IMDb > Dead Man Walking (1995)
Dead Man Walking
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Dead Man Walking (1995) More at IMDbPro »

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Dead Man Walking (1995) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   29,997 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 32% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tim Robbins
Writers (WGA):
Helen Prejean (book)
Tim Robbins (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Dead Man Walking on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 January 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Plot:
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 11 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(29 articles)
Sarandon And Besson Land Stockholm Film Festival Honours
 (From WENN. 21 October 2009, 12:06 PM, PDT)
Some People You Might Know (And Some You Might Not) Are Receiving Awards!
 (From FilmExperience. 25 September 2009, 12:47 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Watershed more (164 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Susan Sarandon ... Sister Helen Prejean

Sean Penn ... Matthew Poncelet
Robert Prosky ... Hilton Barber

Raymond J. Barry ... Earl Delacroix

R. Lee Ermey ... Clyde Percy
Celia Weston ... Mary Beth Percy

Lois Smith ... Helen's mother
Scott Wilson ... Chaplain Farlely
Roberta Maxwell ... Lucille Poncelet
Margo Martindale ... Sister Colleen
Barton Heyman ... Capt. Beliveau

Steve Boles ... Sgt. Neal Trapp

Nesbitt Blaisdell ... Warden Hartman
Ray Aranha ... Luis Montoya
Larry Pine ... Guy Gilardi
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for a depiction of a rape and murder.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
122 min
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #34133) | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Angola, Louisiana, USA more
Company:
Havoc more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
After being told that she would be played in the film by "a famous actress from Thelma & Louise (1991)", Sister Helen Prejean was introduced to Susan Sarandon and said "Thank God, she's Louise." more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the flashback scenes at the beginning of the movie, there are bright flashes in the night woods as the kids are being shot. However, flashbacks at the end of the movie do not show any flash from the gunfire. more
Quotes:
Sister Helen Prejean: Show me some respect, Matthew.
Matthew Poncelet: Why? 'Cause you're a nun?
Sister Helen Prejean: Because I'm a person.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hobgoblins (#10.7)" (1998) more
Soundtrack:
Isa Lei more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
15 out of 23 people found the following comment useful.
Watershed, 26 March 2000
Author: Vibiana from Kansas, U.S.A.

I haven't seen many films that really, truly made me rethink a long-held position or opinion on a thorny issue, but "Dead Man Walking" is one of them.

I read Sr. Helen Prejean's book, upon which this film was based, when it first came out in 1993. At that time I was utterly supportive of capital punishment -- to quote the script, I felt anyone who committed crimes horrible enough to land them on Death Row was an "expendable human being, suckin' up tax dollars." I also had personal experience with the issue when an entire family whom I knew in my childhood were slaughtered by a man who is now on Death Row for his crimes.

As you might imagine, I was disgusted with Sr. Helen's book. I thought that trotting to death row and holding the hand of some scumbag who'd killed innocent people was about the lowest thing anyone could do, and as a Catholic I was offended by the seeming hypocrisy of it.

Because I had disliked the book, I never saw the film until about two weeks ago, when I bought a remaindered copy of it in a video store. I have watched it four times since then, mostly because I am trying to work out my feelings on it. I am still a supporter of capital punishment, but it's going to be less easy for me to ignore the fact that (to quote again), "There's nobody with money on Death Row" -- and quite a few more blacks, now that I think of it, AND the fact that, like Matthew Poncelet's character, the men who are being executed are human beings who have feelings and fears. It's easy to jeer at Matthew on the day before his execution, fretting nervously about whether the lethal injection will "hurt," like a little boy at the doctor's office for a penicillin shot, since his victims' last moments certainly "hurt." What isn't easy is to realize that while the victims of these inmates didn't know they were about to die until it was too late, the inmates themselves have what seems like a blessing at first, but upon deeper examination is the greatest curse: knowing the exact hour and day they will die, and having to face it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

I'm sorry if this review offends people who are sincere death penalty supporters. I still consider myself to be one, but my thinking has been reformed somewhat and I'm more ready to listen to the opponents and try to make compromises; maybe that's what this issue needs more than anything. I will say finally that ONE part of this film did offend me as a Catholic: the symbolic "crucifixion" of Poncelet during the "last words" scene. That was the one place where Robbins strayed from his even-handed approach to the issue -- the only one I could find.

In all, this was a fine film that made me rethink an explosive issue, and I recommend it highly to anyone debating the pros and cons.

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Message Boards

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D. PENALTY IS ABOUT REVENGE NOT JUSTICE - OWN UP petitprince-3
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