The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey.
The film is primarily about Paul and his life as a corrections officer on Death Row in the 1930s. The movie is told in flashback by the protagonist in a nursing home and follows a string of supernatural events upon the arrival of John, a man convicted, but not guilty, of murder.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Plot
The Green Mile is a story told in flashback by an elderly Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer, later by Tom Hanks in the younger version of the character) in a nursing home who is talking to his friend Elaine about the summer of 1935 when he was a corrections officer in charge of Death Row inmates in Louisiana's Cold Mountain Penitentiary. His domain was called the "Green Mile" because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking "the last mile"; here it is on a stretch of green linoleum to the electric chair.
One day, a new inmate arrives, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a 7-foot-tall black male convicted of raping and killing two young white girls. Upon being escorted to his cell, he immediately demonstrates "gentle giant" character traits: keeping to himself, fearing darkness, and being moved to tears on occasion. Soon enough, John reveals extraordinary healing powers by healing Paul's urinary tract infection and resurrecting a mouse. Later, he would heal the terminally ill wife of Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell), who suffered from a large brain tumor. When John is asked to explain his power, he merely says that he "took it back."
At the same time, Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), a sadistic and unpopular guard, starts work. He "knows people, big people" (he is the nephew of the governor's wife), in effect preventing Paul or anybody else from doing anything significant to curb his behavior. Percy recognizes that the other officers greatly dislike him and uses that to demand managing the next execution. After that, he promises, he will have himself transferred to an administrative post at Briar Ridge Mental Hospital and Paul will never hear from him again. An agreement is made, but Percy then deliberately sabotages the execution. Instead of wetting the sponge used to conduct electricity, he leaves it dry, causing excruciating pain to Eduard "Del" Delacroix (Michael Jeter).
Shortly before Del's execution, a violent prisoner named William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell) arrives, due to be executed for multiple murders committed during a robbery. At one point he seizes John's arm and John psychically senses that Wharton is the true killer of the two girls, the crime for which John was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. John "takes back" the sickness in Hal's wife and regurgitates it into Percy, who then shoots Wharton to death and falls into a permanent catatonic state. In the wake of these events, Paul interrogates John, who says he "punished them bad men" and offers to show John what he saw. John takes Paul's hand stating that he has to give Paul "a part of himself" in order to see and imparts the visions of what he saw, of what really happened to the girls.
Paul asks John what he should do, if he should open the door and let John walk away. John tells him no, he is ready to go because here there is too much pain in the world, which he can feel, and that he is "rightly tired of the pain" and is ready to rest. When John is put in the electric chair, he asks Paul not to put the traditional black mask on his face because he is afraid of the dark. Paul agrees and after Paul shakes his hand, John is executed. As the flashback ends, Paul notes that he requested a transfer to a youth detention center, where he spent the remainder of his career.
In the present, Paul's friend questions his statement that he had a fully-grown son in 1935. He explains that he was 44 years old at the time of John's execution and that he is now 108 and still in excellent health. This is apparently a side effect of John giving a "part of himself" to Paul. Mr. Jingles, Del's mouse resurrected by John, is also still alive — but Paul believes his outliving all of his relatives and friends to be a punishment from God for having John executed. Paul explains he has deep thoughts about how "we each owe a death; there are no exceptions; but, Oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long."
rom a story by Stephen King.
Darabont established himself as a writer after spending his early years in Hollywood as a production assistant and set decorator. He first worked as a production aide on the 1981 fright film "Hell Night," at which time he became associated with filmmaker Chuck Russell.
With Russell, Darabont co-wrote the motion pictures "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors" and the 1988 remake of the classic 1950s horror film "The Blob." His other feature credits include "The Fly II," the sequel to David Cronenberg’s 1986 classic.
He also wrote seven episodes of the ABC series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" and two segments of HBO’s popular anthology series, "Tales from the Crypt," earning a Writers Guild nomination for the the segment entitled "The Ventriloquist’s Dummy." Recently, Darabont wrote and executive-produced the HBO telefilm "Black Cat Run," directed by D.J. Caruso.
He also helmed the independent short film "The Woman in the Room," which he also adapted from a story by Stephen King that eventually aired on PBS.
Darabont currently has several projects in development at Castle Rock Entertainment that include "The Bijou," "Salton Sea" and an adaptation of the classic action-adventure tale, "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze," for actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
DAVID VALDES (producer) has enjoyed a diversified career over the last 20 years that includes successful collaborations with such noted filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood, with whom he was associated on 18 features.
He served as sole executive producer on Eastwood’s acclaimed revisionist Western, "Unforgiven," which captured four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and repeated those duties on Wolfgang Petersen’s Oscar-nominated hit thriller, "In the Line of Fire," which starred Eastwood, Rene Russo and Oscar nominee John Malkovich. Valdes was also the executive producer on two critically acclaimed Eastwood movies: "Bird," starring Forest Whitaker, and "White Hunter, Black Heart," which Eastwood directed as well as starred in.
As a producer, Valdes includes among his many motion picture credits "Turbulence" featuring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly; "A Perfect World," starring Kevin Costner and Eastwood, who also directed; and "The Stars Fell on Henrietta," with Robert Duvall and Aidan Quinn. He teamed Eastwood with Charlie Sheen in "The Rookie," and paired Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron in the comedy "Like Father, Like Son."
He also produced Eastwood’s productions of "Pink Cadillac" and the last installment of the popular Dirty Harry movies, "The Dead Pool," which marked the feature-film debuts of Jim Carrey and Liam Neeson. Among the four movies he did with Francis Ford Coppola, Valdes most recently served as executive producer on the Vietnam drama "Gardens of Stone."
Valdes worked in television as a director on the innovative series "Moonlighting" (in its debut season), starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. He worked in all television formats, including movies-of-the-week, series, commercials and music videos before finding his niche as a motion picture producer.
Born and raised in Southern California, Valdes earned a B.A. degree in Theatre Arts from UCLA, graduating magna cum laude. He began his film career as an assistant director for such esteemed filmmakers as Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders while also beginning his longtime affiliations with Francis Ford Coppola and Clint Eastwood. He segued into producing as an associate producer on Eastwood’s "Pale Rider" in 1984.
DAVID TATTERSALL, B.S.C. (director of photography) was born and raised in Great Britain. He attended Goldsmith’s College in London, where he graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. He then studied his craft at Britain’s National Film and Television School, specializing in cinematography.
Tattersall completed a pair of highly praised student films at the National School. "Father Christmas" received a British Academy (BAFTA) nomination as Best Short of 1987, and "Caprice" was an official selection of the Edinburgh and Milan film festivals. He also shot another short film, "Metropolis Apocalypse," selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 1988.
Following his university studies, Tattersall became one of the industry’s most sought-after TV commercial cinematographers. He directed the photography on a film series for Yorkshire Television, "Yellowthread Street," before making his feature debut on the independent film "The Bridge."
Tattersall’s motion picture credits include George Lucas’"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," directed by George Lucas. He also photographed such films as "Con Air," "Soldier," "Moll Flanders," "The Wind in the Willows" and "The Radioland Murders," this last also for filmmaker Lucas.
He continued his affiliation with Lucas on the ABC-TV series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," earning both an Emmy nomination and an A.S.C. nomination.
TERENCE MARSH (production designer) is a two-time Academy Award winner for his art direction on the motion pictures "Dr. Zhivago" and "Oliver!"
Born in London, Marsh attended the Hornsey College of Art. Following completion of his studies, he joined the art department of Rank Studios, where he worked as an assistant art director on such films as "The Prince and the Showgirl," "A Night to Remember" and "Northwest Frontier."
He left Rank after a six-year tenure to freelance with production designer John Box on the Oscar-winning classic "Lawrence of Arabia" before serving as art director on "Dr. Zhivago," "A Man for All Seasons" and "Oliver!"
He collected two more Oscar nominations for his designs on the films "Scrooge" and "Mary, Queen of Scots." He also garnered a trio of British Academy Award (BAFTA) nominations for "Scrooge," "The Hunt for Red October" and "A Bridge Too Far."
His most recent motion picture credits include "Fallen," "Executive Decision," "Forget Paris," "Clear and Present Danger" and "The Shawshank Redemption." Other notable works include "A Touch of Class," "Magic," "The Looking Glass War," "Absence of Malice," "The Macintosh Man," "Juggernaut," "The Abdication," "Perfect Friday," "Basic Instinct," "Havana," "Spaceballs," "To Be Or Not To Be" and "Bert Rigby, You’re A Fool."
Marsh especially enjoys comedies and both co-wrote and produced Richard Lester’s "Finders Keepers." He has also maintained a close association with actor/writer/director Gene Wilder, serving as designer on "The Frisco Kid" and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother." He also co-produced "The World’s Greatest Lover" and co-wrote "Haunted Honeymoon," in addition to his production designs for both films.
Exclusive:
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RICHARD FRANCIS-BRUCE (film editor) collected his first Academy Award nomination for his editing of "The Shawshank Redemption."
Born in Sydney, Australia, Francis-Bruce began his career as an assistant editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1966, moving into current affairs and documentaries three years later. In the 1970s, he began editing television drama series such as "Ben Hall," "The Outsiders," "Patrol Boat," "Golden Soak," "The Timeless Land" and "The Levkas Man."
With Carl Schultz’ "Goodbye Paradise," Francis-Bruce entered the feature film arena. He reunited with director Schultz on the award-winning movie "Careful, He Might Hear You," for which he received an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Editing.
He began a long association with filmmaker George Miller on the TV miniseries "The Dismissal," which led to his motion picture work on such Miller films as "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," "The Witches of Eastwick" and "Lorenzo’s Oil."
Following "The Shawshank Redemption," he received two additional Oscar nominations for "Air Force One" and "Seven." His other feature credits include "The Rock," "Speechless," "Sliver," "Dead Calm," "The Blood of Heroes," "Cadillac Man," "Crooked Hearts," the Australian portion of Peter Weir’s "The Mosquito Coast" and "Instinct."
THOMAS NEWMAN (composer) had the distinct honor of collecting his first two Academy Award nominations for Best Dramatic Score in the same year. He competed against himself as the only double nominee in 1994 for both "The Shawshank Redemption" and Gillian Armstrong’s "Little Women." He received a third Oscar nod for his work on Diane Keaton’s "Unstrung Heroes," and also earned Grammy nominations for "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Unstrung Heroes."
Born in Los Angeles, Newman is a member of one of Hollywood’s most esteemed musical families. His father, film composer Alfred Newman ("All About Eve," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"), won nine Academy Awards (out of 45 nominations). His uncles are renowned film-score artists Emil and Lionel Newman (Oscar-winner for "Hello, Dolly!"). His cousin, also a multi-Oscar nominee, is singer-songwriter Randy Newman ("The Natural"), and brother David is also a busy film composer ("The War of the Roses").
Newman studied composition at USC with professor Frederick Lesemann and noted film composer David Raksin ("Laura"). He later completed his academic work at Yale University under the tutelage of Jacob Druckman, Bruce MacCombie and Robert Moore. One of his most significant mentors was Stephen Sondheim, who championed his musical theatre piece, "Three Mean Fairy Tales," which received a workshop production. Newman also won support from a young New York casting agent, Scott Rudin, who later hired the composer as a musical assistant on one of his early motion picture productions, "Reckless."
Newman, who composed his first film score at age 29, counts among his most recent film credits "American Beauty," "Meet Joe Black," "The Horse Whisperer," "Oscar and Lucinda," "Mad City," "American Buffalo," "Red Corner" and "Up Close and Personal." He has also written scores for "Phenomenon," "How to Make An American Quilt," "The Player," "Flesh and Bone," "Scent of A Woman," "The People vs. Larry Flynt," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "The Rapture," "Men Don’t Leave," "The Lost Boys," "Gung Ho," "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Grandview, U.S.A." For television, he wrote the scores for HBO’s "Citizen Cohn" as well as TNT’s "Heat Wave," among others.
KARYN WAGNER (costume designer) is a third-generation industry veteran. Wagner’s grandfather, George Barnes, won an Oscar for his black-and-white cinematography on Alfred Hitchcock’s "Rebecca." Her grandmother was part of Erich Von Stroheim’s stock company and her father worked as a motion picture sound mixer.
The Hollywood native had no plans to enter the industry when she enrolled in the University of California-Davis to study art history. Before long, she won a production coordinator job on a feature, then focused her career as a camera technician before becoming a costumer.
She reunites with filmmaker Frank Darabont after having designed the wardrobe for his HBO production, "Black Cat Run." Her other feature credits include Steven Soderbergh’s "The Underneath," Robert Kurtzman’s "Wishmaster" and John Woo’s first American movie, "Hard Target," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. On that film, she worked with actress Kasi Lemmons, who chose Wagner to create the period wardrobe for her acclaimed 1997 directorial debut, "Eve’s Bayou."
Wagner also designed costumes for the TV pilots "Bump in the Night" and "Beastmaster III." She served as a wardrobe supervisor on such projects as "The Rapture," "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story," Sam Raimi’s "Army of Darkness" and HBO’s comedy series, "First and Ten."
Photos by Ralph Nelson | © 1999 Warner Bros.
Cast
