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Dead Man Walking [1996]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A serious film on a serious subject, Dead Man Walking (1995) is enriched by two excellent performances: Sean Penn as a murderer and rapist facing execution on Death Row, and Susan Sarandon as a nun who visits and befriends him. Tim Robbins, the writer and director of the film (and Sarandon's husband), based the film on a true story, and there's not much narrative tension since it's obvious Penn will not escape his fate. But the film is a clear-eyed look at the realities of capital punishment and its grisly rituals, which at the same time never sentimentalises the people or the issues. There is no shying away from the evil of the murderer's acts and their effects on the victims' families, but this is balanced against the heartlessness and cynicism of those in the prison system and their political masters. It's hard to say whether the film is ultimately against capital punishment; it certainly encourages you to think for yourself.

On the DVD: The image and sound quality is excellent, in widescreen ratio 16:9. There's a theatrical trailer and a TV commercial for the film, which also has language tracks in English, French and Spanish and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Hungarian. There's also an audio commentary on the film by director Tim Robbins which gives valuable insights into the political background of the film and the shooting process. --Ed Buscombe


Wonderful execution film, with great performances
Review date: 2008-06-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

I really love execution films and this is one of the very best, probably only behind The Green Mile in my opinion.

Susan Sarandon quite rightly won an Academy award for her performance in this film and after just watching Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, I simply can not believe that Sean Penn did not join her in picking up the award himself, they are both simply breathtaking, showing a very wide range of all-round acting skills.

This is much more about the convict (Sean Penn) going through various stages as his time of execution approaches, from anger, to sorrow and acceptance of the the punishment he faces due to the crime that he committed.

It also highlights the injustice of the American system, money can buy jail time, whereas someone who commits the exact same crime is sentenced to death, this should never be the case, but sadly it can be.

Good support by the entire cast and great direction by Tim Robbins, moving and thoroughly entertaining, this film deals with all the aspects of what happens on death row very well indeed, this is the first execution film that I've seen portraying lethal injection and it's interesting watching the process of how this is done too.

Great film that I can and do watch time and time again, very highly recommended.

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Reviews


A moving, sensitive and balanced film
Review date: 2008-04-27 Rating: 8 out of 10



This film tackles one of the most difficult subjects: the death penalty. A guilty man on death row who doesn't do himself any favors, an old-fashioned Christian adviser and the parents of the victims (two teenagers). Tim Robbins treats everyone with the respect they deserve and doesn't fall into the trap of preaching. His approach is as sensitive as anyone could wish for. Both his protagonists are marvelous, understated and deeply touching. A very important film that will bring tears to your eyes. Hopefully, it should also make you think long and hard. Fantastic.

Inspiring book & Film
Review date: 2008-03-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is both a book and a movie that you need to interact with. Particularly in a day and age when there is a movement here in Canada to try to bring the death penalty back. The book is much more in depth than the movie. The book profiles the first three men that Sr. Prejean goes to the death chamber with as Spiritual Director. It profiles her mistakes as she journeys down this path for the first few times. She witnessed her first execution on April 5th, 1984 and she has been advocating against the death penalty since then.

The book does a great job of showing the disparity in how the death penalty is applied. It goes through the studies on its lack of effectiveness, and how for the most part, it is the poor and the African-American who are on death row. Even if you only read the appendices, the book will challenge you to view the death penalty in a different way.

The movie was the inspiration and starred Susan Sarandon. Sarandon was given the book while on a personal retreat at a monastery; she came home and gave the book to her partner, Tim Robbins, who directed the film. Together they approached Sr. Prejean, who went out and rented Bull Durham. She was a little leery of having them do the film, but after meeting with them went ahead with the project.

The film co-stars Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet, a compilation of the 3 men in the book. The movie, while slow moving, is incredibly intense and draws you into the drama of waiting for a death when you know the date and time of that approaching death.

As an interesting aside, another good book is Forgiving the Dead Man Walking by Debbie Morris, who was one of the victims of Robert Lee Willie from the book. Debbie always said if they ever made a movie, Penn would have to play Willie because they looked so much alike.

So read the book and watch the movie, and if you want yet another challenging book, give Forgiving the Dead Man Walking a read also.

it is easy to kill a monster, but hard to kill a human being?...
Review date: 2007-06-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

I love movies dealing with controversial issues, especially questioning real-life situations as well as social & moral dilemmas. As Tim Robbins' & Susan Sarandon's staunchly liberal stance is taken into consideration, "Dead Man Walking" might be understood as a "hidden" criticism to capital punishment & treatment of US justice system. But, I think that Robbins' approach taking on the issue is pretty even-handed (excluding final sequences), making some good arguments about merits and demerits of death penalty.

Being as unbiased as possible, he raises some solid points for both sides: sorrowful families of THE VICTIMS, raped and killed by two ruthless psychopaths, and a convicted DEATH ROW INMATE waiting for his imminent execution. But, Robbins' neutal attitude is CRACKED AT THE VERY SEAMS to the end of the movie while impending execution approaches: emotional tension builds, terror, fear & anger unfold, despair & emptiness dominate, and death shows its ugly & frosty face...

Another thing I appreciate is that Robbins follows a minimalist approach in setting up the movie: focusing mostly on character development and letting picture tell the story. Sarandon won Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Sister Prejean, and Sean Penn was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as convicted criminal Poncelet. Both performances were definitely brilliant.

Regardless of your idea on this controversial subject, this movie is a definite must-see!

Good and Evil
Review date: 2007-02-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

A film that doesn't force its opinion instead Dead Man Walking tells the story of all sides and leaves us, the viewer, to decide.

Right and Wrong isn't always as simple as Black and White

A morally questioning, emotionally charged film; with understated `brilliant' performances from Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn

Oscar winning and deservedly so

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
R. Lee Ermey
Raymond J. Barry
Sean Penn
Robert Prosky
Susan Sarandon

Creators:
Susan Sarandon (Primary Contributor)
Sean Penn (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070007152
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-09-17
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 117 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1996-01-12
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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