October Stephen King Blogathon – Day 30 – The Green Mile (1999) – Encore Review 2

This is my 30th of 31 reviews of Stephen King adaptations as part of the joint Blogathon that Darren (of Movie Reviews 101) and I are running this month in honor of the great horror writer.

Stop by every day to read more and more from us and from other guest bloggers.

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“You can’t hide what’s in your heart ” – John Coffey

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (Theater, DVD, 6 May 2013, 27 Oct 2013 and 22 Oct 2015)

Link to original review – Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – After receiving a new prisoner on death row in a Southern prison during the 1930’s, a group of guards and prisons witness miraculous wonders which will change their lives forever.

My Take on it – It is so inconceivable to believe that Frank Darabont was able to choose two distinctly different Stephen King novels set in a prison and create cinematic masterpieces of them both.

If it had to rank the King adaptations for the screen, this movie would for sure be in my top 3 along with The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Stand By Me (1986).

Everything is done just right and its deliberately slow pace just helps this superbly written story slowly unfold.  Despite its 3+ hour runtime, this movie is never boring and rmeins engaging the entire time.

The cast is wonderful and its interesting to thing of how many great actors are involved in this film.

Tom Hanks, David Morse, Barry Pepper, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Sam Rockwell, Dabs Greer, Patricia Clarkson, Jeffrey DeMunn, Doug Hutchinson, Harry Dean Stanton and Gary Sinise are all excellent here.

The story itself (despite taking place in a place filled with death) is truly heartwarming and magical because just like Shawshank it’s all about hope and discovery in a place one wouldn’t expect to find any at all.

This is my favorite movie of 1999 and despite its 3+ hour length is wondrous to watch over and over.

Bottom Line – Amazing King adaptation that is among the top three best adaptations IMHO.  Excellent cast led by Hanks and Clarke. Heartwarming story set in a very unlikely place that really raises the spirits. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – According to one of the features on the DVD, Stephen King called this film *the* single most faithful adaptation of his work. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (no change from original review)

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