Stoutor
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Connianatu
How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
blanche-2
"The Executioner's Song" from 1982 was a TV movie, and on Netflix, I believe they send out the director's cut. It has lots of Roseanna Arquette's breasts and other body parts.Based on the book by Norman Mailer (who also wrote the screenplay), this is the story of Gary Gilmore, who became famous by demanding that the state of Utah go ahead with his execution. It was the first execution in the US since the 1960s and the first since 1972 when the Supreme Court ruled that death sentences prior to that date were unconstitutional, which is why the Manson group was not executed.Gilmore, who requested to face a firing squad, became kind of a cause celebre. As a hero of some sort, I suppose he fits in well with today's idea of a celebrity. He was basically a loser who always chose the easy way out. When he was released on parole for robbery, he had the help and support of his cousin (Christine Lahti) and his uncle (Eli Wallach), but he was unable to hold down a job and became obsessed with a 19-year-old (Arquette) with two children.He then returned to the robbery business and for no good reason shot and killed two people after he robbed them.I believe this was a TV movie in two parts, so what I saw was shortened. As a result, to make way for Arquette's body, there was quite a bit cut, making it jerky.My main problem was getting any sympathy going for Gilmore or Arquette. Tommy Lee Jones did a terrific job, but even though Gary's family loved him and just hated the things he did, I as an audience member didn't share their feelings. As far as I'm concerned, he wanted to die because he didn't want to stay in prison. He robbed so he could pay for a truck and didn't have to work. Same old story - the easy way out.This story was described as "tragic." The tragedy is that the Arquette character had two children. She was a whack job who tried to commit suicide so that she and Gary could continue their affair in heaven. It said at the end of the movie that she moved and started over. I hope for the sake of her kids that she made it. I have no doubt with her figure she met somebody. Let's hope it wasn't another loser.
eifert
Some great country music including:Talk Good Boogie; Get it On Again; So Good Woman; This Time; Defying Gravity (Executioner's Song); Are You Ready for the Countryall performed by Waylon Jennings.Also,One Piece at a Time Johnny CashThere's a few more that I can't identify. Certainly a good film but made better by having a decent soundtrackIf anyone has a more complete soundtrack listing please share it. The movie is out on DVD but there's also another cut that may have more soundtrack music.
TxMike
I managed to see this via Netflix streaming video.Gary Gilmore might have been just another petty criminal turned murderer, we hear about them, unfortunately, all the time. But his case was famous because it was the first execution after the death penalty had been reinstated in the USA in 1976. This movie is basically his true story. It is a bit long, at over 2 hours, and it slows down at times, but overall it is gripping viewing, and Tommy Lee Jones is just mesmerizing as Gary Gilmore.The story told here begins in 1976, during his last year of life, after he is once again paroled, this time to Provo, Utah where he had some relatives that would help him adjust and go straight. But Gilmore apparently was just one of those characters that had his own "morality", one where it only mattered what he wanted. If he wanted a case of beer, he just walked out of the store with it. He wanted a white truck that was more expensive than he could afford, and he needed a few hundred dollars in a couple of days. So robbery was the logical, to Gilmore, route. And killing the service station attendant, then the motel attendant, also seemed right to him. But he didn't get away with it.Christine Lahti is good as his cousin, Brenda Nicol, who cares for Gilmore but is frustrated that she cannot do anything to help him. Even better is Rosanna Arquette, 22 during filming, as the 19-yr-old divorcée with two small children, Nicole Baker. She fell for Gilmore, and he thought he had gone to heaven when they were in bed together, but his temper kept him from being able to relate to her except sporadically. He was mostly abusive. Eli Wallach is his Uncle Vern Damico with the shoe shop.This is a worthwhile movie, not only for the historical significance, but also for the performance of Tommy Lee Jones.
whatgoesaround696
After reading neolani54 comments it brought back a flood of memories about the events of the movie. I had just returned from my mission and had just married and lived 3 blocks from the hotel where one of the murders took place. Like many others who were students in Provo, we all took part time jobs to support our new families. It was such a terrible thing to happen and could have been any one of us. The movie has always been one of my favorite Tommy Lee Jones movies. I also grew up near Willard, Utah where Melvin Dumar got famous from his experience with Howard Hughes. (another Tommy Lee Jones movie). I have never been an advocate of capital punishment mainly because I personally believe that spending the rest of your life in jail is much more punishment than moving on to the here-after. However, I remember the early morning hours when Gilmore was executed and how glad I was that he was taken from the face of the Earth. Such a heinous and senseless act on absolutely innocent and peace loving souls. I hate to give any recognition to Gilmore, but at least he saw what he had done and fought for the punishment that he knew he deserved. It was unthinkable that there were so many people who were fighting save his miserable life.
