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Movies / On DVD / Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking

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Dead Man Walking (1995)

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94 %
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Reviews Counted:52

Fresh:49

Rotten:3

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: A powerful, thought-provoking film that covers different angles of its topic without resorting to preaching, Dead Man Walking will cause the viewer to reflect regardless of their political viewpoint.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This fascinating and powerful drama explores the relationship between a condemned young convict and the nun who counsels him in the days leading up to his execution. Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) is... This fascinating and powerful drama explores the relationship between a condemned young convict and the nun who counsels him in the days leading up to his execution. Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) is on death row after being convicted of raping and brutally murdering a young couple. He writes to Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) for help, asking her to visit him in prison. She agrees to act as his spiritual adviser and begins to spend time each day with him. Prejean, who strongly opposes capital punishment, attempts to get Poncelet's death sentence rescinded. First, however, she tries to save Poncelet's soul by getting him to face up to his guilt and ask forgiveness for his actions. Based on the real-life experiences of Sister Helen Prejean, the film shows the horrors of state-sanctioned executions while also dealing sympathetically with the grief felt by the families of the two murder victims. Sarandon and Penn turn in top-notch performances in this award-winning film written, directed, and produced by Tim Robbins (BOB ROBERTS, CRADLE WILL ROCK). [More]

Starring: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry

Starring: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston, Lois Smith

Director: Tim Robbins

Director: Tim Robbins
Composer: David Robbins

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 24, 1997

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Dead Man Walking

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41 - 54 (sorted by date)
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Don't go unadvised, and don't plan anything too frivolous for right afterwards. But do go.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com

Sarandon, who won the Oscar for Best Actress for this role, is superb, but Penn is extraordinary.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith Simanton
Keith Simanton
Film.com

This makes you think harder about crime and punishment than, say, The Green Mile, delivering uneasy truths rather than comforting melodrama.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine

An entirely superb experience at the movies, but never have we seen anything on the big screen reduce grown men to tears like this drama.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Expresses a heartfelt opinion on the death penalty without seeming either preachy or one-sided.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Dead Man Walking is a provocative, well-made film on a surprisingly intelligent level.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

is the finest, least compromised film about capital punishment ever advancing a gently stated 'anti' view but going the extra 100 miles to give victims their due.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Its final moments leave us awash in emotion.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Absorbing, surprising, technically superb and worth talking about for a long time afterward

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A thought-provoking drama not to be missed or dismissed.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Sean Means
Sean Means
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The picture is cloudy in intent.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A tour de force acting performance by Sarandon.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

It will send you home with more than a few long thoughts.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Robbins, who also wrote the script, is no Truman Capote, let alone a Victor Hugo, and his film trips up constantly on indecisiveness about what it is he's trying to say.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
41 - 54 (sorted by date)
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