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The Green Mile (1999) DVD Review
The Green Mile (1999) DVD Credits:
The Green Mile (1999) Directed by:
Frank Darabont
The Green Mile (1999) Written by:
Frank Darabont
The Green Mile (1999) Cast:
Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper
The Green Mile (1999) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Green Mile (1999) DVD Release Date:
14th November 2006
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The Green Mile (1999) Synopsis:

Set on Death Row in a Southern prison in 1935, The Green Mile is the remarkable story of the cell block's head guard, who develops a poignant, unusual relationship with one inmate who possesses a magical gift that is both mysterious and miraculous.

The Green Mile (1999) DVD Review:

The Green Mile had the unfortunate luck of falling under the shadow of The Shawshank Redemption, possibly one of the greatest prison dramas to be filmed in the last twenty years. Both coming from stories written by Stephen King, Shawshank and The Green Mile were also both linked by director Frank Darabont, making comparisons inevitable. Although there was little chance that The Green Mile could rise to the level of Shawshank Redemption, it was also a different kind of prison drama. It included the magical supernatural element which is often found in King’s writing along with a surprising commentary on the death penalty, making it an odd combination of stark drama and brilliant fairy tale. Although it was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, The Green Mile has always been the smaller brother of the monstrous Shawshank, and only now has it been given the attention it deserves on this great two-disc special edition.

As harsh as the environment was in prison because of the guards in Shawshank, The Green Mile gives us a number of warm and caring guards who work on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. We never see much of the prison outside of this row, and it isn’t a large area, which makes the latest prisoner’s size even more shocking. John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is brought in for killing two little girls. There is no proof that he killed them, but he was found at the scene of the crime and the fact that he has the intelligence of a child makes him an easy target. It also doesn’t help that he is so large one could envision him killing a grown man with his bare hands, but the guards on death row find him to be anything but a killer. He is scared of the dark and he seems to have a unique ability to heal people. This ability along with his incredible heart begins to touch the guards and all others who interact with him, as his final days leading to his execution approach.

It’s the details in The Green Mile that make it such a beautiful film; the weeping soft score by Thomas Newman, the simple scene of Coffey seeing a movie for the first time, and a million other details too small to mention or even notice. The same can be said about this thoughtful special edition DVD. It is in the details that this DVD is great; the elaborately moody menus, the painted photographs cover which looks purposefully styled similar to the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD for Shawshank, and an overall respect for the film that some of the rushed special editions seem to lack these days. It took a while for the special edition to come out, but it was well worth the wait.

The film is split onto two discs with a lengthy running time, and the special features are split on them as well. Both discs have a commentary track over the film of Frank Darabont, who has a lively approach to the commentary. He is so excited about the film and explaining it in a fun and energetic way that it is nearly impossible not to enjoy his enthusiasm. Disc one has deleted scenes with optional commentary by Darabont, and it also has Michael Clarke Duncan’s screen test. He was an unknown actor before this film and it earned him an Oscar nomination. Watching this test it is apparent why. His eyes show it all. The second disc has a making of documentary and a 6-part documentary gallery, which is essentially just a bunch of featurettes.

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The Green Mile (1999) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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