The Jericho Mile

This movie was exceptional. It tells the story of a man who, after he was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his father-in-law when he found him raping his sister, sets out to become a world-class runner. It not only gave a realistic portrayal of prison life, but also deftly portrays the mentality of someone who is serving such a sentence. Peter Strauss played the role perfectly. Along with "Rich Man, Poor Man", this movie was probably the best performance of his career.

Probably the best scene in this movie was when Murphy was before the civilian board trying to get permission to run in the race and he sees right through the man's preconceptions and bigotry concerning convicts. This man did not see Murphy as a person but rather as something other than what he was. Very rarely has such passion and intelligence come from a made-for-TV movie.

The power of this film stuns me even today. It has all the trademarks of a Michael Mann film, including the line that appears in all his works about the 'man' inventing a hard time that some character cannot handle. This may be the first time that line was used, and argueably, the most effective. Simple story of a simple man who made a decision, and had the guts to face the consequences. He never denies what he did, regrets that it happened, but would do nothing different, given the chance, nor does he try to escape the consequences. Rain Murphy is a man who denies himself all of the creature comforts of civilization. He has no TV or no photos in his cell, no books, only the essentials. He does not work as an inmate, because he denies himself the things he would use his meager pay to buy. He is punishing himself for his crime. He rejects the idea of running in the Olmypics, or even trying, because it would disrupt his new life. A life where he runs until he cannot walk, then zones out until he cannot talk stretching his muscles. A shock to Murphy's system changes all of this, he buys into the dream of competing, only to be cheated. Murphy's final act of defiance is memorable. Mann might have gotten more polished over the years, this film shows talent always delivers

A loner at Folsom State Penitentiary (Peter Strauss) gains attention when it's discovered that he can run a mile in less than four minutes. Officials naturally try to see if they can enter him in the Olympics. The cast includes Brian Dennehy, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Lawson, Roger E. Mosley and Ed Lauter.

"The Jericho Mile" (1979) is a prison movie meshed with sports flick. It's notable as Michael Mann's first movie wherein he was limited by TV constraints, yet it shows his potential and explains why he moved on to greatness, e.g. "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992).

Being made-for-TV, profanity is replaced by wannabe edgy jive talk, which can be unintentionally amusing. If you can roll with that, this is a worthwhile serious story about great talent being trapped in a cage, not to mention the brotherhood of humanity regardless of skin color. I could relate to Strauss' character and I imagine a lot of other viewers can too.

The movie runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot at Folsom State Penitentiary, Represa, California, about an hour northeast of Sacramento. Several of the peripheral cast members were prisoners at Folsom and do a commendable job.

GRADE: B-

A film that deserved theatrical release. This made-for-television movie is a cinematic gem that exemplifies the technique of Michael Mann with stirring contemporary music tightly integrated to the visual images. Always with Mr. Mann, the amplification of impact by the music is almost as if there is an invisible academy-award-winning actor added to the ensemble of cast, writer, director and cinematographer.

This film is definitely one of my all time favorites. While nothing is perfect, this film comes very, very close.

Along with an excellent script, great direction and masterful acting by Richard Strauss, there is an all-star ensemble of character actors at their finest: Roger Mosely; Brian Dennehy; Ed Lauter; Geoffrey Lewis; Richard Moll; Miguel Pinero; William Prince; Burton Guilliam; Ji-Tu Cumbuka; Richard Lawson and Billy Green Bush. You may not recognize the names, but you will recognize every face.

If this comes on TV, sit down with popcorn, turn up the sound for an amazing soundtrack and score, and prepare to be riveted for the 97 minutes of the film. I highly recommend recording it, since it is only available on VHS and DVD from Holland and the DVD is region 2 encoded.

I've seen The Jericho Mile several times. In fact it's on my TV right now as I type this. I've always thought it was one of the best TV movies ever. Peter Strauss is outstanding in this role.

To sum things up...if you haven't seen The Jericho Mile, it's definitely worth a watch.