Overview
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.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Charles Gibson - Director
Frank Darabont - Director
Tom Hanks
David Morse
Bonnie Hunt
Michael Clarke Duncan
James Cromwell
Michael Jeter
Graham Greene
Doug Hutchison
Sam Rockwell
Barry Pepper
Details
- Format: DVD (Repackaged, Amaray Case, AC-3, Dolby, Widescreen)
- Run Time: 189
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 053939273328
- Genre: DRAMA
- Rating: R (MPAA) (Violence; language)
- Release Date: May 2007
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
THE GREEN MILE, based on a Depression-era tale by Stephen King, tells the story of the unusual bond that is formed between Paul Edgecomb, a Louisiana security guard, and John Coffey, a gentle and gigantic inmate on death row.
Notes:
Theatrical release: December 10, 1999.
Most of the film was shot on the soundstage on the set of Cell Block E, the film's death row cell. The remaining scenes were shot in Nashville Tennessee, and Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Tom Hanks elected to bulk up, weight-wise, for this film so that he seemed intimidating as a prison warden.
Although Michael Clarke Duncan had previously appeared in films such as FRIDAY and BULWORTH, his role in THE GREEN MILE dramatically raised his profile.
Certain VHS and DVD versions include the behind-the-scenes documentary WALKING THE MILE.
THE GREEN MILE won People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture and Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture at the January 2001 ceremonies.
Reviews:
"...[A] powerful and meticulously crafted drama....Hanks excels..." Variety, p.56-70
"...[Hanks] is on par with his career-best work....A long walk to a worthwhile destination..." -- Rating: A- - 06/16/2000 Entertainment Weekly, p.67
"...There are several sequences of powerful emotion in the film....It tells a story with beginning, middle, end, vivid characters, humor, outrage and emotional release..." - 12/10/1999 Chicago Sun-Times, p.35