The Green Mile (Single Disc Edition)

 

 

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The Green Mile (Drama, Fantasy)
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse

Warner Bros. | 1999 | 188 min | Rated R | Released Dec 01, 2009

Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German SDH, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

Watching a Darabont movie is like entering another world. He takes his time with the story and the development of the characters. Don't expect fast cuts and short scenes; each film is a work of art that is meant to be savored.

Before I talk about the film, I have to mention a funny story. Stephen King decided to write the book in a series of six installments. King was inspired by Charles Dickens, who also liked the serial novel format. I found the first installment in a supermarket and kept the receipt. It listed the item as "Two Dead Girls" for 99 cents. It's amazing what you can buy in supermarkets these days.

The Green Mile is set in a Louisiana prison, but, unlike The Shawshank Redemption, the inmates can only interact by talking and never leave their cells to mingle. Each prisoner is condemned to death and is awaiting a meeting with Old Sparky, the electric chair.

The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer and Tom Hanks), the head warder, and the vast majority of the story is told through the use of flashback and is set in 1935. He explains how he met a huge black prisoner named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). Coffey is a simple man and seemingly gentle despite his size, but he was found guilty of murdering two little girls. His behavior doesn't do anything to suggest that he was capable of such an act.

Coffey has a secret, but I can't reveal it here without ruining the movie. His nature becomes apparent about an hour into the film and it changes everything.

The story revolves around Edgecomb's role in running the prison and how he reacts when he finds out Coffey's true nature. Prison life is fairly quiet, but Edgecomb has to deal with an annoying warder called Percy Wetmore. We are told that Wetmore has connections and so the other warders have to tolerate him or risk losing their jobs. Another thing that upsets Edgecomb's routine is the addition of a new prisoner, 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell), who likes to make as much trouble as possible.

One part of the story concerns the appearance of a mouse. The reaction of the individual warders reveals something about their own nature and it's a brilliant plot device. Unfortunately, I can't say anything more about the mouse without ruining the story.

The Green Mile isn't what it seems. It begins like a hard-hitting drama, but things change as we discover more about the characters. In the end, the story is about trust and belief. It's very powerful and some of the characters do extraordinary things. The warders, with the exception of Percy, are a close-knit group. They demonstrate the kind of trust that can only occur between close friends. The stakes are high and the story is compelling.

I'll say no more about the plot other than that the conclusion is very satisfying.

Darabont draws strong performances from every member of the cast. Hanks is superb as usual, but the story wouldn't work without Michael Clarke Duncan's performance and his Oscar nomination was well deserved. I could mention at least 15 actors who played their role to perfection. Darabont was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay and the film deserved all of the recognition it received. The mouse should have won an Oscar.

The film has a couple of disturbing scenes, such as one of the executions, but is generally a series of character studies. You'll be sucked into the story because of what the characters do, rather than for any special effects or shocking scenes. The story has a lot of heart and will stay with you long after the credits roll. At 189-minutes, many will be wary of watching the film. Don't let that put you off. Good films never feel too long, and this is a very good film.

Video Quality 4/5
The VC-1 transfer looks very good for the most part. Detail in close-ups is exceptional and, apart from a few soft scenes, detail is generally strong throughout. Black levels are problematic on occasion. Darabont uses plenty of dark shots using blacks, grays and browns. Sometimes, shadows obscure some of the detail. I'm very happy with the upgrade, but it could have been slightly better. Owners of the DVD will be relieved that the Blu-ray comfortably contains the entire film, so you won't have to flip the disc over as you did with the DVD.

Audio Quality 4/5
The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is quiet and I found myself increasing the volume by 10 decibels over my normal level. Once that adjustment was made, everything sounded clear. It's a dialogue-driven film, but the surrounds do play a part when required. Listen to the sound of the mouse running across the floor and you'll hear the fine detail in the mix. One electrocution is particularly noisy and you'll feel like it's happening right in front of you. I couldn't detect any imperfections in the track at all.

Special Features 5/5

The extras all appear in standard definition:

Commentary by Director Frank Darabont

Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile (25:30)

Miracles and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile (1:42:54) - If the commentary and "Making Of" features weren't enough, here's an in-depth look at every aspect of making the film. It's split into six parts if the running time seems daunting:

Stephen King: Storyteller
The Art of Adaptation
Acting on the Mile
Designing the Mile
The Magic of the Mile
The Tail of Mr. Jingles

Deleted Scenes (3:38) - Two scenes which didn't make it into the film.

Michael Clarke Duncan's Screen Test (8:26)

Tom Hanks' Makeup Tests (5:30)

Trailers

The Green Mile is a film about hope, trust, friendship and the power of belief. It's a stunning achievement and the story never feels boring despite the long running time. I give it a spin every three months or so and am always glad to visit that world once again. Anyone who enjoys good acting, master storytelling and emotional drama would probably find a lot to like in this film.

Overall score 5/5

This movie was a monster (3 hours long) but man o man was it excellent. Michael Clark Duncan's depiction of John Coffey was mind blowing and most of the script came right out of the Stephen King novel. Duncan's performance was so poignant I was trying hard not to cry throughout the whole movie. It was especially tough when he sat down in the electric chair and begged the hood not to be put over his eyes. It was a great movie but I recommend that you read the book before watching it.

The plot takes place on Cold Mountain Penitentairy's death row, one of the scariest and deadliest places, where "the green mile" is the walk to the electric chair. You see how the different people there, awaiting the famous chair, handles the situations, where some are happy and others are heartbreaking.
Tom Hanks plays the head prison guard, Paul Edgecomb, and one day a new prisonner, Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey, arrives, convicted of killing two nine years old sisters. He is the biggiest and stongest inmate and immediately intimidates the prison guards. But it soon turns out that Coffey is the nicest and most polite of the inmates. He's even afraid of the dark.. When Edgecomb discovers that Coffey has supernatural powers. Soon Edgecomb wonders if Coffey actually did the murders, or if he's in there as an innocent man... Edgecomb decides to find out what really happened the night the two girls were killed, but finding out the truth might not make thing any easier for him...

Tom Hanks does a great job as Paul Edgecomb, but most impressive is Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey. Together with the other actors and actresses they outdid themselves in one of the best movies I've ever seen. Stephen King wrote an excellent and the director Frank Darabont did an excellent job turning it into a movie!!
This is a story I'll never forget. The 3 hours never seemed long and boring. Great story with great acting performances. I highly recommend this movie. One of the best ones out there!

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5.0 out of 5 stars john coffey like the drink only not spelled the same
this is one of the best movies ever
it shows all about human nature
the good and bad in everybody
it really shows the difference between good and evil
it'll... Read more

Published 24 months ago

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for this product
Fast shipping, great product! Thank you so much for a great customer service. Will do business again for sure!

Published on May 24 2010 by Celine Duval

5.0 out of 5 stars A Shocking & Electrifying Film
This is the most challenging movie I've ever seen. It haunts me.
Frank Darabont is the man!, (Nightmare On Elm Street 3, The Blob, & The Shawshank Redemption). Read more

Published on May 20 2010 by Brent Hillier

5.0 out of 5 stars a mystical,supernatural journey seen through he eyes of one man
we have here another rare case of a Stephen King novel which translates
well to the big screen.i really enjoyed this story. Read more

Published on Aug 20 2007 by falcon

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching story, beautiful acting.
The other fantastic prison movie. (The first one being The Shawshank Redemption). This one is a little more magical and very touching. Do not miss it!

Published on July 17 2004 by Antonio Canas

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Good.
'The Green Mile' was long, tedious, absurd, and boring. Only for die-hard Stephen King or Tom Hanks fans.

Published on July 3 2004 by Dhaval Vyas

4.0 out of 5 stars The redemption subrreptitiously...
From all standpoits, this picture means a complex and deep sociological approach about the human behavior. Read more

Published on July 3 2004 by Hiram Gomez Pardo

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
This movie is one of the best movies out there. It is 188 minutes long but there is so much to see that you don't want it to end. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing movie- Green Mile.
I'v never saw this kind of movies, before i watch the Green Mile.
A realistic movie, that includes also the script writer's imagination. Read more

Published on Jun 7 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars There doesn't seem to be words adequate enough...
But, oh, there really are. There is rarely a movie (or a novel) today that moves me to tears. The Green Mile is one of them. Read more

Published on Jun 1 2004 by Molly

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