The Green Mile
According to one of the featurettes on the DVD, Stephen King called this film the single most faithful adaptation of his work.,The movie shows mixed black and white prisoners both in the prison population and on the chain gang. In the 1930s this would not have happened.,[last lines]
Old Paul Edgecomb: We each owe a death - there are no exceptions - but, oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long.,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 unusual and it was considered for a trademark of director Frank Darabont.,The documentary "Walking the Mile" (which is included on the DVD) features the making of a scene, where Edgecomb and his wife are in a church. That scene is not in the final film. The church is probably the one mentioned by Hanks character when he says to Melinda that "we missed you in church".,Featured in Siskel & Ebert: End of Days/Tumbleweeds/Flawless/Toy Story 2/All About My Mother (1999),Charmaine
Written by Lew Pollack and Erno Rapee
Performed by Mantovani
Arranged by Ronald Binge (uncredited)
Courtesy of LaserLight Digital and San Juan Music Group by arrangement with Source/Q,"The Green Mile" is one of my favorite Stephen King books and I have read it several times. I was anxiously anticipating the film version, but was concerned that the emotional impact of the book could not be replicated on screen. Fortunately this wonderful story was adapted by Frank Darabont, who did such a magnificent job bringing King's "Shawshank Redemption" to the screen. He does the same high quality work with "The Green Mile". The story is faithful to the book, only losing details that were not important to the story anyway. The casting is superb - every actor is perfectly suited for his role and does an excellent job, although I would like to single out Doug Hutchison. His portrayal of the detestable Percy is right on the mark and suggests complexities in this character I had not discovered in the book. The length is about three hours and it seems that critics are complaining about that. I can't understand the complaints. The film never drags and is never dull, and it certainly didn't feel three hours long. The length is needed to tell this story the way it should be told, and the story is so very engrossing. Best of all, Darabont and the actors bring so much emotion ot the screen, that I cried like a baby through several scenes. "The Green Mile" will haunt you.,