The Green Mile is a 1999 film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. It tells the story of Paul Edgecomb, a corrections officer in 1935 Louisiana who oversees death row inmates. A new prisoner, the giant but gentle John Coffey, arrives and displays mysterious healing powers. Coffey is sentenced to death for murder, but Edgecomb comes to believe he may be innocent. The film explores themes of capital punishment, religion, and the harm humans inflict on each other. It features emotional performances and earned several Academy Award nominations.
3. PRODUCTION TEAM Director : Frank Darabont Writers : Stephen King (novel) Frank Darabont(screenplay) Tagline: Miracles do happen Release Date: 10 December 1999 (USA) NISTHA
4. ACHIEVEMENTS The film was nominated for four Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Best Picture Best Sound Best Adapted Screenplay. Another 13 wins & 23 nominations. NISTHA
5. MAIN CHARACTERS Tom Hanks ----------------Paul Edgecomb(corrections officer in charge of Death Row) Doug Hutchison-----------Percy Wetmore(sadistic and unpopular guard) Michael Clarke Duncan - John Coffey(new black prisoner) Michael Jeter -------------- Eduard 'Del' Delacroix(a prisoner) PRAVEEN
7. BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE MOVIE The Green Mile is a story told by Tom Hanksin 1935 when he was a corrections officerin charge of Death Row inmates in Louisiana's Cold Mountain Penitentiary. His domain was called the "Green Mile" because the condemned prisoners walking to their executionare said to be walking "the last mile"; here it is on a stretch of green linoleumto the electric chair. GARIMA
8. Cont. ''The Green Mile'' involves assorted acts of cruelty and one lurid, extended electrocution scene that makes the horrors of the death penalty grotesquely clear, but much of it is very gentle. Coffey's peculiar innocence is also given a lot of screen time. The way in which this huge black man, who calls the guards Boss, is given a magical capacity for self-sacrifice. But as Mr. Duncan plays him, Coffey is too flabbergasting a figure to be easily pigeonholed anyhow. PRACHI
9. Exploration of psychology of criminals/prisoners depicted in the movie It illustrates the true nature of the death penalty, showing how cruel and barbaric it is as well as showing how innocent people can easily be put in positions where they are executed unjustly. The movie also touches upon the issue of Judeo-Christian faith and god, and as an atheist. The movie is about compassion---Coffey is a Christ-like figure who dies for humanity's sins, crucified by people who don't know better. Yet he himself is not capable of complete forgiveness. Even the prison guards really have one sole purpose: to help kill. Coffey appears to be the only one who truly seeks to heal, but that is not without exception either and in the end, he too kills with his love. MAYURI
10. Cont. Ultimately what ties all of this together is that everyone seeks to harm someone else, whether justified or not. Percy and a maniacal prison inmate (Sam Rockwell) seek nothing more than perverse destruction. The film is powerful and emotive, thanks to brilliant performances by a great cast. When Duncan talks about the harm humanity inflicts on one other, with tears rolling down his cheek, it is an extremely poignant and telling moment. The ending bit (where Edgecomb tells about living too long) was unnecessary I thought and detracted from an otherwise perfect film. When Edgecomb talks about the same sorts of issues Duncan talks about, it doesn't come off as sincere and heart-felt. PAPIYA
11. Cont. The film earns its tears by not taking the easy way out, but almost any other ending would have undermined the many fine things that the director accomplishes during the course of the film. Darabont has invited such comparisons. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to point out that, taken on its own terms, The Green Mile works; it is an affecting motion picture. HARIS
12. OUR PERSONAL REVIEW "They kill with their love"TheGreenMile is a film about many diverse topics, but fundamentally it is about the harm humans inflict on other members of their own species. The movie is overlong, cliché-ridden, and wastes several good performances on an overwrought story about saintly convicts and evil prison guards. NEHA MOHANTY
13. Cont. The dark subject matter is contrasted, however, with dim-witted John Coffey, who seems to offer hope to all around him in the prison. Coffey has been sentenced to death for the murder of two girls, though the audience, from the very beginning, suspects correctly that he is innocent of the crimes. Coffey seems responsible for several "miracles" which occur throughout the film. lokesh
14. WE CONCLUDE that. The Green Mile is quite lengthy(which will deter some potential viewers) but its length is necessary to tell the story. And what a story it is. A large black man, a little slow upstairs but kind to the soul, is accused and convicted of murdering two little girls. The setting is Florida during the Depression, a time and place brimming with injustices. The story and the movie deal with this with heartwarming sincerity, coming close to being a tearjerker. Being a Stephen King movie the supernatural can't be far behind and John Coffey, who wouldn't hurt a fly, is just full of surprises. A real treat for Stephen King fans and moviegoers in general and one of the best movies to come along in recent years. vineet