Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this emotional film about miracles and the power of redemption stars Tom Hanks as prison guard Paul Edgecomb. When John Coffey (Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan), a giant of a man, is brought to death row, Edgecomb and his fellow guards discover something very unusual about him. Convicted for the sadistic murder of two young girls, but behaving almost like a child himself, Coffey seems to have a supernatural gift of healing living things. Expectations are turned upside down and the guards’ sense of humanity is awakened in this adaptation of Stephen King’s compelling novel.
For thoughts on The Green Mile, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
The Green Mile makes its long-awaited 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with a stunning 2160p HDR10 transfer that allows the film to look substantially better than it ever has. The UHD disc corrects the overbaked color palette of the previous disc with a presentation much more leaning towards the cooler, natural and nuanced. The most impressive moments of HDR implementation are in the film’s use of piercing lighting against a stark nighttime background. Exterior locations with the southern vegetation provide colors that radiate naturally with a pleasing intensity. White levels offer a greater stability without veering into blooming. Black levels never really ever struggle with crush as it maintains a strong amount of depth and detail in darker environments. Skin tones look natural and the clarity of the transfer gives you a great amount of facial detail including sweat and stubble.
When compared to the old included Blu-Ray, this disc offers monumental improvements in all respects. That release was plagued with an overly bright appearance and some significant video noise that has been rectified here. This 4K master has a lovely amount of natural film grain that allows this movie to shine and gives a lot of pleasing texture and detail to the transfer. For the first time on home entertainment, you can clearly see specific text such as scribbled notes. The image presents with a miraculous amount of depth that makes this isolated prison feel more three dimensional than ever. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are outstanding, especially when it comes to portraying various nighttime scenes that seem more natural but retain immense detail. This transfer is a treat for fans of the film and should stand as the best representation of this film for the foreseeable future.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray utilizes a Dolby Atmos track that gives the film’s dynamic soundscape a real vitality and immersive quality. There is an emphasis on the front channels for a good portion of the sounds, but activity extends to the surrounds, rears and overhead speakers to make the confined world feel more robust and all-encompassing. The sounds up above are not constant, but they are present enough to keep the listening experience quite engaging. The film really satisfies when it comes to the music, as the magical Thomas Newman score washes over you in a really satisfying, enveloping way. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting lost amongst the music or sound effects. The low end effects from the subwoofer give certain moments that much-needed extra weight to enrich the world, such as the rolling thunder that makes an impact. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. The Green Mile is not an action-packed film by any stretch of the imagination, but the expanded audio track allows the film to feel more three dimensional and precise.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Frank Darabont delivers an incredibly energetic and informative commentary track in which he discusses why he chose certain performers for these roles, the tips and tricks of shooting on location versus on a studio lot, thematic elements you may have overlooked, the production design of the film, the overlap between The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, the times he actually got behind the camera and more. For a film that is over three hours, it is incredibly impressive that Darabont rarely has an extended period of silence, and he also has so much detail to share about every shot in this film.
- Walking The Mile – The Making Of The Green Mile: A nearly 26-minute featurette which features interviews with all the key players and lots of behind-the-scenes footage including moments of rehearsal, shot setup and more. There are some great soundbites included here and lighter moments such as Stephen King getting a birthday cake on set.
- Miracles and Mystery – Creating The Green Mile: A six-part 103-minute documentary which takes a look at the Stephen King source material, the process of translating it to the screen, the performances that bring these characters to life, the filmmaking craft that went into making this work a reality including the production design, cinematography, the visual effects and more, and the work of the small rodent star. This gives you all of the information you could possibly want about the film.
- Deleted Scenes: Two unused scenes totaling four minute are provided here featuring Graham Greene’s character preparing for his execution along with another scene before John is ushered into the execution room. These scenes are provided with optional audio commentary from Frank Darabont who explains why these scenes were cut and the effort that went into finding them for the supplemental features.
- Michael Clarke Duncan’s Screen Test: A nearly nine-minute early glimpse at Michael Clarke Duncan testing for the role of John.
- Tom Hanks’ Makeup Test: A nearly six-minute early glimpse at what Tom Hanks would have looked like as the older version of his character.
- The Teaser Trailer – A Case Study: A five-minute piece which explores the development and creation of the teaser trailer that was shot and abandoned for one very particular reason you will have to view to discover.
- Teaser Trailer: The nearly two-minute “lost” trailer is provided here.
- Theatrical Trailer: The nearly two-and-a-half minute theatrical trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
The Green Mile is one the great films to come in the latter half ‘90s. The Stephen King source material has some inherent tropes that are a bit reductive, but one cannot deny that the craft of filmmaking and performances are astounding. Tom Hanks is as great as you would expect, but it is Michael Clarke Duncan that steals the show. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray which trounces over the previous Blu-Ray with a great A/V presentation and a pleasing array of legacy special features. If you love this film, you will want to own it in the best quality possible. Highly Recommended
The Green Mile is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
