Over on Tubi, the free streaming service, one film that has dominated the platform over the past month is a ’90s classic that serves as one of the best-ever Stephen King novel adaptations — or perhaps, simply, one of the best novel adaptations of all time.
The Green Mile, the 1999 film version of King’s 1996 novel, sees Hollywood heavyweight Tom Hanks take on the lead role as Paul Edgecomb, a prison correction officer who oversees the Cold Mountain Penitentiary’s “Green Mile”, AKA the long walk from the death row section to where its prisoners will eventually meet their feet.
Among the prisoners, Paul develops an unusual relationship with John Coffey (played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan), a larger-than-life African-American inmate accused of an unspeakable crime. As Edgecomb gets to know Coffey, a wholesome man with a possible intellectual disability, the officer begins to question whether Coffey committed the crime he was convicted of, as the mysterious man begins to showcase what appears to be supernatural powers.
The Green Mile has been the #1 most-watched movie on Tubi over the past 32 days, according to data accumulated by FlixPatrol, as of October 16. The adaptation beat out fellow Tom Hanks Oscar favorite Forrest Gump, as well as modern smash hits like Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) for the top spot.
A financial success from the outset, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor for Hanks and Duncan, respectively — although the adaptation, along with the original novel, was met with criticism for the characterization of Coffey.
The Green Mile, along with Stand by Me (1986) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994), ranks among the most acclaimed Stephen King adaptations in the late 20th century, despite the stories and their adaptations deviating from King’s reputation as a master of horror, mixing the author’s talents in portraying brutality with life-affirming, sentimentalist narratives.
