- The Green Mile (film)
-
The Green Mile 
Promotional posterDirected by Frank Darabont Produced by Frank Darabont
David ValdesScreenplay by Frank Darabont Based on The Green Mile by
Stephen KingStarring Tom Hanks
David Morse
Bonnie Hunt
Michael Clarke Duncan
James Cromwell
Dabbs GreerMusic by Thomas Newman Cinematography David Tattersall Editing by Richard Francis-Bruce Studio Castle Rock Entertainment Distributed by Warner Bros. Release date(s) December 10, 1999 Running time 188 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $60 million Box office $286,801,388 The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film is told in a flashback format and stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey, and tells the story of Paul and his life as a death row corrections officer during the Great Depression in the United States, and the supernatural events he witnessed.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Contents
Plot
In a Louisiana nursing home in 1999, Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer) begins to cry while watching the film Top Hat. His elderly friend, Elaine, shows concern for him and Paul tells her that the film reminded him of when he was a corrections officer in charge of Death Row inmates at Cold Mountain Penitentiary during the summer of 1935. The cell block Paul (Tom Hanks) works in is called the "Green Mile" by the guards because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking "the last mile" to the electric chair; here, it is a stretch of faded lime-green linoleum.
One day, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a giant black man convicted of raping and killing two young white girls arrives on death row. Coffey shows all the characteristics of being a "gentle giant": keeping to himself, soft-spoken, fearing darkness, and crying often. Soon enough, John reveals extraordinary powers by healing Paul's urinary tract infection and resurrecting a mouse. Later, he would heal the terminally ill wife of Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell), who suffered from a large brain tumor. When John is asked to explain his power, he merely says that he "took it back."
At the same time, Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), a sadistic and unpopular guard, starts work. He "knows people, big people" (he is the nephew of the governor's wife), in effect preventing Paul or anybody else from doing anything significant to curb his behavior. Percy recognizes that the other officers greatly dislike him and uses that to demand managing the next execution. After that, he promises, he will have himself transferred to an administrative post at Briar Ridge Mental Hospital and Paul will never hear from him again. An agreement is made, but Percy then deliberately sabotages the execution. Instead of wetting the sponge, used to conduct electricity and make executions quick and effective, he leaves it dry, causing inmate Eduard "Del" Delacroix's (Michael Jeter) execution to be botched and for him to die slowly in great pain.
Shortly before Del's execution, a violent prisoner named William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell) arrives, due to be executed for multiple murders committed during a robbery. At one point he seizes John's arm and John psychically senses that Wharton is the true killer of the two girls, the crime for which John was convicted and sentenced to death. John "takes back" the sickness in Hal's wife and regurgitates it into Percy, who then shoots Wharton to death and falls into a permanent catatonic state. Percy is then housed in the Briar Ridge Mental Hospital. In the wake of these events, Paul interrogates John, who says he "punished them bad men" and offers to show Paul what he saw. John takes Paul's hand stating that he has to give Paul "a part of himself" in order to see and imparts the visions of what he saw, of what really happened to the girls.
Paul asks John what he should do, if he should open the door and let John walk away. John tells him that he is ready to die because there is too much pain in the world, which he is aware of and sensitive to, stating that he is "rightly tired of the pain" and is ready to rest. For his last request on the night before his execution, John got to see Top Hat. When John is put in the electric chair, he asks Paul not to put the traditional black hood over his head because he is afraid of the dark. Paul agrees and after Paul shakes his hand, John is executed.
As Paul finishes his story, he notes that he requested a transfer to a youth detention center, where he spent the remainder of his career. Elaine questions his statement that he had a fully grown son at the time and Paul explains that he was 44 years old at the time of John's execution and that he is now 108 and still in excellent health. This is apparently a side effect of John giving a "part of himself" to Paul. Mr. Jingles, Del's mouse resurrected by John, is also still alive—but Paul believes his outliving all of his relatives and friends to be a punishment from God for having John executed. Paul explains he has deep thoughts about how "we each owe a death; there are no exceptions; but, Oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long." Paul is left wondering, if Mr. Jingles has remained alive for all of this time being but a mouse, how long will it be before his own death?
Cast
- Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb. Hanks and Darabont meet at an Academy Award luncheon in 1994. Stephen King stated he envisioned Hanks in the role and was happy when Darabont mentioned his name.[1]
- Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey
- Bonnie Hunt as Jan Edgecomb
- David Morse as Brutus "Brutal" Howell. Morse had not heard about the script until he was offered the role. He stated he was in tears by the end of it.[1]
- Doug Hutchison as Percy Wetmore
- Sam Rockwell as "Wild Bill" Wharton
- Michael Jeter as Eduard "Del" Delacroix
- James Cromwell as Warden Hal Moores. Darabont wanted Cromwell from the start, and after he read the script, Cromwell was moved and agreed.[1]
- Patricia Clarkson as Melinda Moores
- Barry Pepper as Dean Stanton
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Harry Terwilliger
- Harry Dean Stanton as Toot-Toot
- Dabbs Greer as Old Paul Edgecomb
- Gary Sinise as Burt Hammersmith
- Graham Greene as Arlen Bitterbuck
- William Sadler as Klaus Detterick
- Bill McKinney as Jack Van Hay
Production
Darabont adapted the novels into a screenplay in under eight weeks.[1]
Soundtrack
The official film soundtrack, Music from the Motion Picture The Green Mile, was released on December 19, 1999 by Warner Bros. It contains 35 tracks, primarily instrumental tracks from the film score by Thomas Newman. It also contains four vocal tracks: "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire, "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" by Billie Holiday, "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?" by Gene Austin, and "Charmaine" by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians.
Reception
The film received positive reviews from critics with a 80% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 and a half stars out of four, writing "The film is a shade over three hours long. I appreciated the extra time, which allows us to feel the passage of prison months and years."[3]
Forbes commentator Dawn Mendez referred to the character of John Coffey as a "'magic Negro' figure"—a term coined by Spike Lee to describe a stereotypical fictional black person depicted in a fictional work as a "saintly, nonthreatening" person whose purpose in life is to solve a problem for or otherwise further the happiness of a white person.[4] Lee himself berated the character as one of several "super-duper, magical Negro[es]" depicting a skewed version of the black male, claiming it was due to the prominence of white decision makers in the media companies.[5]
Awards and nominations
- Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated – Best Picture – David Valdes, Frank Darabont
- Nominated – Best Sound Mixing – Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick, Willie D. Burton
- Nominated – Best Adapted Screenplay – Frank Darabont
2000 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
- Won – Best Supporting Actor – Michael Clarke Duncan
- Won – Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Clarkson
- Won – Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
- Nominated – Best Director – Frank Darabont
- Nominated – Best Music – Thomas Newman
2000 Broadcast Music Incorporated Film & TV Awards
- Won – Film Music Award – Thomas Newman
2000 Black Reel Awards
- Won – Theatrical – Best Supporting Actor – Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- Won – Favorite Actor – Drama – Tom Hanks
- Nominated – Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama – Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated – Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama – Bonnie Hunt
2000 Bram Stoker Awards
- Nominated – Best Screenplay – Frank Darabont
2000 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Won – Best Screenplay, Adaptation – Frank Darabont
- Won – Best Supporting Actor – Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated – Best Film
2000 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated – Best Supporting Actor – Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated – Most Promising Actor – Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Directors Guild of America
- Nominated – Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures – Frank Darabont
2000 Golden Globe Awards
- Nominated – Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture – Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 NAACP Image Awards
- Nominated – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 MTV Movie Awards
- Nominated – Best Breakthrough Male Performance – Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Motion Picture Sound Editors (Golden Reel Awards)
- Nominated – Best Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR – Mark A. Mangini, Julia Evershade
- Nominated – Best Sound Editing – Effects and Foley – Mark A. Mangini, Aaron Glascock, Howell Gibbens, David E. Stone, Solange S. Schwalbe
- Won – Favorite All-Around Motion Picture
- Won – Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture
2001 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (Nebula Award)
- Nominated – Best Script – Frank Darabont
2000 Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Cast
- Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Michael Clarke Duncan
References
- ^ a b c d "About the Film". http://thegreenmile.warnerbros.com/cmp/cast-fr.html. Retrieved November 01, 2011.
- ^ The Green Mile at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "The Green Mile". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991210/REVIEWS/912100302/1023.
- ^ Mendez, Dawn (January 23, 2009). "The 'Magic Negro'". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/23/obama-magic-negro-oped-cx_dm_0123mendez.html. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
- ^ "Lee Takes Issue With Depiction of Minorities in Film". San Jose Mercury News: p. 2E. February 7, 2001.
- ^ "The 72nd Academy Awards (2000) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/72nd-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
- ^ Lyman, Rick (March 28, 2000). "Oscar Victory Finally Lifts the Cloud for DreamWorks". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/oscars2000.html. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
External links
- Official website
- The Green Mile at the Internet Movie Database
- The Green Mile at AllRovi
- The Green Mile at Rotten Tomatoes
Films directed by Frank Darabont Media based on Stephen King works Films Individual filmsThe Shining (1980) • Cujo (1983) • The Dead Zone (1983) • Christine (1983) • Cat's Eye (1985) • Silver Bullet (1985) • Stand by Me (1986) • The Running Man (1987) • Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) • Graveyard Shift (1990) • Misery (1990) • Sleepwalkers (1992) • The Dark Half (1993) • Needful Things (1993) • The Shawshank Redemption (1994) • Dolores Claiborne (1995) • Thinner (1996) • The Night Flier (1997) • Apt Pupil (1998) • The Green Mile (1999) • Hearts in Atlantis (2001) • Dreamcatcher (2003) • Secret Window (2004) • Riding the Bullet (2004) • 1408 (2007) • The Mist (2007) • Dolan's Cadillac (2009) • It (2011)Film seriesCarrieCreepshowCreepshow (1982) • Creepshow 2 (1987)Children of the Corn (1984) • The Final Sacrifice (1993) • Urban Harvest (1995) • The Gathering (1996) • Fields of Terror (1998) • Isaac's Return (1999) • Revelation (2001) • Children of the Corn (2009)FirestarterFirestarter (1984) • Rekindled (2002)Maximum Overdrive (1986) • Trucks (1997)Pet SemataryPet Sematary (1989) • Pet Sematary Two (1992)The Lawnmower ManThe Lawnmower Man (1992) • Beyond Cyberspace (1996)The ManglerThe Mangler (1995) • The Mangler 2 (2001) • The Mangler Reborn (2005)The Dark TowerThe Dark Tower (2013)Television Single films or miniseriesGramma (1986) • Sorry, Right Number (1987) • It (1990) • Golden Years (1991) • The Tommyknockers (1993) • The Stand (1994) • The Langoliers (1995) • The Shining (1997) • Quicksilver Highway (1997) • The Revelations of Becka Paulson (1997) • Storm of the Century (1999) • Kingdom Hospital (2004) • Stephen King's Desperation (2006) • Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)Multiple films or miniseriesSalem's LotSalem's Lot (1979) • A Return to Salem's Lot (1987) • 'Salem's Lot (2004)Sometimes They Come BackSometimes They Come Back (1991) • Sometimes They Come Back... Again (1996) • Sometimes They Come Back… for More (1998)Rose RedRose Red (2002) • The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003)SeriesThe Dead Zone (2002) • Haven (2010)Pulp Fiction (1994) · The Usual Suspects (1995) · Fargo (1996) · L.A. Confidential (1997) · Saving Private Ryan (1998) · The Green Mile (1999) · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) · Memento (2001) · Road to Perdition (2002) · Kill Bill, Volume 1 (2003) · Kill Bill, Volume 2 (2004) · Sin City (2005) · Casino Royale (2006) · 300 (2007) · The Dark Knight (2008) · Inglourious Basterds (2009) · Salt (2010)
Categories:- 1999 films
- American films
- English-language films
- 1990s drama films
- American drama films
- Films based on works by Stephen King
- Films directed by Frank Darabont
- Films set in 1935
- Films set in 1999
- Films set in Louisiana
- Films with a capital punishment theme
- Prison films
- Warner Bros. films
- Castle Rock Entertainment films
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