Dead Man Walking on DVD (1995)

A moving, sensitive and balanced film

Marianthi from London , 26/01/2004

This film tackles one of the most difficult subjects: the death penalty. A guilty man on death row who doesn't do himself any favours, an old-fashioned Christian advisor and the parents of the victimes (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 marvellous, 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.

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Excellent Film

A customer from Crowthorne, England , 25/05/2005

Review Credit: IMDB.com

This is a powerful, well acted film about the relationship between a tattooed, racist dirtbag (Sean Penn) on Death Row for a brutal rape/murder, and an attractive, modernist nun (Susan Sarandon) who becomes his spiritual adviser, and, in a sense, (not physically) his lover.

While the movie pretends not to take sides, it is clearly evident that its message is that capital punishment is still qualitatively as brutal as criminal homicide. Although Sarandon appears to actively sympathize with the families of the victims, the 'redemption' of the killer is the most important thing to her ego and those of the other anti-death penalty activists working for Penn's reprieve from Death Row. However, his eventual confession and acceptance of the evil of his acts only comes about when his appeals are exhausted and death is imminent. Real crocodile tears, not for his victims but for his own sorry carcass. After he's strapped into the lethal injection gurney, the camera depicts him in an upright crucifixion position. It was enough to make me sick and recall the Talmudic saying that 'Kindness to the cruel is cruelty to the kind.' How dare they even imply some moral equivalence between the legal execution of a murderer who was given full due process rights (and then some) and a brutal murder?! This man's victims didn't get to say goodbye to their families. They weren't granted the comfort of pre-death spiritual epiphanies. Just so the reader knows where I'm coming from, this writer is opposed to the death penalty. BUT not for pseudohumanitarian reasons. As a former law enforcement official, I have seen too many panicked witnesses, sloppy and/or unethical police officers, braindead judges and juries, and even coolly lying criminal competitors to have enough faith in the ability of any justice system run by human beings to invariably protect the innocent. The finality of death precludes remedial action for frame-ups and mistakes.

No doubt, the husband and wife team of Robbins/Sarandon intended this to be a powerful anti-death penalty statement. But Penn's realistic portrayal of the murderer and Sarandon's equally effective rendering of the truly arrogant egomaniacs that some professional 'humanitarians' really are, actually communicates a very different message to those whose thought processes go beyond slogans and preconceived notions. I came away from the movie regretting the fact that that human beings and their institutions were too flawed to permit the execution of scum like Penn's character.

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Make your own decision

McClennan from St Helens , 22/08/2005

Immensely powerful and moving film of a true story about a man on death row, befriended by a nun, after he wrote to her to ask her to write to him. It would be easy to say this is a rollercoaster of emotion but it is so much more than that. The film isn't a technical workout and is driven by some story driving acting throughout. I expected this to be an anti-death penalty film with simplistic moralising in it, but it is much more than that. It presents the facts, as they happened in real life and I cannot think of a film about this contentioius issue that does so as good as this.

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great man walking

johnnyfraudster from greater london , 30/01/2004

"Dead Man Walking" is a class act from start to finish. A slow burner to begin with but it creeps up on you unawares and suddenly you are gripped. The central performances by Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are mesmerizing and faultless. The strength of Tim Robbins' direction is its abilty to convey a very strong anti-death penatly statement without being heavy handed. He allows the story to speak for itself and the excellent cinematography is always there to enhance rather than gloss up the plot. First rate. If only all Hollywood films were this intelligent and well made...

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Excellent Film

A customer from Crowthorne, England , 25/05/2005

Review Credit: IMDB.com

This is a powerful, well acted film about the relationship between a tattooed, racist dirtbag (Sean Penn) on Death Row for a brutal rape/murder, and an attractive, modernist nun (Susan Sarandon) who becomes his spiritual adviser, and, in a sense, (not physically) his lover.

While the movie pretends not to take sides, it is clearly evident that its message is that capital punishment is still qualitatively as brutal as criminal homicide. Although Sarandon appears to actively sympathize with the families of the victims, the 'redemption' of the killer is the most important thing to her ego and those of the other anti-death penalty activists working for Penn's reprieve from Death Row. However, his eventual confession and acceptance of the evil of his acts only comes about when his appeals are exhausted and death is imminent. Real crocodile tears, not for his victims but for his own sorry carcass. After he's strapped into the lethal injection gurney, the camera depicts him in an upright crucifixion position. It was enough to make me sick and recall the Talmudic saying that 'Kindness to the cruel is cruelty to the kind.' How dare they even imply some moral equivalence between the legal execution of a murderer who was given full due process rights (and then some) and a brutal murder?! This man's victims didn't get to say goodbye to their families. They weren't granted the comfort of pre-death spiritual epiphanies. Just so the reader knows where I'm coming from, this writer is opposed to the death penalty. BUT not for pseudohumanitarian reasons. As a former law enforcement official, I have seen too many panicked witnesses, sloppy and/or unethical police officers, braindead judges and juries, and even coolly lying criminal competitors to have enough faith in the ability of any justice system run by human beings to invariably protect the innocent. The finality of death precludes remedial action for frame-ups and mistakes.

No doubt, the husband and wife team of Robbins/Sarandon intended this to be a powerful anti-death penalty statement. But Penn's realistic portrayal of the murderer and Sarandon's equally effective rendering of the truly arrogant egomaniacs that some professional 'humanitarians' really are, actually communicates a very different message to those whose thought processes go beyond slogans and preconceived notions. I came away from the movie regretting the fact that that human beings and their institutions were too flawed to permit the execution of scum like Penn's character.

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Make your own decision

McClennan from St Helens , 22/08/2005

Immensely powerful and moving film of a true story about a man on death row, befriended by a nun, after he wrote to her to ask her to write to him. It would be easy to say this is a rollercoaster of emotion but it is so much more than that. The film isn't a technical workout and is driven by some story driving acting throughout. I expected this to be an anti-death penalty film with simplistic moralising in it, but it is much more than that. It presents the facts, as they happened in real life and I cannot think of a film about this contentioius issue that does so as good as this.

Read all highest rated reviews