A Lesson Before Dying
by Joseph Sargent
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DVD details
Actor: Brent Jennings, Cicely Tyson, Don Cheadle, Irma P. Hall, Mekhi PhiferDirector: Joseph Sargent
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Celia D. Costas
Producer: Daniel Bernstein
Producer: Ellen Krass
Producer: Joel Stillerman
Producer: Robert Benedetti
Writer: Ann Peacock
Writer: Ernest J. Gaines
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-01-25
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
DVD Reviews of A Lesson Before Dying
DVD Review: Bringing truth to the cliche', 'It's not always what it seems".
Summary: 4 Stars
The acting was realistic in the portrayal of the assumptions individuals come to in the event of the aftermath of a tragic circumstance. A sobering and thought provoking message to check out all the circumstances, without prejudice, before you come to conclusions. DVD Review: ok
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie was ok but i did not like all the foul language in it I will be throwing mine in the trash. DVD Review: Hello! This is an American Masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hello! This is an American Masterpiece! Where are the critics? Where are the Oscars? This is Americana at its very best! At Amazon's current $6.99 it is a steal. Make sure you have some tissue's available. It's a heart warming tear-jerker of a movie.
Old aunt Emma, Jefferson, the feisty preacher, Irma P. Hall,
Mekhi Phifer, Cicely Tyson and the Grant Wiggins characters are never to be repeated performances.
This film has it all, from injustice in Court to Protestant and Catholic prejudices resolved with a polite conversation.
"A Lesson Before Dying" has made it to the top of the charts in my film world. Take a look. You won't be disappointed.
DVD Review: "I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man."
Summary: 5 Stars
From screenplay, to cinematography, and most certainly through the exceptional performances, this superb film is a tearjerker you can feel good about - on many levels.
The movie's most compelling quality is its clear-eyed view of racism in America's deep south. The black people we meet all have distinct personalities complete with problems, strengths, fears, disappointments, and ambitions - just like anybody else. They are people first, black people second. Racism, in all of its cruel and unjust stupidity, does not define them; it is simply the water they swim in, the air they breathe. This unbiased neutrality imbues A Lesson Before Dying with real force.
Every life is seen through the lens of racism. Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer) is the purest of victims, Grant (Don Cheadle) is the intellectual wrestling with fight or flight, Tante Lou (Cicely Tyson) is fierce in her belief that self-discipline holds the answer, while the unforgettable Miss Emma (Irma Hall) embodies all we've ever learned about the abiding courage and astounding endurance of black women, still strong enough to love, give, and do what it takes to defend their own.
This is a tough-minded picture that asks a very hard question. Everyone knows Jefferson is innocent, they also know he will be executed. But how can Grant help him die with dignity? Why is that such an important goal - a gift to himself, to Miss Emma, and to the children of the town? This quest touches everyone.
Don Cheadle is always worth watching, he was haunting in Hotel Rwanda. The good news is that his exceptional performance here is one of many that are woven together into a powerful, and very American story. Highly recommended.
DVD Review: A lesson for us all
Summary: 3 Stars
A "Lesson Before Dying" is a powerful and passionate film, so beautifully written and so beautifully acted it is one of those rare exceptions where the film adaptation is better than the book. Mehki Phifer gives a powerful performance as Jefferson, a young man sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit. He truly brings honesty and humanity to a young man who is seen by white society as inhuman. And Don Cheadle brings compassionate and dignity to the teacher who must help Jefferson stand tall.
I can't say enough about "A Lesson Before Dying." The injustice committed will anger you, the fate of Jefferson will sadden you, but ultimately knowing these people and sharing in their lives, and seeing dignity and love rise from the ashes of a cruel and uncaring world make the anger and sadness worth it all.
Description of A Lesson Before Dying
A young man convicted of a murder he did not commit has been sentenced to die. Now it falls upon a teacher to enrich a life he cannont save and in so doing somehow redeem his own by teaching one young man. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 01/23/2001 Starring: Don Cheadle Mekhi Phifer Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg13On a bright sunny day in 1948, Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer) sets off down the road to go catch some fish; by the end of the movie's opening sequence, he is the one who's been caught, and wrongly accused of the murder of a white shopkeeper. Racial inequality, at the time, is so pervasive in Louisiana that the white defense lawyer's argument at Jefferson's trial is that his client is not worthy of conviction: "You might just as soon put a hog in the 'lectric chair as this," he declares. Outraged by this statement, Jefferson's godmother (Irma P. Hall) does not want her godson to die as a hog. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid of the black community's teacher, Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle), to teach him to "be a man." As Grant and Jefferson get to know each other (and the viewer gets to know them both), it's not clear which of them needs the lesson more. As in Ernest J. Gaines's award-winning novel, the movie goes beyond the conflict between the races to explore divisions that splinter the black community: education versus religion, dark skin versus light. And, thanks to masterful performances from Cheadle and Phifer as well as a thoughtful screenplay by Amy Peacock, A Lesson Before Dying goes even further, examining what it means to be human and the responsibility a man has to himself and to his community. Originally made for HBO, this adaptation of Gaines's novel richly deserves to be seen by a wider audience. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
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