The Green Mile (1999)

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Frank Darabont (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Miracles do happen.

Plot:

The story about the lives of guards on death row leading up to the execution of black man accused of child murder & rape, who has the power of faith healing.

Plot Keywords:

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

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 13 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

Also Known As:

"Stephen King's The Green Mile" - USA (complete title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

189 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) (TV rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | India:A | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

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".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Paul and Brutal place Percy in the straitjacket, they are using one with buckles. Straitjackets that use buckles were not introduced until the 1980's. Before then, they were the type that laced up through eyelets.

Quotes:

Arlen Bitterbuck:Do you believe that if a man repents enough for what he done wrong, than he'll get to go back to the time that was happiest for him and live there forever? Could that be what heaven's like?
Paul Edgecomb:I just about believe that very thing.
Arlen Bitterbuck:I had a young wife when I was eighteen. We spent the summer in the mountains, made love every night. After we would talk sometimes till the sun came up, and she'd lay there, bare breasted in the fire light... that was my best time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Madea Goes to Jail (2009)

Soundtrack:

Charmaine

A rare gem of casting and direction.

Frank Darabont returns to the directors chair with another adaptation of Stephen Kings novel. The events take place at a death row, the guards call the green mile. The story is a layered, rather character-driven fantasy tale of the events that transpire at "the mile" after the arrival of a giant man, John Coffey (Michael Duncan), convicted of the murder of two small girls. Actually this is not one single story, but several tied together seamlessly.

A character-driven movie requires a lot from the cast, and fortunately when it comes to cast, The Green Mile delivers. As the poster of the movie tells, this movie stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, senior prison guard of the mile, and as always he performs very well indeed. Yet the cast around him is even more spectacular, perhaps partially due to them being relatively unknown. With a face you know, one inevitably remembers previous performances, and the new role is coloured by this. Doug Hutchison as Percy Wetmore, a mean spirited prison guard was particularly impressive, yet his character could have been given more depth. The most captivating was the performance of Michael Duncan.

It is hard to find a flaw in this movie. The camerawork is superb, cast wonderful and direction flawless. The movie's considerable length, a bit over three hours, is something that had me worried. Yet the marvellous cast and the peaceful yet firm pace of the movie held my attention progressively through the three hours right to the touching culmination. Many will find this movie to be too long, but I for one was delighted of the style, combination of simplicity of events and depth of characters and conversation.

All in all the The Green Mile is a very touching drama, with the joys and sorrows of the life pictured with great skill, if not the best movie of the year. Five out of five.