The 1982 made-for-TV movie about convicted murderer Gary Gilmore and his media-sensationalized effort to be executed in 1977 is presented here in both the original 135-minute broadcast version and the significantly altered director's cut at 188 minutes original broadcast. The latter features alternate takes on various scenes to allow for swearing and sexuality, but other scenes have been shuffled or added to the U.S. TV cut, adding grit to the down-bound journey of Gilmore following his release from prison after a long stint. The screenplay by Norman Mailer, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1970 novel, is spare and suggests something inexorable about Gilmore's fury, violence, and sociopathic manipulation of people, the justice system, and the press. As Gilmore, Tommy Lee Jones gives an intense and brutal yet also curiously vulnerable performance that is either slightly mannered (his hip-swinging, feminine walk) or a reflection of the oft-incarcerated criminal's ignorance about norms of every kind. A strong support cast brings muscle and psychological nuance to the project: Christine Lahti as Gilmore's well-meaning, ultimately disillusioned cousin; Rosanna Arquette as an impulsive, damaged girlfriend; and most of all Eli Wallach as Gilmore's uncle, torn apart by extreme emotions about his nephew the killer. Photojournalist and producer Lawrence Schiller directs The Executioner's Song with an eye toward realism as well as an ability to change tones suddenly in any scene, and it is that out-of-control rollercoaster feeling that not only makes the film compelling, but is also a likely snapshot of the chaos in Gilmore's outlaw mind. Extras include an interview with Arquette. Recommended. (T. Keogh)
The Executioner's Song: Director's Cut
Kino Lorber, 2 discs, 135 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $34.95
The Executioner's Song: Director's Cut
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