The Green Mile (1999) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error 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: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 36 titles created 14 Jan 2012 a list of 28 titles created 26 Aug 2012 a list of 38 titles created 09 Sep 2013 a list of 24 titles created 19 Jan 2014 a list of 21 titles created 16 Apr 2015 Title: The Green Mile (1999) 8.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 30 nominations. See more awards » Videos Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him. Director: Robert Zemeckis Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. Director: Steven Spielberg When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. Director: Ridley Scott Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. Director: David Fincher A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims. Director: Jonathan Demme Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.

Director: Frank Darabont An insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker, forming an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more. Director: David Fincher A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did. Director: Tony Kaye When his secret bride is executed for assaulting an English soldier who tried to rape her, William Wallace begins a revolt against King Edward I of England. Director: Mel Gibson A thief, who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO. Director: Christopher Nolan The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

Director: Quentin Tarantino Edit 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. Written by Guy Johns Miracles do happen. See more » Genres: Rated R for violence, language and some sex-related material | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 10 December 1999 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Stephen King's The Green Mile See more » Filming Locations: $18,017,152 (USA) (10 December 1999) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia When Stephen King visited the set of this film, he asked to be strapped into Old Sparky to see how it felt. He did not like it and asked to be released. See more » Goofs During prison scenes the guards are wearing sidearms. Real prison guards would not wear sidearms in the prison population for fear that one of the inmates might grab it and hold the guard hostage or kill the guard. See more » Quotes Hal : It's a tumor, Paul. A brain tumor.

[pause] Hal : They got X-ray pictures of it. The size of a lemon, they said... way deep down inside where they can't operate. [pause] Hal : I haven't told her. I can't think of how. [he starts crying] Hal : For the life of me, Paul, I can't think of how to tell my wife... she's going to die! See more » Crazy Credits There are no opening credits after the title has been shown, followed by the opening scene for place of film. Although it is now commonplace for films to not have opening credits, in 1999 it was somewhat rather unusually and it was considered for a trademark of director Frank Darabont. See more » Connections See more » Frequently Asked Questions True to the book, which is odd for a movie. 15 December 1999 | by Matt-231 – See all my reviews Having seen the movie, The Green Mile, and read the novel of the same name by Stephen King, I am glad to say that the movie stays true to the book, which in itself is a great read.

I read the book in one setting about a year ago, and after seeing the movie, I didn't see one scene from the book, or one plot point, left out. There were a few minor changes from the book but which in no way detract from either work. As far as performances, I can imagine many people pointing to Michael Duncan as John Coffey or Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb as the best performances of the movie, and they are good, but I would hope that Michael Jeter would receive recognition for portraying Eduard Delacroix. He plays Delacroix exactly as I pictured him when I read the book. I can very well see why King himself said this is his favorite of the movies adapted from his novels. It is the only one played out as he had written it. I wouldn't compare this movie or the book to (Rita Hayworth and) The Shawshank Redemption because that would be unfair to both. They are both great, but are both different. The Green Mile isn't a movie about hope and friendship, as The Shawshank Redemption was, it is a movie about a miracle of a man, and the people he affects.

But like The Shawshank Redemption, I give The Green Mile 4 out of 4 stars. Great story, great cast, great look. 225 of 257 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes The Green Mile | Moviepedia | Fandom powered by Wikia Gross $136.8 million (USA) The Green Mile is a 1999 film , directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novel The Green Mile . The film stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey. The movie is primarily about Paul Edgecomb and his life as a prison guard on the death row in the 1930s. The movie is told in flashback by Paul Edgecomb in a nursing home and follows a string of supernatural and metaphysical events apon the arrival of tried and convicted murderer John Coffey. In the 2000 Academy Awards the movie was nominated for four awards (Best Actor In A Supporting Role, Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced or Published) but failed to win a single one. Contents Spoiler warning: The following contains plot details about the entire movie.

The Green Mile is a story told in "flashback" by an elderly Paul Edgecomb in a nursing home. He tells a friend about the summer of 1935 when he was a prison guard in charge of death row inmates. His domain was called "The Green Mile" because the linoleum floor was green. The star of the cellblock was " Old Sparky ", the electric chair , sitting peacefully, waiting for his next victim. One day, a new inmate arrives. He is seven-foot-tall John Coffey, a black man convicted of raping and killing two young white girls. Coffey immediately shows himself to be a "gentle giant", keeping to himself and being moved to tears on occasion. Soon enough, Coffey reveals his extraordinary healing powers by healing Paul Edgecomb's urinary infection and bringing a mouse back from the dead. At the same time, Percy Wetmore, a vicious, sadistic guard who takes pleasure in intimidating and injuring inmates, exasperates everyone else in the cellblock. However, he "knows people in high places," preventing Paul or anybody else from doing anything significant to curb his deviant behavior.

What Percy wants is to be put "up front" for (i.e., in charge of) an execution; then, he promises, he will transfer himself to another government job and Paul will never hear from him again. Cast And Credits Edit "I couldn't help it, boss. I tried to take it back, but it was too late." - Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey "The man is mean, careless, and stupid. Bad combination in a place like this." - Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb "I just can't see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child. - Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb Trivia Edit Originally set in 1932, the timeframe was bumped up to 1935 so the 1935 film Top Hat could be featured. The prison guards wear uniforms to give the movie a better feel, even though uniforms weren't in use at the time in which the movie is set.

The music played over the loudspeakers in the retirement home as Old Paul Edgecomb first walks out of his room is the same as the music the nurses played at medication time in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ( 1975 ). Originally, Tom Hanks was going to play the Old Paul Edgecomb but the makeup tests didn't make him look credible enough to be an elderly man. Dabbs Greer was cast instead as the older Paul Edgecomb. By the time Paul introduced Elaine to Mr. Jingles, the mouse would have to be at least 64 years old - over nine times the age of the oldest ever known real mouse. It is however inferred in the book that this longevity is a side effect of John Coffeys resurection of the mouse earlier in the story. While many of Stephen King's novels are set in the author's native Maine, The Green Mile takes place in Louisiana. However, the surname of the main character--Edgecomb--is the name of a town on Maine's mid-coast.

The electric chair featured in the film was built from the original designs of an electric chair named "Old Sparky" which is part of the museum/tour of the Moundsville State Penitentiary in West Virginia. The prison was one of the finalists for the final shooting location. The plot unfolds in the form of Paul telling Elaine the story of the Green Mile. In the book, Paul writes his story down in the form of a novel. At the end of the film, as Paul leaves the cemetery after Elaine's burial, a tombstone can be seen behind him that reads "Greene", and two others, one in the foreground and one to the right of the screen, that read "Story". Deviations from source material Edit The Green Mile is, for the most part, faithful to Stephen King's original novel. There are, however, a few slight alterations. The novel is a written story, delivered by the elderly Edgecombe to his fellow nursing home patient, Elaine. Each of the six volumes includes both an entry in the Green Mile story, as well as brief bookend scenes taking place in a modern day nursing home.

These scenes included not only Paul's relationshp with Elaine, but also his interaction with a sadistic employee, Brad Dolan, who reminds him of Percy Wetmore, his Green Mile co-worker. It is these interactions that cause him to remember 1933, his last year on the Mile. In the film, Brad Dolan is left out completely, and the bookend sequences only take place at the very beginning and end of the movie. Instead of Dolan, it is watching the 1935 film Top Hat that provokes the flashback, and this film is added to the main storyline as well, in which John Coffey's last request is to be able to see a motion picture before he is executed. In the book, Hal Moores has an assistant named Curtis Anderson. He does not appear in the film, and his lines and scenes are given to Moores instead. Other inmates of the Green Mile who did not have speaking roles, and are inconsequential to the plot, are also omitted. The first and second volumes of the book are told out of chronological order. The first book begins with the arrival of John Coffey, and provides details of the murder for which he is convicted.

At this point in time, inmate Eduard Delacroix already has his pet mouse, Mr. Jingles, and another inmate, Arlen Bitterbuck, has already been executed. The second book goes back in time, to before Coffey is brought in, to explain where Mr. Jingles came from, and who Bitterbuck was. The film re-arranges these events so that Coffey's arrival is the first event to take place, and all others follow it. Featured Video 'The Green Mile' remains among best Stephen King adaptations | NOLA.com 'The Green Mile' remains among best Stephen King adaptations In the never-ending quest for cinematic gems hidden in the weekly TV listings, here's what I'll be watching (or at least recording) this week: 'The Green Mile' What: "The Green Mile," director Frank Darabont's 1999 adaptation of Stephen King's death row novel, starring Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks. When: Saturday (Setp. 26) at 6 p.m., and repeated at 9:30 p.m. Where: Bravo.

Why: Any credible conversation about the best movie based on a King work has to include this multiple Oscar nominee -- along with "The Shawshank Redemption," "Stand by Me," "Misery" and "The Shining." Below, find The Times-Picayune's original reviews of "The Green Mile," "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Misery." DIRECTOR RETURNS TO PRISON FOR STUNNING 'GREEN MILE' By Michael Kleinschrodt, The Times-Picayune Friday, December 10, 1999 Horror meister Stephen King sends movie director Frank Darabont back to prison for "The Green Mile, " a haunting story set on Louisiana Death Row in 1935. The movie repeats the success the team enjoyed with 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption," an upliftin Tom Hanks, left, and Michael Clarke Duncan in 'The Green Mile.' THE GREEN MILE3.5 stars, out of 4 Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, Doug Hutchison, Michael Jeter and Sam Rockwell Credits: Written and directed by Frank Darabont; based on the novel by Stephen King. A Warner Bros. release.

3 hours 8 minutes Rating: R, for language, violence, graphic executions by electric chair, gore and sexual situations Where: Joy, Esplanade, Palace, Hammond Palace, Galleria, Belle Promenade, Aurora, Eastlake, Chalmette, Holiday 12 g prison drama that starred Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. In "The Green Mile, " an old musical on television triggers traumatic memories for a nursing home resident who tells a friend about his days as the chief guard on Death Row at the fictional Louisiana State Penitentiary at Cold Mountain, near Vicksburg, Miss. The movie's title comes from the long, green-tiled hallway through which inmates must walk on their way to the electric chair. Guard Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is doing the best he can in the only job he could get at the height of the Great Depression. He treats those on Death Row - both the inmates and his fellow guards - with dignity and fairness. He faces a crisis of conscience when John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a mentally impaired gentle giant, is sentenced to die for the rape and murder of two young girls.

When Edgecomb realizes that Coffey possesses a special gift, he comes to doubt the man's guilt despite the overwhelming evidence against Coffey. As if that's not enough to fry Edgecomb's brain, he also has to control sadistic (but politically connected) guard Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), psychopathic inmate William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell) and Cajun inmate Eduard "Del" Delacroix (Michael Jeter), who has turned a mouse into Death Row's mascot, Mr. Jingles. As you'd expect, Hanks is magnificent as the conflicted guard. No doubt he'll be nominated for an Oscar - again. I only hope his nomination doesn't come at Duncan's expense. Duncan, who has played bouncers in "Bulworth" and "A Night at the Roxbury" and a spacebound roustabout in "Armageddon, " is a revelation as the condemned Coffey. Nothing in his previous roles suggests the subtlety and richness of emotion he achieves in "The Green Mile." Hutchison and Jeter also turn in particularly memorable performances.

Hutchison, who is best known as one of the redneck rapists in "A Time To Kill" and as liver-eating mutant Eugene Toomes on television's "The X-Files, " could well capture an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in "The Green Mile." Like Ralph Fiennes' character in "Schindler's List, " Hutchison's Wetmore is evil personified as he gets a little too much enjoyment out of chanting "dead man walking" and sabotaging the electric chair to make executions more painful. In fact, this may be the movie's only downside. The depictions of the electrocutions are graphic, extremely so in one case. Consider yourself warned. (I'll overlook the movie's unseemly preoccupation with Edgecomb's bladder infection early on.) It's a testament to the movie's quality that so many A-list actors appear in small roles, including James Cromwell, Gary Sinise, Graham Greene and Harry Dean Stanton. Sharp eyes will notice native New Orleanian Patricia Clarkson as Melinda Moores, Cromwell's wife. Hers is the proverbial small but pivotal role, and she handles it well.

Although the movie's running time tops three hours, audiences won't feel as if they are serving a life sentence. The performances are mesmerizing, and the story is thoroughly engrossing even if the ending doesn't quite work. 'SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION' A TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT By David Baron, The Times-Picayune Friday, October 7, 1994 There's a fine line between honest sentiment and unwelcome sentimentality, and some who see "The Shawshank Redemption" - a prison drama with an unabashedly upbeat message about the durability of the human spirit - will argue that writer-director Frank Darabont's movie crosses that line. Were this film not so beautifully fashioned and so powerfully understated, I might be tempted to agree with them. Tim Robbins in 'The Shawshank Redemption.' THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 4 stars, out of 4 Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, Mark Rolston, James Whitmore and Jeffrey DeMunn Credits: Written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on a story by Stephen King.

A Columbia release Rating: R, for violence, profanity and sexual situations Where: Galleria Instead, I suspect Darabont's 2 12 -hour feature - based on the 1982 Stephen King story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" - may be the most affecting mainstream picture about the perseverance of hope behind bars since John Frankenheimer's "Birdman of Alcatraz." This is the luminous story of a friendship that endures for two decades of grim incarceration - a friendship that helps both friends not merely to survive, but to dream. Its principals are Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a shy New England banker who has been wrongfully convicted of the murders of his unfaithful wife and her lover, and a seasoned lifer named Red (Morgan Freeman) who functions as the fixer at the maximum security facility where the tale takes place. Darabont uses the luxury of a longer-than-usual running time to develop the film's central friendship with extraordinary subtlety and care. Though Andy is an introvert and Red is at least outwardly more easygoing, both are emotionally guarded, immensely prideful men in a setting where mistrust is the order of the day.

As Andy and Red cement an unlikely bond that transcends differences of age, race and personality, mental tugs-of-war with the prison's cruel chief guard (Clancy Brown) and crafty, Bible-thumping warden (Bob Gunton) enable the younger man to improve both his own lot and that of his buddies "inside." A final determination of Andy's fate (and Red's), however, ultimately hinges on one of the more extravagant - and magical - plot twists in recent memory. Darabont's film bends the rules of prison narratives to the viewer's advantage by pursuing one major subplot (the tragic "freeing" of an aging con who's superbly played by James Whitmore) beyond the walls of the penal institution. And it takes risks with an ending that, while almost unbearably poignant, can be faulted as unnecessarily tidy. On the other hand, "The Shawshank Redemption" offers Robbins an ideal vehicle to strengthen his credentials as a serious dramatic performer . . . and allows Freeman (who deserves an Oscar nomination for his most deeply felt turn since "Driving Miss Daisy") to reaffirm his very secure stature as one of the pre-eminent screen actors of our time.

'MISERY' IS LIGHT BUT SATISFYING FARE By David Baron, The Times-Picayune Tuesday, December 4, 1990 In the new movie "Misery, " A wildly successful romance novelist named Paul Sheldon (James Caan) has just finished his latest book. But the new, untitled script isn't another in Sheldon's hugely popular Misery Chastain series. Instead, it's a personal story he has neglected writing for years because of the incessant demand for new Misery books. Kathy Bates in 'Misery.' Determined that his most beloved heroine will haunt him no longer, Sheldon has killed Misery off in the soon-to-be-published final installment of the series. But this move to show the world his "real" self is soon to have unforeseen consequences. Driving home from a snowbound Western lodge, the author is forced off the road by a fierce blizzard and plummets to the bottom of a steep ravine. He survives the crash, but blacks out before being pulled from the wreckage. And when he awakens he's in the home of his "No.

1 fan, " Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a plump middled-aged nurse bent on speeding his recovery. Alas, Sheldon's leading admirer thinks the final Misery Chastain novel is a ghastly mistake. Misery, she tells him, simply isn't supposed to die. And when the writer lets her read his latest work, she wigs out over its grittiness and profanity. Soon enough, Annie is revealed as, er, less than stable, and Sheldon, lying helpless with massive injuries, realizes he's her prisoner. So far so good in Rob Reiner's film version of "Misery, " which is what's known in the movie trade as a crowd-pleaser. Reiner's tense adaptation of Stephen King's first satisfying screen yarn in years is superbly paced, chock full of devilish plot twists and capable of lifting audiences inches off their seats.

Virtually a two-character piece (Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen play the largely gratuitous roles of a country sheriff and his wife; Lauren Bacall has a cameo as Sheldon's agent), "Misery" also benefits tremendously from Caan's finely controlled work as the writer and - above all - from Bates' extravagantly mercurial performance in a role that (as scripted by William Goldman) is sometimes too hammy for its own good. On the minus side, there are too many loopholes and unanswered questions in the movie's plot to allow "Misery" to survive even casual scrutiny of its logic. Just for starters, it strains credibility that the sheriff, who's convinced Sheldon may have survived the crash, doesn't immediately suspect the area's resident raving lunatic of complicity in the author's disappearance. Somehow, Annie has been acquitted of an almost endless string of gruesome murders; the story fails to explain why. And we never learn whether Annie had had a hand in the accident itself: The plot suggests as much, but leaves the matter maddeningly unresolved.

The verdict on "Misery, " then, is this: See it (if you don't mind the sight of some excruciatingly repellent brutality), but don't think about it for very long after you leave the theater. It's a scary but slender entertainment, and taken for more than it's worth it's likely to come apart at the seams. "Misery" has been rated R for profanity and intense violence. RELATED LINKS The Green Mile (2-DVD) (1999) Starring Tom Hanks & Michael Clarke Duncan; Directed by Frank Darabont; Warner Home Video | OLDIES.com Memorable Quotes and Dialog: "This big man is about to pull off your ears.

Aren't you going to listen to him'" - Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), regarding John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) "On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God, and he asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles...what am I gonna say' That is was my job' My job'" - Paul Edgecomb to John Coffey Entertainment Reviews: "...[A] powerful and meticulously crafted drama....Hanks excels..." Entertainment Weekly - 06/16/2000 "...[Hanks] is on par with his career-best work....A long walk to a worthwhile destination..." -- Rating: A- Chicago Sun-Times - 12/10/1999 "...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..." Product Description: 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. Description by Warner Home Video: Green Mile, The: Special Edition Miracles happen in unexpected places, even on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. There John Coffey, a prisoner with supernatural powers, brings a sense of spirit and humanity to his guards and fellow inmates.

Tom Hanks leads a stellar cast (including Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey) in this emotional, uplifting story of guards and captives; husbands and wives; prisoners and a remarkable mouse named Mr. Jingles; and, on another level, of a moviemaker and his source. Frank Darabont returns after his 1994 directorial debut The Shawshank Redemption to adapt another Stephen King tale into a crowd-pleasing entertainment nominated for four Academy Awards', including Best Picture. Plot 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. Keywords: Production 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. 30% OFF The Green Mile Review 1999 | Movie Review | Contactmusic.com The Green Mile Review By Rob Blackwelder "The Green Mile" begins with a little deja vu. Like Tom Hanks ' last mid-Century, Oscar-baiting drama, "Saving Private Ryan," it's bookended by a modern framework that finds an old man reluctantly reminiscing about a difficult year of his life, more than half a century ago. Because of the familiar faces and the similar prestige posturing, this platitudinous structure invites a little eye-rolling as Dabbs Greer (Reverend Alden on "Little House On the Prairie"), playing the aged Hanks, begins to spin what becomes an engrossing three-hour yarn about a year of extraordinary horrors and miracles on death row in a Louisiana state penitentiary.

Hanks plays prison guard Paul Edgecomb, an unjaded joe in charge of death row who treats people on both sides of the bars with humanity and civility. Set in 1935, the central story opens with the arrival of a kindly colossus of a condemned killer named John Coffey ( Michael Clarke Duncan ). Everyone on the row -- prisoners and guards alike -- quickly realize there's something strangely tranquil and mysterious about their new neighbor, who sometimes speaks in mystical riddles though he seems to have the mind of a child. But it's not until he cures Paul's raging bladder infection with the touch of his hand (and a touch of odd humor) that anyone becomes aware of the power he possesses. John Coffey is a healer and a tender soul, and soon Paul begins to question his murder conviction -- for the grizzly rape and knifing of two 9-year-old farm girls. Like the prison picture masterpiece "The Shawshank Redemption," this film is adapted from one of Stephen King's surprising and stirring non-horror novels, published serial-style in 1996.

Like "Shawshank," it was also adapted by director Frank Darabont, and with just as much honest, fervent inspiration and vividly realized characters -- even if they are too broadly drawn. Coffey is the virtuous innocent -- like a less hapless Lenny from "Of Mice and Men" with a few extra IQ points. Paul is your now-customary, upstanding Tom Hanks everyman. There's a few other good guy prison guards ( David Morse , Barry Pepper , Jeffrey DeMunn) and two bad apples -- Percy ( Doug Hutchison ), a sociopathic guard with a Napoleon complex, and Billy, a psychopathic inmate. Both are exaggerated, inhuman horrors that come to deserve their inevitable, Stephen King-style fates. Then there's Graham Greene and Michael Jeter as martyr prisoners, whose crimes are never even mentioned, so they can be marched to the electric chair while still likable for the movie's brusque, underlying lesson about the horrors of capital punishment.

In the course of the film Darabont stages two step-by-step execution rehearsals (to get the audience on edge) and three prisoner electrocutions -- one that goes on for several unflinching and horrifying minutes because the condemned man wasn't wired up correctly. No more subtle are the subplot about the warden ( James Cromwell ), whose wife is suffering terribly from a brain tumor (gee, with a faith-healing prisoner in a lead role, I wonder where that's going!) and the freedom-is-in-the-mind metaphor of a smart little mouse that becomes the prison block mascot. But even for all its obviousness, "The Green Mile" plays out like an engrossing, leisurely novel. It meanders though several story tributaries (the John Coffey plot is only about one-fifth of the movie), and although you're not always sure where you're going, the journey is absorbing. Darabont creates an atmosphere of rigid, perpetual anticipation by minimizing the prison conditions (this death row is clean and quiet) to let the human drama take center stage, and his actors rise to the occasion.

Every member of the cast delves deep into their character -- even those whose parts are not all that unique (Hanks and Morse both wear their moral fiber like a comfortable old suit). But forget the Oscar buzz for Hanks. If anybody from "Green Mile" will see a nomination, it's Duncan, who taps into his heart for his role as the meek but monstrous miracle-worker -- although Hutchison also deserves recognition for his hate-filled portrayal of compulsive malignancy and gorging insecurity. The film loses its compass in the last hour, with several out-of-character turns. But by that point the it's too involving to be soured by its shortcomings. Familiar Stephen King elements start kicking in, with patience-tempting, isn't-it-eerie, supernatural goings on that probably read better on paper than they translated to the screen. The dialogue becomes heavy with metaphysical shash ("We found each other in the dark.") and Forrest Gump-ish blather ("Why dey's angels, boss! Just like up in heaven!"), and an all-too-convenient solution to the fact that the movie's moral center is about to be executed.

I also could have done without the pointless and abominable, last-minute flashback to the death of the two little girls Coffey was convicted of killing -- not to mention the mystical-magical, modern day epilogue. But even when it falls back on the contrived, "The Green Mile" still holds on to the audience on a emotional level that continues to resonate long after the credits roll, which by itself is reason enough to recommend the movie. Facts and Figures The Green Mile DVD (1999) Starring Tom Hanks & Michael Clarke Duncan; Directed by Frank Darabont; Warner Home Video | OLDIES.com Memorable Quotes and Dialog: "This big man is about to pull off your ears.

Aren't you going to listen to him'" - Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), regarding John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) "On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God, and he asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles...what am I gonna say' That is was my job' My job'" - Paul Edgecomb to John Coffey Entertainment Reviews: "...[A] powerful and meticulously crafted drama....Hanks excels..." Entertainment Weekly - 06/16/2000 "...[Hanks] is on par with his career-best work....A long walk to a worthwhile destination..." -- Rating: A- Chicago Sun-Times - 12/10/1999 "...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..." Product Description: 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. Plot 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. Keywords: Production 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. 30% OFF Walking The Line - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel Walking The Line MOVIES - MOVIE REVIEW In `The Green Mile,' Tom Hanks Is A Prison Guard Who Learns About Hope On Death Row December 10, 1999|By Jay Boyar, Sentinel Movie Critic There's a dandy yarn at the center of The Green Mile, the new prison picture starring Tom Hanks.

Even if you haven't read the Stephen King novel on which it's based, you can sense, in the early scenes, that a master storyteller is laying down a solid foundation. The story is set in a Southern prison, circa 1935, in the death-row section, affectionately known as the Green Mile. Early on, we meet Paul Edgecomb (Hanks), that section's head guard, who, just at that moment, is struggling with a monstrously infected urinary tract. Soon we encounter John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), the gentle giant of a prisoner who has been sentenced to death for allegedly killing and raping two little girls. Then there's the mouse, Mr. Jingles, who becomes the pet of a sympathetic Cajun convict. And let's not forget such familiar types as the sadistic guard, the even-more-sadistic prisoner and the sad-eyed warden with the sickly wife, among others. They all, you sense, will have their various parts to play in the drama that is about to unfold. And you feel that even the seemingly irrelevant details - like that urinary-tract infection - will eventually come into play. A good story will get you pretty far at the movies.

And a top-notch cast, like the one assembled here, will get you even further. The Green Mile, in fact, has so much going for it that you find yourself dearly wishing that it could be just a bit better. What drags the film down is its ambitions. There's too much meaningfulness here and not enough simple excitement. Yes, it is certainly possible to interpret King's story as an allegory about life and death, redemption and salvation and grace. I mean, an author doesn't give a sacrificial character the initials J.C. if he doesn't expect us to see things that way. But what's wrong with the movie is that director-screenwriter Frank Darabont insists so strongly on the material's deeper meanings that he takes some of the fun out of it. He didn't make that mistake with the more reserved (and much superior) Shawshank Redemption (1994), which was also a prison picture based on a Stephen King story. I must say, however, that although the current production runs three hours, I wasn't really bored at any point. But I felt that almost every scene was extended unnecessarily to imbue it with extra significance.

When John Coffey turns out to be supernaturally empathic, for example, his powers are presented floridly, as if they could only be an extension of his seemingly saintly spirit. They are, of course, and yet a breezier presentation might have allowed us to work all that out ourselves. Fortunately, the story is so well-constructed that the solemnity doesn't kill it - although it certainly slows things down. Decent, pensive Paul Edgecomb is the sort of role that Tom Hanks can, by now, play in his sleep - Atticus Finch with a bladder infection. As the man-mountain John Coffey, Michael Clarke Duncan uses his deep croak of a voice to help him give what must be exactly the sort of performance that was required: grim, child-like, self-consciously magical. The smaller roles are enlivened by the likes of Michael Jeter as the Cajun, Bonnie Hunt as Paul's wife, Harry Dean Stanton as a zany trusty and James Cromwell as the warden, plus Gary Sinise and Graham Greene. For my money, the stand-out performances are given by Doug Hutchison, who plays the sadistic guard, and David Morse, who plays Paul's right-hand man.

Hutchison gives the egregious Percy Wetmore a taunting swagger that makes him seem like Barney Fife's evil twin: You sense this little weasel's vulnerabilities, but they only make you hate him more. Morse, meanwhile, brings an unexpected irony to the role of the trusty sidekick, Brutus ``Brutal'' Howell. Even the nickname of this nice-guy guard is ironic. More of this lightness might have allowed us to discover the material's meaning for ourselves. The film is constructed solidly, but Darabont has coated it with too much dark-toned varnish. It's a movie, after all, not a shelf to hold an Oscar. MORE:

Question: Which 1999 film starring Tom Hanks is set in a Louisiana prison?
Answer: The Green Mile