Poster © Warner Bros.. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreCrime, Drama & Fantasy
RatedR
Runtime3 hr 9 mins
ReleasedDecember 10, 1999
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorFrank Darabont
StarringTom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
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The Green Mile (1999)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| The Green Mile's Details | |
| Genre | Crime, Drama & Fantasy |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 12/10/1999 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 3 hr 9 mins |
| Budget | $60M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | The Green Mile by Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| The Green Mile's Interests | |
| General | Spools, green linoleum, sticky Louisiana summers, long night shifts, good manners. |
| Music | Thomas Newman. Gentle, Southern and sneaky about getting you misty. |
| Movies | The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Same director, same Stephen King, different prison. |
| Television | Castle Rock. A whole show built out of Stephen King's corner of the map. |
| Heroes | Mr. Jingles. Rolls a spool, steals every scene. |
| The Green Mile's Crew | |
| Director | Frank Darabont |
| Writers | Frank Darabont |
| Producers | Frank Darabont, David Valdes |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Music | Thomas Newman |
| Edited By | Richard Francis-Bruce |
| Production | Castle Rock Entertainment, Darkwoods Productions |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. |
189 minutes, and a real chunk of them belong to a mouse. That’s not even the problem. The problem is how the movie writes John Coffey. Michael Clarke Duncan is gentle and heartbreaking in the role, but Coffey is a saint with no past and no wants, a Black man on death row whose whole purpose is to heal the white characters and teach them something. It’s a tired old trope, and this runtime gives you plenty of time to notice it. Percy is a cartoon villain with a comb. Still, Tom Hanks plays Paul as a decent man stuck doing an awful job, and David Morse quietly anchors every scene he’s in. One execution scene is legit hard to sit through, and the film earns that weight. The world loves it: an 8.6 on IMDb from 1.59 million ratings. A 7.4 because the acting is great and the story leans on a crutch. $2,336 says you tell a friend it’s amazing and then warn them to clear the whole evening.
What works: Michael Clarke Duncan’s tenderness, Tom Hanks as the decent man in charge, and David Morse being steady in every scene.
What doesn’t: John Coffey is written as a saintly helper for the white characters instead of a full person, and the runtime drags.
Who it’s for: People who want a long, sad Stephen King story with no horror in it and a box of tissues within reach.
Spoilers
Paul realizes Coffey is innocent and was trying to save the little girls, not hurt them, but Coffey asks to go through with his execution because he is worn out by the world’s cruelty. In the present, a very old Paul explains that Coffey’s gift has kept him and Mr. Jingles alive far longer than normal, and he feels it as a punishment.
Louisiana, 1935. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) runs the guards on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, a cell block everyone calls the Green Mile for its faded green floor. He and his right-hand man, Brutus Howell (David Morse), treat the inmates with quiet decency. The exception is Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), a nasty young guard with powerful relatives and no business holding keys. Then a new prisoner arrives: John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), huge, gentle, soft-spoken and afraid of the dark. Around the same time, a clever mouse moves in. Frank Darabont directs, from Stephen King's novel. One hundred eighty-nine minutes, one very talented mouse.
Anyone who leaves a light on at night. John would really appreciate it.
| Tom Hanks | Paul Edgecomb |
| David Morse | Brutus "Brutal" Howell |
| Bonnie Hunt | Jan Edgecomb |
| Michael Clarke Duncan | John Coffey |
| James Cromwell | Hal Moores |
| Michael Jeter | Eduard "Del" Delacroix |
| Graham Greene | Arlen Bitterbuck |
| Doug Hutchison | Percy Wetmore |
| Sam Rockwell | William "Wild Bill" Wharton |
| Barry Pepper | Dean Stanton |
| Jeffrey DeMunn | Harry Terwilliger |
| Bill McKinney | Jack Van Hay |
| Patricia Clarkson | Melinda Moores |
| Harry Dean Stanton | Toot-Toot |
| Eve Brent | Elaine Connelly |
| William Sadler | Klaus Detterick |
| Paula Malcomson | Marjorie Detterick |
| Brent Briscoe | Bill Dodge |
| Gary Sinise | Burt Hammersmith |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 8.6 / 10 (1,592,018 votes) → 8.6 / 10 (1,592,283 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $286.8M; Domestic box office $136.8M; Opening weekend $18M; Profit / loss (est.) +$53.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 78%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; RT 78% (134 reviews); Metacritic 61 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 8.6 / 10 (1,592,018 votes); movie.guru score 7.8.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.