Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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.

After reading neolani54 comments it brought back a flood of memories about the events of the movie. I had just returned from my mission and had just married and lived 3 blocks from the hotel where one of the murders took place. Like many others who were students in Provo, we all took part time jobs to support our new families. It was such a terrible thing to happen and could have been any one of us. The movie has always been one of my favorite Tommy Lee Jones movies. I also grew up near Willard, Utah where Melvin Dumar got famous from his experience with Howard Hughes. (another Tommy Lee Jones movie). I have never been an advocate of capital punishment mainly because I personally believe that spending the rest of your life in jail is much more punishment than moving on to the here-after. However, I remember the early morning hours when Gilmore was executed and how glad I was that he was taken from the face of the Earth. Such a heinous and senseless act on absolutely innocent and peace loving souls. I hate to give any recognition to Gilmore, but at least he saw what he had done and fought for the punishment that he knew he deserved. It was unthinkable that there were so many people who were fighting save his miserable life.

Larry Schiller, who is credited with directing this movie, comes off in Mailer's book as a no-nonsense, grasping, egomaniacal self promoter -- a Horace Babbitt for our times. So it comes as a big surprise to find that this movie is professionally done and even tasteful. Schiller was one of the first, well, journalists (I guess), on the scene and sewed up a lot of exclusive contracts with informants. He sold the rights to Mailer. As Schiller's character puts it in this movie, "I'm all suited up and ready to play." And even in enterprises subsequent to Gilmore's story, Schiller is generally described as such a crumb that it's surprising to find this movie has no great directorial displays -- no razzle dazzle pyrotechnics, just clean, functional direction and editing.Of course, Mailer's book was too long to be condensed into even a miniseries in all its complexity, so certain incidents needed to be deleted or compressed. The snitch planted in Gary's cell, for instance. Or the fact that the murders were preceded not by one break up with Nicole Baker but two. Or the fact that there was no one "going away party" for Gary before his execution, but two, the first one having been premature (and anticlimactic).Mailer's book by the way is probably his last very good work, filled with a casual irony that is sometimes amusing. After the first killing, Gary takes the teen aged April to a motel room where, Mailer observes, a paper ribbon has been placed across the closed and antiseptic toilet to prove that nobody has lifted the toilet seat since the paper was placed there.There's no humor in the movie. It's a straightforward, plain-vanilla telling of Gilmore's brief period between his release from prison and his death by firing squad. Tommy Lee Jones is very good as Gary Gilmore. His energy is barely contained. He paces back and forth at moments of tension and gestures in unfamiliar, almost bizarre ways as he tries, for instance, to flag down cars on a highway. He twists his lines in equally idiosyncratic ways, the way Lee Marvin often did, so that one never knows exactly what's coming next.The only other performer of real importance is Rosanne Arquette as Gilmore's girl friend, Nicole. She looks -- ummm -- very nice. Her acting is okay as well, although she doesn't come across nearly as seedy as Jones does. She sounds as if she'd spent time in college, whereas Jones (who was in Harvard) sounds like he's spent half his life in prison. She is, however, so succulent that one hardly notices her performance.The movie has no superscore. The music is country and western, and unusually apt. It adds to the shabby atmosphere established. Nobody seems to be really having a good time. And I never suspected Salt Lake City had such a debauched underworld -- people guzzling beer as they drive, smoking, shacking up impulsively, strung out on dope and New Age insanity. Yet they are for the most part respectable and law abiding, even the tattooed bikers and other lowlifes that Gary cultivates as friends.There are only two murders and we don't see the victims' heads explode. In fact there is hardly any blood. (That's what I meant when I said the movie was relatively tasteful.) What motivated Gilmore? I mean, two senseless killings for a few dollars to pay off a pickup truck. Who knows? Not even Gilmore knows. Ditto for Nicole Baker. She and Gary agreed to commit joint suicide while he was in prison. The first attempt failed and they tried a second time. (One of the attempts is again omitted as anticlimactic, which is okay.) She smuggled the depressants into the prison by putting them in a balloon in her vagina. This may or may not sound realistic, but it is. I was surprised to find couples in the visiting room at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo engaged in almost everything short of what might be a definition of "sexual relations" broader than that of President Clinton. Neat. The inmates were doing a lot better than I had at their age.This is an above average miniseries, well worth watching. Not full of pungent insights into human nature or anything -- just a gripping story of a doomed and careless man. Get the unrated version.