The Executioner's Song

There seems to be a little confusion regarding the various versions of The Executioner's Song. I read the book written by Norman Mailer in 1980 and looked forward to seeing the film. The original film version was a made for TV mini series which aired in 1982. That version was much longer and also had numerous period songs included. Those songs were listed in the credits at the end. The TV mini-series version did not contain any profanity or full nudity. Some scenes were darkened and some were eliminated while extra scenes with additional dialogue were included. The second version was aired on cable television. It was the same version that was released in Europe in 1985. It was also released on "USA Home Video" on VHS tape. That version was much shorter; however it contained profanity, more violence and several nude scenes of Rosanna Arquette and Tommy Lee Jones. Those scenes seemed a little bit dark however. Also, several period songs were removed from the film even though they are still listed in the credits. The newest version of the film which I watched on Net Flix recently is also referred to as "The Director's Cut". I own the original 1985 "Big Box" VHS tape of the European version and compared those two versions scene by scene. The newest version includes all of the profanity, violence and all of the nude scenes from the European version. The content is exactly the same. The main difference in the two versions is that the newer DVD is much brighter, has more clarity and the colors are superior by far. The nude scenes are not darkened at all. The sound is a bit louder on the old VHS version though. The period songs that were taken out of the film are no longer listed in the end credits with the exception of one Neil Young song only. Waylon Jennings is given credit for all of the original songs he wrote for the film. I do not own the original TV mini-series version from 1982 and have to rely upon my memory to compare it to the newer versions. With that said, I prefer the new high quality version to the older, longer made for TV mini-series and also to the inferior quality European VHS release. Basically what you get with the newest release is a much higher quality European version. Did I mention that a much younger Rosanna Arquette is nude in several scenes?

I just watched this for the 1st time in 20 years, & there were 2 scenes missing that I've specifically remembered that entire time. The 1st is where Gary & his uncle Vern are arm wrestling & Vern places a toothpick holder under the side where Gary's hand will land. The 2nd is in prison, Gary shows Vern that he's preparing for death by hanging upside down & doing vertical sit-ups.

I also seem to remember that when I saw this movie as a kid, it aired over 2 nights on TV, which means it was at least 3 hours long.

Great movie, but I can't help but wonder what else I'm missing...

Any leads on the full version would be greatly appreciated.

you may also be interested in the Mikhal Gilmore biography about his brother, Gary, and how they grew up in Oregon, being brutally abused by their father. Apparently, Gary Gilmore spent more time in juvenile detention homes than could be counted, and these institutions promoted the violent and hostile behavior which came to be seen by Gilmore as normal, even acceptable.

This film is primarily a documentary; look for Eli Wallach as Gilmore's Uncle Vern, trying to help his nephew function in the world. In Salt Lake City, Utah, where most of the film takes place, there is a cold unforgiving environment, similar to the environment Gilmore grew up in. As he grew up during the depression, options were scarce. Hostility, anger and frustration led to physical abuse, acting out, and eventually, murder. Rosanna Arquette is believable as the long-suffering girlfriend of Gilmore, who refuses to face reality.

This is an excellent film, due for a remake; perhaps Mikhal Gilmore could translate his book version into film. In real life, Gilmore's mother was devastated and traumatized, living in a trailer, mourning the horrible life her son had endured, a child who had no options, who grew up as an armed robber, and who finally demanded the state of Utah execute him in Draconian fashion. 9/10.

This was the oldest movie so far that I have seen of Tommy Lee Jones and it surpassed all my expectations. Here I was thinking that he got better with age, but he really was that good all along! He plays this role exceptionally well and I have even more respect for him as an actor now. Rosanna Arquette was very good indeed. I always thought her to play in brainless Hollywood movies, but this film was a good decision on her part. This film is another example of an unempowered woman who is alone and desperate for any attention that she can get. Unluckily for Nicole(Rosanna) this attention comes in the form of Gary (Tommy Lee), who is a very disturbed young man who sees human life as something that can be discarded of easily and without any hesitation on his part. Be it for money, or simply because he felt like it, Gary kills people without blinking. At the end of the movie Gary changes somewhat and it is welcome in an absurd kind of way? He makes peace with his lot and with himself and only then you feel sorry for him. If you are a Tommy Lee fan like me, then you definitely have to see this one. Hasta luego

Norman Mailer's book about Gary Gilmore was compelling in the first half, but the second half was a limp, uphill struggle. There's no such problem in the TV adaptation, which is tighter and absorbing all the way through, with both Tommy Lee Jones and Rosanna Arquette giving two of the best performances of their careers... you now know why it's easy for us to forgive him for "Batman Forever" and her for "Off The Wall" (which she made the following year, and oh dear me that was BAD).

This is available in both miniseries form and a shortened cable/theatrical version (to quote Buffy Summers, "We're talking violence, strong language, adult themes..."), but I actually prefer the TV version because while you get more nudity - female AND male - and more graphic scenes in the cable cut (not to mention lines like Rosanna's "Yeah, you and seven other motherf***ers"), it's at the expense of a little story coherence; you lose some seaminess in the miniseries version, but the tale is ultimately stronger, clearer and not so rushed. But either version is a must.