Viewed – 10 October 2014  Blu-ray

15th Anniversary Edition

I really have no clue as to why it has taken me so long to see this highly acclaimed movie.  Following in the wake of Frank Darabont’s industry defining Stephen King adaptation The Shawshank Redemption, the same director tackles another King story.  Originally published in a series of small novellas, The Green Mile was a sort of experiment and follows the story of an elderly man in a care home who recants his time as a prison officer in charge of the inmates on death row; specifically his time in the company of convicted double murderer John Coffey.  Tom Hanks plays prison warden Paul Edgecomb and is perfect casting in my opinion, as is the late Michael Clarke Duncan as the imposing but gentle-giant Coffey.

This well shot and atmospheric movie gathers together several solid performances and a powerful, magical tale that certainly left it’s mark on me.  The fate of John Coffey, the mystery surrounding two dead girls and an unexplainable ‘gift’ kept me mesmerised.  Hanks is as complex and believable as always and in the closing moments truly excellent (seriously, I cant watch Hanks cry … I just can’t).  It’s one of the most emotional films I have seen in a long while and yes, brought a tear to my eye.  It also gets fairly disturbing in places, mainly surround the cruel character of Percy (you may recall him from his stint as ‘toobs’ in The X-Files …).  But don’t let that put you off as this is one of those stories that is tragic but also life-affirming and made with real passion for it’s source material.  Essential viewing.

The Blu-ray is mostly impressive.  The movie itself is in fairly good condition but for a slightly smudgy colour pallet (this may be intentional) and detail overall is good, with only occasional softness creeping in on distant and wide shots.  Close-up detail is often excellent.  Sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is pretty decent if a little lacking in the surrounds.  Yet the big plus here is the extras consisting of a feature-length documentary named ‘walking the green mile’ as well as a commentary by the director, several deleted scenes and a trailer.  Not too shabby for a modern classic.  Packaging could have been better though.

Verdict:

(the movie)  5 /5

(the Blu-ray)  4 /5