The Green Mile is a movie based on a series of books written by Stephen King. Stephen King had originally written The Green Mile as a type of ongoing story that he released in installments over a period of months. By the time the final installment was due people were clamoring to find out what would happen as Stephen King, once again, drew everyone in with his story telling abilities. Stephen King has always been called the Master Of Horror or the Sultan Of Shock or whatever clever name you want to put on the fact that he writes suspenseful and horror filled stories and movies. But people always seem to forget that Stephen King is an author first and foremost and he has quite a creative range. He even tried to take on the pen name of Richard Bachman earlier in his career so he could write about more than just horror but as soon as people figured out that Richard Bachman was Stephen King the cover was blown and Stephen King was forced to confuse his audience for the rest of his career. King’s talent seems to be limitless and his ability to tell a story not so much based on shock and horror but more based on emotion and sentiment is on full display in The Green Mile. The cast for the movie version of The Green Mile seemed to fit each of their roles perfectly and that also helps the movie become an overwhelming success. Tom Hanks is brilliant as the sympathetic head guard and Michael Clarke Duncan was equally as brilliant as the embattled giant that is completely misunderstood right to his execution.

The Green Mile is a story told by former Louisiana prison guard Paul Edgecomb, played by Tom Hanks, as he lives in a retirement home in the twilight of his years. He begins to relay his memories of his time as a guard and the different characters he has come across. He expresses his true feelings when he has to watch someone die in the electric chair and his disgust at the way some of the other guards almost looked forward to executions. Then Edgecomb tells the story of a prisoner named John Coffey, played by Michael Clarke Duncan, who was an eight foot tall monster of a man that was accused of killing two boys. As Edgecomb got to know Coffey he realized that Coffey is about as gentile as a person can be and despite his huge size and menacing look he still needed the lights on to be able to sleep at night. Over time Edgecomb began to realize that Coffey had special powers to heal and to also extend people’s lives. Coffey befriends a little mouse he calls Mr. Jingles and heals several people during his stay in prison including the warden’s wife. In the end Edgecomb comes to realize that Coffey is innocent and does what he can to help the big man out.

The Green Mile was a huge box office success and also earned four Oscar nominations including an nomination for Michael Clarke Duncan for best supporting actor. The Green Mile was a wonderful way for Stephen King to showcase his range and talents as an overall writer and not just a writer of horror. But we all have our comfort zone and Stephen King returned to his comfort zone with the recent release of his horror story 1408 about a haunted hotel. Ah Stephen King and his stories about haunted hotels.