The Green Mile

The Green Mile (1999)

  • 80% of critics liked it
    (132 reviews)

  • 93% of users liked it
    (719,255 ratings)

Director Frank Darabont, who made an acclaimed feature film debut with The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on a Stephen King novel set in a prison, returns for a second feature, based on King's 1996 serialized novel set in a prison. In 1935, inmates at the Cold Mountain Correctional Facility… More

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R,
Directed By
Written By
Frank Darabont
Genres
Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy
In Theaters
Dec 10, 1999 Wide
Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

    Much of the three-hour movie takes place in the prison, but the resonant characterization, expansive plotting, and judicious use of exterior locations and flashbacks turn the walls into windows.

  • Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

    To more than a few viewers, this one will feel like a life sentence.

  • Derek Adams, Time Out

    The supernatural elements carry an undeniable emotional charge, but the solution to the underlying murder mystery is disappointingly tidy and trite.

  • Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

    Three long hours of wind, an exercise in titanic self-importance intent on passing off klunky rhetoric as poignant drama.

  • Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

    The movie taps into a vein of Dickensian sentiment, nightmare and idealism, ribaldry and tragedy that give it that part-dark, part-shining fairytale quality that imbues most King tales and all three of Darabont's features.

Read all 18 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Universal D


    Stephen King's hypothetical update about the inner life of the Roman centurions who famously are chosen to kill an innocent man gets a devoted treatment by Frank Darabont and friends well worth your time. A great cast is quietly aided by ... the wonderful Mr.Jingles.

  • KJ P


    As long as the film is, you can easily sit through it, and by the end of the film, it will feel like you were in the prison with these characters in real time. Tom Hanks is fantastic as a prison guard who can clearly see that their newest death-row inmate is innocent. However, once… More

  • xGary X


    An ex-prison officer recounts the time during the Depression when a gentle giant with a remarkable gift for healing was on Death Row for the murder of two little girls. I've made no secret of my complete lack of respect for Stephen King and his work, but Frank Darabont made a… More

  • Adam K


    Despite its length, Frank Darabont delivers a passionate and emotionally thrilling film, which brings its viewers right to the heart of the story. Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clark Duncan and James Cromwell, and based on the Stephen King story, "The Green Mile" tells the… More

  • Nathan H


    A rare film that sets a supernatural element within a realistic world. Tom Hanks gives another stellar performance, as always, and Michael Clarke Duncan shows tryue acting skills. The entire movie flows perfectly, with surprising emotion and elegance.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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Trailers & Clips