Writer-Director:
Frank Darabont
Cast:
Tom Hanks .Paul Edgecomb
Michael Clarke Duncan John Coffey
David Morse .Brutus “Brutal” Howell
Michael Jeter .Eduard Delacroix
Barry Pepper .Dean Stanton
Doug Hutchinson .Percy Wetmore
Sam Rockwell .”Wild Bill’ Wharton
James Cromwell .Warden Hal Moores
Patricia Clarkson .Melinda Moores
Bonnie Hunt .Jan Edgecomb
Graham Greene .Arlen Bitterbuck
Harry Dean Stanton .Toot-Toot
Warner Bros. presents The Green Mile. Adapted from the Stephen King serial. Rated R (for violence, language, and some sex-related material). Running time: 188 minutes. Available on DVD: November 14, 2006. MSRP: $20.98.
“Lazy Stephen King triumph.” That is what has been said of The Green Mile. Originally released in serial form, readers eagerly waited for each new installment. Even as he was pondering the idea of a mystical tale set behind prison walls, King instinctively thought about director Frank Darabont and The Shawshank Redemption. Before the first serial novel was published, King called Darabont and gave him a 30-second synopsis of the story.
Darabont was less than enthusiastic, because if he agreed to helm the adaptation, critics would lament and pigeonhole him as the go-to-guy for prison movies. A month or so later, he received a copy of the first book, The Green Mile: The Two Girls. Darabont was hooked. And why wouldn’t he? His first shot in the director’s chair was a short film, an adaptation of the Stephen King short story “The Woman in the Room”. (If King owns the rights to his stories, he will graciously let aspiring filmmakers buy the rights from him for the bargain deal of only a buck.) Upon seeing the film, King liked it so much he granted Darabont the rights to “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption” — a novella found in Different Seasons along with “The Body”, which was adapted into Stand By Me.
While not a financial success at the time, The Shawshank Redemption has undergone a metamorphosis; constant re-airings on basic cable have made this cult film a classic. This statement and the paragraphs above make it seem like I’m stalling for time, but a little preface is warranted.
“The Green Mile” is a phrase coined by the guards of a small cellblock of a Louisiana state prison. It is reflective of the floor’s “faded lime” color; on either side of the linoleum are prison cells housing men awaiting death by electrocution. Working death row provides little opportunity for the guards to get to know the prisoners, as the residents change with each new execution. But the arrival of the towering John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a simple-minded black man, makes the guards stare open-mouthed. Standing a shade over seven feet tall, Coffey is a genial man — a gentle giant. Like a child, he is scared of the dark and is frightened by some of the inmates around him. Coffey’s arrival to E Block stems from his conviction for the rape and murder of two young girls. When a search party goes looking for the girls, they find them and Coffey. The girls are cradled under his arms, their hair and dresses covered in blood. Coffey is crying to the heavens and all he can say is, “I couldn’t help it. I tried to take it back, but it was too late.”
As the story plays, head guard Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) sees in John Coffey a man with an unusual gift. This so-called monster would rather heal than do harm. And it is that uncanny ability that makes Edgecomb believe that not only did Coffey not commit those murders, but that he is a miracle sent from the skies above. He can’t walk on water or turn water to wine, but Coffey has been endowed with certain ESP traits — and his hands can bring relief to beings both big and small.
Sitting still for close to three hours can be a feat in itself, but The Green Mile proves that you don’t need choreographed action involving hobbits or pirates, or snazzy special effects to maintain your attention span. A lot of credit must be given to ensemble cast and Darabont’s splendid adaptation of Stephen King’s work. Such material allows for great, memorable characters. The ensemble is so good that for this film, which could easily be labeled a “Tom Hanks movie”, Tom Hanks isn’t the best attraction. He may not even be the second best.
There is a moment late into the film where Edgecomb and Coffey have a chat right before Coffey is to take his final walk down the Green Mile. A solid professional, Hanks allows Duncan to shine in this scene. The camera is mostly focused on Duncan, occasionally cutting to Hanks’ reactions. The pain etched in Duncan’s eyes is saddening. Though, if the camera veered away for too long, it would take away from his overall performance — a performance that garnered Duncan a Supporting Actor nomination.
Other memorable characters include Michael Jeter as an inmate who befriends a small mouse (Mr. Jingles) while awaiting death on The Mile; a smug, yet cowardly, guard (Doug Hutchinson) who harasses the men of E Block — both those behind and in front of bars; Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) as a loudmouth and wily prisoner; and David Morse and Barry Pepper as some of the guards who also walk the faded lime floor each day. The interactions they have can be joyous one moment and turn on a dime in an instant. And with such a long running time, there is plenty of time for Darabont to bring out the depth and humanity in his characters. This is especially true of the guards whose occupation have them overseeing such vile and nefarious criminals.
If Frank Darabont never made another movie, at least his two Stephen King adaptations succeeded in honoring the original work while leaving a lasting impression on screen. Many forget about The Majestic, the film he did after The Green Mile. It has a modest following, but pales in comparison to his prison films. Until his adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 gets off the ground, you need not worry about Frank Darabont’s contributions to filmmaking. They are not to be overlooked.
Released while DVD was still in its infancy, The Green Mile gets a stellar upgrade by Warner Bros. Boasting solid visuals and audio — plus some great extras — this two-disc Special Edition is worth exploring. The film is spread across two discs. The first disc contains chapters 1-33; the second has chapters 34-53. This helps to minimize compression and allows for multiple audio tracks and extras on both discs. Looking at the packaging, the cover art by painter Drew Struzan is a nice touch, as he did the artwork on the 10th Anniversary DVD release of The Shawshank Redemption. The discs themselves come housed in a standard black-hinged keepcase.
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen)
By spreading the film over two discs to lessen compression issues, we get bold colors and a better sense of the production design. And a new anamorphic transfer also helps with the visuals.
THE AUDIO
(English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital)
While not as captivating as the video, the mixes included support the film. Dialogue and music are crisp and clear, and tinges of nat sound can be heard from the rear channels occasionally. Also included are optional English, French and Spanish subtitles for the film, as well as Closed Captioning.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Fans of The Green Mile will be treated to both original and retrospective special features. The longest extra is a full-length audio commentary with director Frank Darabont. While the idea of watching a film again only to hear a guy speak for three hours may sound like a boring experience, listening to Darabont the time just flies by. The man is articulate and has so many stories from the production, his experiences in Hollywood, and friends he has made in the business, to keep you entertained. Darabont reveals plenty on how Michael Clarke Duncan was shot to look like a seven-foot-three behemoth (in actuality he is six-foot-five). He also talks about the casting and how he didn’t want Duncan originally. I especially liked him mentioning his encounter with John Frankenheimer while making The Shawshank Redemption. One day Frankenheimer came up on the set and introduced himself. At the time Frankenheimer was working on Against the Wall, a film about the Attica uprising for HBO Films. Darabont even goes as far as to mention other projects he has worked on — Tales from the Crypt, The Blob (remake) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
The commentary is so good that if you listen to it first you’ll definitely notice some overlap in some of the featurettes found on the second disc.
Besides the first 33 chapters of The Green Mile, disc one also contains a pair of deleted scenes (“Bitterbuck’s Family Says Goodbye” and “Coffey’s Prayer”) with optional commentary by Darabont. The scenes are brief and they are moments Darabont felt needed to be deleted for pace and time issues. Though they are worth watching just for the fact they were presumed lost forever after post-production.
We also get two pre-production extras in the form of Michael Clarke Duncan’s Screen Test and Tom Hanks’ Makeup Tests. Duncan is a commanding presence and his screen test is the proof. He spent over two weeks working with the lines trying to nail the John Coffey character. It worked. The makeup tests have Hanks as an old man. This was done prior to Darabont’s decision to go in another direction and have Dabbs Geer portray the elderly Paul Edgecomb.
Lastly, the disc closes with promotional material: the film’s never-before-seen teaser trailer and theatrical trailer, as well as The Teaser Trailer: A Case Study (6:45). The short feature shows how a neat concept becomes nullified once the director realizes that when a little mouse has no human counterpart, it looks like a giant rat. As Darabont’s comments reveal. Other comments from producer David Valdes and storyboard artist Bill Sienkiewicz are included as well.
The second disc begins with Walking the Mile (25:28), a feature ported over from the 2000 DVD release that is a pre-fab summary of the production. We get comments from Stephen King, who believes The Green Mile is the best adaptation of any of his works. Mouse stunt coordinator Boone Narr and special effects supervisor Charles Gibson talk about mouse Mr. Jingles (real name “Spunk”). A team of a dozen mice was used. The comments are dated, as is the video quality, but the information included is a nice Cliff Notes version of the film’s production.
The final extra in this set is a six-part documentary, Miracles and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile, which covers the story adaptation, casting, production design, CGI effects, and Mr. Jingles. Some information is repeated from Darabont’s audio commentary, but the stories presented are worth watching. You have the option of watching the documentary as a whole or in segments. The retrospective on Stephen King with comments by fellow authors Peter Straub (who co-authored The Talisman with King) and William Goldman (The Princess Bride) is a nice pat on the back for this publishing phenomenon, who is sometimes referred as the “modern equivalent to Mark Twain or Charles Dickens”.
For adapting King’s serial novel, Darabont tried to keep as close to the material as he could in attempts to capture the spirit of the original. And unlike The Shawshank Redemption there is no expository voice until the very end.
The production design is almost beyond belief as designer Terrence Marsh and his crew went to insane lengths to create something incredibly authentic. Upon seeing the layout of The Mile, King comments “walking The Green Mile is like walking in the country of my own imagination.”
Of particular interest is the CGI feature and the mouse training. Charlie Gibson and Boone Narr were meticulous in their shooting of Mr. Jingles. With behind the scenes footage, we get to see Team Jingles, a team of mice in which each one performed a particular stunt or action. Darabont hinted at this in the commentary, but until you see the mice in action, you don’t get the full effect.
THE INSIDE PULSE
This two-disc Special Edition DVD release of The Green Mile is a worthy upgrade and a title that will sit nicely if presented next to the 10th Anniversary release of The Shawshank Redemption. Darabont’s strong direction and the production design make the film worth seeing, but it is the acting ensemble that shines brighter than its polished look. There is no question that this was one of the best films of 1999; the audiences embraced it as such. For those who are fans of this great drama the decision to upgrade is a no-brainer.
