Double dipping sounds great if you are at a party with tons of dip but not so many chips and no one else happens to be looking.  Yet beyond this scenario the art of the double dip has seemingly only been put to use by unscrupulous business suit types looking to add some more currency lining to their pockets.  Though from time to time a gem is released in the form of a double dip DVD (i.e. HALF BAKED - FULLY BAKED EDITION, CLERKS X, DONNIE DARKO - THE DIRECTOR'S CUT etc.).  Of course double dips have some other perks to them, like lets say if someone once owned a DVD and lent it to a friend, who then lent it to one of their friends who never returned it and the first friends never replaced the DVD like you told them to, then the double dip DVD becomes a savior as one is not just re-buying the DVD they lost but as well are getting the "newer model" of said DVD.  This is actually the case and point for me on the double dip for WARNER BROS. film THE GREEN MILE (yeah, Dave thanks for lending my DVD to Pete, who would of thought an ex-junkie wouldn't be someone to trust?).

Now to get somethings out of the way. YES, loudside.com is a site for the heavy metal minded internet folks, and YES, THE GREEN MILE is a drama and far from that of our usual horror movie remake/ comic-to-film coverage.  I have listened to and adhered to the metal/rock lifestyle the majority of my life (long hair, piercings, have played in multiple bands, listen to all my tunes at deafening volumes) and in no way have I ever felt, thought or bought into any idea that because I like heavier music I can only watch mindless gore films or overly contrived action films starring people with racial slurs in their name (ARNOLD SCHWARZEN-WORD?).  And to anyone who would wish to contain me to any such film viewing to you I give a momentous and heart felt "FUCK THAT!"

From TERMINATOR to THE JOY LUCK CLUB, or NATURAL BORN KILLERS to FRIED GREEN TOMATOES a good movie is a good movie and I refuse to be typecasted to liking a certain type of film due to my musical leanings.  That said THE GREEN MILE is another one of my all time favorite dramas and a double dip DVD of this film I highly appreciate.

Originally a mini-series of novels written by the master of horror himself STEPHEN KING, THE GREEN MILE is a brilliant story that shows we can not always judge others by societal norms, rules and regulations.  Sometimes we have to take our own personal gut feelings as to what is right or wrong and leave ignorant yet widely regarded mindset to wash away in their own self defeating ways.  Starring TOM HANKS as PAUL EDGECOMB an aging prison guard stationed on the last stop on death row known as THE GREEN MILE.  There we are met by multiple inmates and other prison guards as we see that those deserving of punishment aren't always on the right side of the bars, and vice versa. 

The film goes on to delve into the heavy topics of faith and destiny, as each character is forced to deal with these issues whether they want to or not, especially PAUL EDGECOMB who for the first time in his career on THE GREEN MILE knows he will have to put not only an innocent man to death, but a man who could very well be a miracle incarnate.

My favorite thing about this film is easily the performance by MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN, I never would of thought when I first saw this huge dude playing a "gangsta thug" named TINY on THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR, that only four years later I would be jaunted by such an emotionally pure performance.  Seriously, as I watched this film on DVD again (for the first time in two years) I was amazed at how perfectly DUNCAN's performance as the wrongly accused JOHN COFFEY is.  It's almost like he hung out with my 5 year old nephew to get his character right (even though my nephew was not born until after the release of this film).  As well, you have to give the casting director credit as well because I am sure he was taking a chance giving the behemoth MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN the role of the innocent and overly caring COFFEY.  Of course this set comes with MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN's screen test for the film (which was actually the first thing I watched before the film).  I really liked this feature and would love to see it on more DVD releases as it helps viewers (or at least me) to see what the casting director saw in said actor for them to be playing a specific role, and we definitely get to see this on DUNCAN's screen test.

All in all, THE GREEN MILE is still a beloved drama to me and has stood the test of time.. well at least 5 years of time, but I am sure it will easily take the decade mark as well.  If you do not yet own this film or like me have had it stolen it is a MUST OWN.  For those who already have the original DVD release, take that bare bones disc to a used DVD store, sell it, and go get this one, IT IS WORTH IT!!!