the violence is, IMO, gratuitous and merely advances the points of the story.

Be on the lookout for a few continuity/errors on the film, which are worth noting here: the most serious "factual errors" I happened to note, as a Southerner, were in geography and premise: the movie is set in Louisiana, with the prison is called "Cold Mountain Penitentiary." In the opening prison scenes, the backdrop is a set of weathered, tree-covered mountains similar to the Blue Ridge or Smokey Mountains of the Southeastern U. S. However, there are no mountains of any kind in the state of Louisiana. The highest point in the state of Louisiana is 535 ft. above sea level, and is in the far northern part of Louisiana, right near the Arkansas/Louisiana state line (however, to be fair, this does appear to be the part of the state where the film is set). Further, set in 1935, this film depicts executions in Louisiana being carried out by electrocution, but the Louisiana Legislature did not change the method of execution from hanging to electrocution until 1940. Additionally, executions were carried out at local courthouses in Louisiana until 1957, when they were moved to a specific state prison.

The only other anachronism/error I noted was that, in 1935, it was highly unlikely that a radio station in Depression-era Louisiana would give airplay to a Billie Holiday record. Timewise, this film was set 2 years before the death of black singer Bessie Smith, who died in 1937, while on the way to a show in Memphis when she was killed in a car accident in rural Tennessee. The rumours surrounding her death still persist: it is said Smith bled to death because Jim Crow Laws in the South prohibited a white hospital from accepting a black patient, and Smith was turned away, to die in a black hospital in Mississippi some 50+ miles away. IMO, it's important to note this since, as great singers as Smith and Holiday were, sadly, neither were known by radio airplay for white audiences during their lifetime (most of their white audience popularity occured only from occasional live performances at mixed clubs, but actually grew after their respective deaths).

In all, The Green Mile is film worth seeing. Nominated for 4 Oscars in 2000 (and sadly outbid that year by The Cider House Rules), and winner of 13 prestigious film awards, including the People's Choice Awards, this film will intrigue you, challenge what you think you know about good vs. evil, life vs. death, and whether miracles still occur.