THE GREEN MILE (1999)
Label: WBHE Region Code: Region-Free, A
Duration: 189 Min.
Rated: R
Duration: 189 Min.
Rated: R
Audio: English Dolby Atmos with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graeme Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton
The Green Mile was written and directed by Frank Darabont, and is based on the same-titled novel by Stephen King, it stars Tom Hanks (The 'Burbs) as Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row prison guard supervisor Paul Edgecomb. The death row cell block is nicknamed "The Green Mile" because of the green floor tiling, the path that leads to their execution where they will ride the lightning so to speak. Paul's life, as well as his fellow guards lives, Stanton (Barry Pepper, Crawl) and Brutal (David Morse, Disturbia), are forever changed by the arrival of inmate John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan, Sin City), a behemoth of a man with the mind of a child who is on death row for the rape and murder of two young whites girls.
The Green Mile was written and directed by Frank Darabont, and is based on the same-titled novel by Stephen King, it stars Tom Hanks (The 'Burbs) as Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row prison guard supervisor Paul Edgecomb. The death row cell block is nicknamed "The Green Mile" because of the green floor tiling, the path that leads to their execution where they will ride the lightning so to speak. Paul's life, as well as his fellow guards lives, Stanton (Barry Pepper, Crawl) and Brutal (David Morse, Disturbia), are forever changed by the arrival of inmate John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan, Sin City), a behemoth of a man with the mind of a child who is on death row for the rape and murder of two young whites girls.
The guards discover something very unusual about Coffey, for starters he's seems gentile giant, and he also has the supernatural gift of healing. This is evidenced by his miraculous curing of Paul's agonizing bladder infection and the resurrection of a mouse named Mr. Jingles that is kept as a pet by one of the death row inmates. As Paul and his fellow guards begin to believe that there's no way that Coffey could be a stone-cold child killer they struggle with what if anything they can do to intervene, and how his death might way on their souls. Meanwhile, the arrival of a new guard, the sadistic Percy (Doug Hutchison, Punisher: War Zone), who enjoys hurting the watching the inmates squirm as they prepare to ride the lighting in the electric chair, purposely sabotages an execution to maximize the inmates the suffering, much to the horror of all the who witness it. Also agitating the cell block is the arrival of a new death row inmate, "Wild Bill" (Sam Rockwell, Moon), a psychopath who delights in scatological shenanigans and pissing off both inmates and guards at every turn.
While Hanks might get top-billing it was newcomer Michael Duncan Clark and his hulking gentile giant that anchored the film and carried it through, it was an Oscar worthy (and it was nominated) performance that holds up time and time again. We also get some terrific supporting performances from Bonnie Hunt (Jerry McGuire) as Paul's wife, James Cromwell (I, Robot) as the prison warden and Patricia Clarkson (The Woods) as the warden's quickly declining in health wife; plus Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man) in a memorable turn as lifer who stands in for the death row inmates during execution drills and wisecracks the entire time. Both Michael Jeter (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) show up as death row inmates with a good amount of screen time, and Darbont regular Jeffrey DeMunn (Warning Sign) shows up as a guard as well.
Something I have always loved about this film is how it deals with the death row inmates, men who have done awful things, but for the most part the guards treat them with dignity, striving to keep the men calm, knowing very well they are soon to serve out the ultimate punishment. The grace in which most of the guards, Percy being the wicked exception, handle their doomed charges is inspiring and not cynical. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have the rat-bastard Percy who treats everyone with contempt and malice, and prisoner Wild Bill is force of chaos, both men are despicable, two sides of the same coin, whose fates are entwined. I also love the way that they portray Coffey's healing abilities, able to literally suck out the malady from within, then breathing a glowing healing-light enters there body, and they at some point he must exhale the "poison", which emerges like a swarm of gnats that dissolve into the air - it's a great effect and it holds up.
Darabont is still the king of the King adaptations, sure we have Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) doing phenomenal work as well, but Darabont was first, he brought King's literary works to cinematic life with The Shawshank Redemption before and The Mist after The Green Mile with a panache we hadn't seen before. His poignant and skillful control behind the camera elevated all three films, not that King's literary work was not already elevated and heralded, but the film adaptations of his work have not always been - apologies to Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, The Shining TV Mini-Series who helmed quite a few of them - and all three of his films have been near masterpieces of cinema, let alone genre cinema. Darabont has not directed in nearly 10 years, I know he's sitting on a mountain of cash from the AMC's lawsuit over The Walking Dead, and probably doesn't ever have to direct again, but I would love to see him tackle another King property.
Audio/Video: The Green Mile (1999) arrives on region-free 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in glorious 2160p UHD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, with HDR10 color-grading. Unfortunately the accompanying Blu-ray is a recycled disc and does not benefit from the new scan. That said, the UUH is mighty impressive, with noticeably cooler color-grading compared it the Blu-ray. It's been quite a few years since I saw this projected and couldn't say which is more authentic to the theatrical experience but I found this presentation, enhanced by HDR10 with a wider and deeper spectrum of color, to be exceptional, the green hues of the prison interiors and of the Green Mile in particular looked fantastic, as do skin tones. Fine detail is terrific as well with fine detail in clothing textures and facial features, and the detail in the shadows is quite nice, aided by the HDR10 and more nuanced contrast layering.
Audio/Video: The Green Mile (1999) arrives on region-free 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in glorious 2160p UHD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, with HDR10 color-grading. Unfortunately the accompanying Blu-ray is a recycled disc and does not benefit from the new scan. That said, the UUH is mighty impressive, with noticeably cooler color-grading compared it the Blu-ray. It's been quite a few years since I saw this projected and couldn't say which is more authentic to the theatrical experience but I found this presentation, enhanced by HDR10 with a wider and deeper spectrum of color, to be exceptional, the green hues of the prison interiors and of the Green Mile in particular looked fantastic, as do skin tones. Fine detail is terrific as well with fine detail in clothing textures and facial features, and the detail in the shadows is quite nice, aided by the HDR10 and more nuanced contrast layering.
Audio comes byway of a Dolby Atmos upgrade, which is always appreciated. While The Green Mile doesn't showcase a lot of bombastic highlights the sound design does afford room ambience, the crackle of high voltage coursing through death row inmates, and the occasional surge of Coffey's life-changing power do sound quite good here, as does the terrific Thomas Newman score.
Not surprising there are no new extras, as tends to be the standard 4K UHD upgrade practice for WBHE and other studio properties these days. The only extras on the UHD is the archival Audio Commentary by Frank Darabont, all other extras are on the recycled Blu-ray disc, these include the fantastic multi-part feature-length making-of doc, making of featurettes, screentests, make-ups tests, trailers and more.
The 2-dic release arrives in a dual-hubbed black Elite keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, that surprisingly does not feature the Drew Struzan artwork from the previous Bu-ray releases, but instead has an image that highlights Michael Duncan Clark with Tom Hanks and David Morse's character walking him down The Green Mile. I like it because I love that it puts the true star of the film front and center but I wouldn't have minded if they'd recycled the Struzan artwork, but you have I am sure that would have cost money and that's why it's not used, much like with the UHD of The Shawshank Redemption. The discs inside are generic without artwork adorning them,
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Frank Darabont (UHD & Blu-ray)
- Additional Scenes (4 min)*
- Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile Documentary (26 min)*
- Miracle and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile Featurette (103 min)*
- Tom Hanks Makeup Tests (8 min)*
- Michael Clarke Duncan Screen Test (8 min)*
- The Teaser Trailer: A Case Study (5 min)*
- Theatrical Trailers (5 min)*
- Michael Clarke Duncan Screen Test (8 min)*
- The Teaser Trailer: A Case Study (5 min)*
- Theatrical Trailers (5 min)*
- 4K Digital Copy
*Blu-ray Only
*Blu-ray Only
