Barnes & Noble

Most of this adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling novel unfolds in the death house of a Southern prison -- an unlikely setting for a story that's not only uplifting but, at times, positively ethereal. Tom Hanks, Hollywood's favorite Everyman, is ideally cast as Paul Edgecomb, the death row guard who discovers that condemned murderer John Coffey (massive Michael Clarke Duncan) can heal the sick with a simple laying on of his huge hands. Justifiably skeptical of Edgecomb's claims, his fellow guards eventually become convinced that the gentle, wrongly convicted Coffey is blessed with divine power. Writer-director Frank Darabont, who also directed the film version of King's other prison story, The Shawshank Redemption, takes ample time to flesh out his characters and build sympathy for the doomed prisoner whose menacing appearance masks an almost childlike innocence. As captivating as it is long, the Academy Award-nominated Green Mile takes viewers on an emotional journey that they won't soon forget. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Director Frank Darabont, who made an acclaimed feature film debut with The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on a Stephen King novel set in a prison, returns for a second feature, based on King's 1996 serialized novel set in a prison. In 1935, inmates at the Cold Mountain Correctional Facility call Death Row "The Green Mile" because of the dark green linoleum that tiles the floor. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is the head guard on the Green Mile when a new inmate is brought into his custody: John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), convicted of the sadistic murder of two young girls. Despite his size and the fearsome crimes for which he's serving time, Coffey seems to be a kind and well-mannered person who behaves more like an innocent child than a hardened criminal. Soon Edgecomb and two of his fellow guards, Howell (David Morse) and Stanton Barry Pepper), notice something odd about Coffey: he's able to perform what seem to be miracles of healing among his fellow inmates, leading them to wonder just what sort of person he could be, and if he could have committed the crimes with which he was charged. The Green Mile also stars James Cromwell as the warden; Michael Jeter, Sam Rockwell, and Graham Greene as inmates awaiting dates with the electric chair; and Harry Dean Stanton as a clever trustee. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 053939273328
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled, Repackaged
• Time: 3:09:00
• Sales Rank: 1,600

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