Rating: 
Summary: Visually and artistically excellent...
Review: Here is a film which really makes you think... About Religion, Social disparity, Political pork-barreling and about the Death Penalty... about our modern way of Life and the way we deal - or don't deal - with issues that for some of us are better hidden away from public view, managed by "experts" whom we are happy to pay to do our dirty work...For me this film raised a storm of emotion... The brilliant portrayal of the different characters involved - massaged by an empathetic direction - really allowed all sides of the story to be seen, felt and experienced... The result was deeply disturbing and from both an ethical and moral point of view left me with more questions than answers. The sound track is deeply evocative and the mixture of Indian traditional Classical Sitar interwoven with the equally classical sounds of the "Deep South" wore exceptionally well. As a non-American, there were times when understanding the idiom was quite difficult: this was exacerbated by the fact that in certain parts of the Audio on this DVD, the lip-synch dialogue was out by at least 6-8 frames. Finally - were it not for the crackles, pops and other idiosyncrasies of the Sound-track - I would have rated this film a 5-Star PLUS! If you don't mind an indifferently synched and technically poor audio track, then this film is a MUST of the genre to be included in any serious collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbingly Well-Balanced
Review: A double tour de force from writer-director Tim Robbins. After condensing the autobiographical novel in which anti-death penalty proponent Sister Helen Prejean movingly recounted her experiences counseling condemned murderers in Louisiana, Robbins provides a fascinating counter-balance by giving equal emphasis to pro-death penalty advocates as represented by the victim's families. The result? A mature, gripping screenplay that doesn't pretend to provide glib answers to the many difficult questions it raises. Such a powerful script demanded careful casting decisions, and Director Robbins scored a series of coups, assembling a roster of actors at the peak of their talents. Susan Sarandon, a consistently fine actress, glows with inner conviction as Sister Helen, searching to apply spiritual truths in the unfamiliar realm of Death Row. Sarandon's Oscar-winning performance is given an added measure of power by Sean Penn's wrenching portrait of composite killer Matthew Poncelot. Penn is at once loathsome yet pitiable, brutal yet oddly vulnerable; his carefully nuanced performance is the embodiment of Sarandon's line about every person being "better than their worst act". Able support is offered by R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston, and (especially) Raymond J. Barry as the parents of Penn's teen-aged victims; this trio's raw pain is extremely difficult to reconcile with the compassion that Penn's character tends to demand of the audience. The DVD presentation of this modern classic is beautifully rendered, offering crisp, clear sound and sharp visuals. The carefully composed camera shots are best appreciated in the film's original widescreen aspect ratio. This DVD is highly recommended as an excellent film-to-video transfer of a superb movie, exploring a subject that will no doubt continue to be heatedly debated in American society for many years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A HUMAN STORY IS ALWAYS WORTH THE PRICE
Review: At first you may say to yourself:isn't this the kind of story in which the makers wanted to make a point?You are right ,because it's about the death penalty.Then you might reply:isn't this picture a little heavy on the side?Wrong, even if it could have been, but SEAN PENN and SUSAN SARANDON play their characters with great honesty and gradually they should win you over.If you still wonder if this is a director's picture, now you are right ,since only the story counts here ,but the treatment is earnest.
Rating:
Summary: Spaces of Sorrow
Review: Cry for us all. That's what you'll do by the end of this harrowing film based on a true story of a Roman Catholic nun (Sarandon) who befriends a convicted murderer (Penn) about to meet his Maker. By revealing how this nun finds the courage to bring Penn to terms with the enormity of his transgression--murdering a teenage couple after first raping the girl--director (and Sarandon companion) Tim Robbins makes one giant leap from his first film, 1992's slim political satire Bob Roberts. But Dead Man is more than a tale of redemption. Robbins's finely crafted script, adapted from Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 book of the same name, looks at crime and punishment from multiple viewpoints.The anguish suffered by everyone--the doomed killer, the lawyer trying to save him, the parents of his victims and the nun who listens to and hears them all--is wrenchingly real. Sarandon wears almost no makeup but shines with an inner radiance. Penn, moving from defiance to remorse, is her match. But what makes Dead Man so haunting is that it doesn't presume to answer all of the questions it raises. As Sarandon tells Penn when he finally comprehends the immensity of his act, "There are spaces of sorrow only God can touch."
Rating:
Summary: Intensely powerful
Review: Dead Man Walking is a masterpiece of realism, emotional intensity, and balance. This is neither a pontificating storm against capital punishment nor a sentimental look at the murderer's "point of view." The cinematic device of cutting from scenes of dialogue between Helen and the prisoner to those of the horrible rape and murder have incredible impact - conflict is enormous, but Helen's ability to have Christian love for one she is ... not sure she can like is a powerful echo of the forgiving words of the Lord she follows. No point of view is not set forth strongly - including the victim's parents, prison authorities, protestors for both points of view, dedicated but occasionally naive religious Sisters, and bitter prisoner who, until the last moments of his life, insists on his innocence. The ending (on which I shall not comment, not to spoil it for new viewers) unexpectedly brought me to tears.
Rating:
Summary: Life changing
Review: Prior to viewing this film, I was a staunch supporter of the death penalty. I truly believed that if someone committed such a heinous crime as taking the life of another person, then they deserved to die. What "Dead Man Walking" did for me was never challenge that belief, or try to dissuade me through debate. What it did was present one of the most well-rounded, emotional films that asked the questions I never asked myself when considering this punishment. I was very leary of seeing this film because I didn't want to sit through two hours of being preached at by a one-sided liberal point of view. What ended up happening was because Sister Helen Prejean struggled with everything herself, I began to struggle too. Because she had the courage to deal both with this hideous, racist criminal and the victims understandable embittered families, I began to deal with them too. After watching this film, I began to doubt my own stance, finally recognizing that death for death is no just punishment. That's not to say you will reach such a conclusion. The movie doesn't suggest anything of the sort. What the movie does is present to us the confusing array of pieces, and we, as individuals, and as a society, need to construct the puzzle as we see. But we must not hide from the hard facts of executions, we must not anesthesize ourselves to the horror of what we inflict on these prisoners. The movies suggests that we see the entire picture before making our own judgment calls. The performances of Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are some of the best I've seen in any film recently. Both deserved all the accolades, as well as Tim Robibns for crafting such a picture. For a two hour movie to explore such complicated ideas as death and faith is quite an amazing feat.
Rating:
Summary: Sean Penn denied of Oscar
Review: Don't get me wrong, I love this movie. But my God, Sean Penn acted Susan Sarandon right off the screen, yet she won an Oscar and he didn't. In fact, Sarandon's performance is not all that good, and at times greatly exaggerated. Yet Penn gave one of the great performances in recent memory, but because he's been labeled as a "Hollywood Bad Boy," he gets no recognition. And because Sarandon is married to the director and spouts a lot of religious stuff and cries, she gets an Oscar. It's not right. Sean Penn is long overdue for recognition: just check out some of his other films -- "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Bad Boys," "The Falcon and the Snowman," "At Close Range," "Colors," "State of Grace," "Carlito's Way," "Hurlyburly," "The Thin Red Line," "Sweet and Lowdown" -- get the point?
Rating:
Summary: Only as a story
Review: Fine as a story only and Sarandon+Penn starred OK. Attractive by all means , that is why I give it 5 stars. Faced with the real fact, however, same deserves a lot of sharp reactions, and it is amazing those who think it is a 5-star movie indicate wrong reasons. However classical, simple and cliche the question ''how would you react if the victims were your loved ones'' sounds, it still reflects some logic. Terms of both religions and so-called modern civilization might consider capital penalty ''lust for revenge '' or ''victims-sided act''. It is also true that a punishment should depend on the circumstances which leads to a criminal motive. However in THIS particular story, NO circumstances can be found that may make one think the captital punishment is too much for the crime committed. The nun's approach to the prison inmate was abhorrent, and what kind of reaction she had expected from the parents of the dead upon begging sympathy, forgiveness or understanding for the criminal is sone good question that needs a reply. Both humanity and inhumanity reflects man's character, so does capital punishment. Which makes me wonder whether some of those have come from the moon or other planets.
Rating:
Summary: Very Powerful
Review: Tim Robbins does a fantastic job directing this film.also Susan Sarandon does a great job.but it's Sean Penn who takes this movie to another Level.it dealt with so many elements despite the tragedy involved here.a must see.very well done&Powerful.
Rating: 
Summary: No big deal
Review: Because it's about death penalty, nun and savagery, it MUST make you think and it MUST be an intelligent movie ? No way. Both characters are hateful and very badly defined (you don't actually know why the nun fancies Penn so much and vice versa). Since the beginning of the movie, Sarandon's character does nothing but laugh at all that Penn says while crying buckets in front of the victims' parents. The ending is 300% American in its exaggeration.
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