John Cofey's initials are J.C., after all, and Paul is telling this tale!

Although Percy is a hated character, you have to give the actor credit for getting you to hate him so much. He did a great job.

The fact that it's a Stephen King story means a supernatural element shouldn't be extremely surprising

"he's not the comic relief"

Proceeds to laugh at the wild Bill scenes 🤣🤣 I love it

6:16 I was a field training officer at a maximum security prison for 7 years. The first thing I told all my new hires was "It's not our job to punish the inmates. Their punishment is being here. You treat these guys like humans then you can usually deescalate a situation before it gets violent." It served me quite well.

Note this is Stephen Kings symbolic explanation of the Jesus Christ story in the Stephen King universe.  John Coffey (JC) is supposed to signify that there are men who come along in the universe who are able to erase sin, illness, and push off evil.  He is also explicitly to be like the Biblical Sampson or Hercules in stature.  That this convergence on the “shining” mystical energy displaying these great powers is what became a foundation for religious beliefs throughout history.

There is also an incorporation of Louisiana Creole traiteur, the mythical sin eaters of the Welsh folklore, or the meso-American concept of “sacred filth” and the representation of dirties who can take the confessions and “eat ones sacred filth”.  Many ancient cultures had similar concepts, so King wanted to integrate such people into his universe to tie it with those mythologies.

The actor that plays Wild Bill is really amazing in all of his performances. I especially liked him in Moon. The actor who plays Percy is definitely wierd and kinda creepy in real life. So in his job here, he is a success.

Love your channel. Been following from many channels previous. You are incredibly thoughtful and I appreciate you expressing so clearly what you are thinking! Thanks for posting!

Stephen King originally wrote this in six chapter books, later converted into a novel. He was experimenting with an old way of releasing fiction with some success. It was agony waiting each month for the next chapter to arrive.

That all said, John Coffey was written as over 7 feet tall and an absolutely massive man, which explains the reason Michael Clark Duncan was shot in this movie in the manner he was. The movie is not too terribly far off from the books, but there were a few key elements that you picked up from the book that did not translate to film, such as the scene with Gary Sinise and Tom Hanks discussing Coffey's case. When Sinise said it was like he dropped out of the sky, he was referring to the fact that they could not trace Coffey's  movements prior to finding him with the girls on the creekbed. Also, there were context clues about who Coffey was and his mental capacity that were well written and would have been viewed as cumbersome in film.

Percy Whetmore was more cruel and vain, but again, may have been too over the top for film, but gave you a deeper glimpse into the type of person Percy was. His ending is far beyond fair, especially in the world of Stephen King fiction.

This is probably one of my favorite book to film adaptations. Glad you enjoyed this one.

This is the second movie the directed by Frank Darabont from a Stephen King novel about prison.   In 1994 he made The Shawshank Redemption.

I like how, on his final walk, JC still tries to cheer everyone up so they don't feel so bad 😭

Apparently Tom hanks stayed on set and helped Michael get in the right frame of mind. And this movie brings me close to tears

In the book...one of the old home attendants was a Percy. And you learned how everyone else died as Paul lived his life. A good read.

MCD was always standing on a box or walking down a raised walkway to make him look taller.  That's why there are no shots  of him from head to toe with another character.

“Lieutenant Dan!”

The book was amazing!

I totally agree. Hearing that you are a good man is fulfilling

John Coffey says, "Look, Boss. It's Cassie. The lady in the rocking chair." This is a reference to Cassiopeia. It may suggest that John Coffey is familiar with constellations and sailing. Also, the bugs that Coffey expels after healing someone represent death and disease. No aliens at all. lol

A Master Class in Acting!  Michael Clarke Duncan should have won the Oscar, (he did win the Golden Glove).  Even Doug Hutchison as Percy did an outstanding job,  couldn't hate anyone anymore than him.

31:55 not one for vengeance…BUT if you think about it, Percy would have moved on to be a person of authority at the mental hospital - where he would have harmed even more vulnerable patients so John is doing what none of these men were brave enough to do - remove him from the ability to harm those he is tasked with caring for.

This was filmed in Nashville at the Tennessee State Prison. I remember being a child and not knowing it was a prison. It was a very beautiful building. It closed in 1992. It still stands.