Cert:

Cat.no: 15796 DVD

Running time: 117 minutes

Year: 1995

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 16 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: 5 languages available

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: No

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £15.99

Extras: Trailer, TV Trailer

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Director:

Tim Robbins (Bob Roberts, Dead Man Walking)

Producers:

Jon Kilik, Tim Robbins and Rudd Simmons

Screenplay:

Tim Robbins (Based on the book "Dead Man Walking" by Sister Helen Prejean)

Music:

David Robbins

Cast:

Sister Helen Prejean: Susan Sarandon
Matthew Poncelet: Sean Penn
Hilton Barber: Robert Prosky
Earl Delacroix: Raymond J. Barry
Clyde Percy: R. Lee Ermey
Mary Beth Percy: Celia Weston
State Trooper: Clancy Brown

Dead man Walking tells a chilling story, based on true events, which details the intense relationship between Sister Helen Prejean and Matthew Poncelet who is sentenced to Death Row after the brutal murder of two young lovers in the forest.

Prejean becomes Poncelet's spiritual advisor through his countdown to death and could never have been more unprepared for the events that followed.

At times though, Poncelet claims he is innocent, even to the point where he's prepared to take a lie-detector test. The question that lingers up until the last minute is whether he is guilty or not and if he is, will Sister Helen Prejean be able to get through to him before the warden cries "dead man walking", the call for a man to be given his punishment by death.

One of the strong points of this film is in its cast. Susan Sarandon, wife of its director Tim Robbins, cuts an effective portrayal as the Nun trying hard to offer compassion to the convict while trying to understand the man behind the facade he sometimes puts up, as well as trying to offer condolence to the victims' families.

Sean Penn, once attributed to making dire movies with Madonna, made a name for himself in Casualties Of War when people discovered that he could act. It wasn't until 1993 when he proved his worth again with Carlito's Way and then in 1995 with his portrayal of Matthew Poncelet here, a man who doesn't know what's best for him, or whether it's worth trying to decide anything if others have already decided his fate. More recently he has appeared in Oliver Stone's U-Turn and opposite Michael Douglas in The Game.

The rest of the cast is fleshed out with Robert Prosky as Poncelet's lawyer, with Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey and Celia Weston as the parents of the two murdered teenagers.

Overall, this is a well-made thought-provoking drama with powerful acting from all concerned and competent direction from Sarandon's husband.

Trying to recreate the Smith and Jones head-to-head
conversations wasn't wise for a film such as this.

The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks as good as the 16:9 print that was issued by Polygram in 1998 with crisp, clear detail throughout bringing out the stark reality of the content. The average bitrate is a high and steady 7.44Mb/s.

The main difference here, though, is the inclusion of a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The original cinema release didn't have one, so it's nice to see they've gone to the trouble for the DVD. While it doesn't offer a great deal beyond ambience of the music from the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the increase in clarity and channel separation is everything. Note that the French and Spanish soundtracks are Dolby Surround only.

There's less extras here, but not much less. Just a 30-second TV trailer and a 2½-minute theatrical trailer, the latter of which just wouldn't play for some reason but can be spotted when checking the disc's bitrate. I wouldn't lose much sleep over it.

The Polygram disc also contained brief biographies and filmographies for Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, but only went as far as 1995, despite the DVD being released three years later. Neither disc sadly contains the director's commentary track which exists on the NTSC Laserdisc.

The film is split into a sparse 16 chapters, there are subtitles in 5 languages: English for the hard of hearing options, French, Spanish, Dutch and Hungarian; and the menus are all static and silent.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.