British Hanging
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Eric C — 18 years ago(December 21, 2007 04:43 AM)
I don't know about how it compares to other renderings of British hangings, but what I thought made this one so effective was what I believe is the only use of hand-held camera in the film. Rarely has the shift from a stable perspective to a dizzy one been so devastating!
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october_red — 17 years ago(May 04, 2008 08:45 PM)
I think what i found so horrifying is that Timothy is sat in the room unaware of what is dehind the secret door and how close he is to death.
And before he even has chance to react hes bagged and hung in a matter of seconds!
"For Relaxing times, make it Suntory time" -
mlraymond — 17 years ago(May 21, 2008 02:57 PM)
Absolutely. I saw the movie on television over thirty years ago, and that execution scene was one of the most vivid parts of the film in my memory. I felt that same sense of horror you describe at the realization that he's been living right next door to the gallows the whole time, and the speed with which he is hanged. Presumably, the official idea was to make it quick, and not draw out the suspense for the condemned prisoner, but it seems startling and somehow wrong, to my American way of thinking, that he is not given a chance to say a few last words, and they don't even show him getting to pray with a chaplain first, either.
It's extremely businesslike and efficient, and that may be what makes it so unsettling. Of course, knowing that poor Evans was wrongly condemned makes it almost unbearable to watch. John Hurt is so brilliant at capturing the confusion and bewilderment of Timothy Evans, you get the feeling he doesn't even quite realize that it's actually happening to him. It's a terrible thing to watch, and as much as I admire this film, I can't see it very often.
And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him -
guitarhero2000 — 17 years ago(July 21, 2008 06:23 AM)
Watch 'Pierrepoint' starring Timothy Spall for a realistic depiction. He's incredibly matter-of-fact about his job and once famously started smoking a cigarette, did the hanging and then returned to the cigarette in a matter of seconds. The job got to him in the end though.
I really wish everyone wouldn't assume that Evans was as depicted in the film. That follows the 'official version' and although there's no definite proof Evans killed anyone either, many people thought he did the murder(s)and official files released in the 90's reveal him to be if not a killer then a violent drinke with a terrifying temper who had previously tried to stranglehis wife, as witnessed by one of his neighbours. -
jurassicmarc — 16 years ago(April 19, 2009 08:56 PM)
The curator at the black museum in Scotland Yard showed us the clip from the movie Pierrepoint as an acurate portrait of the amount of time it took from holding room to gallows. From the books on Pierrepoint and capital punishment in the Uk Ive read I'd say they are pretty much on the money in that movie.
"Its just a ride" -
PhantomHelmsman — 16 years ago(May 14, 2009 07:45 AM)
Pierrepoint was the tech advisor on the film, so you would hope so, wouldn't you! There's only one problem with the sequence and it's a purely cosmetic one: the Condemned Cell is about three times as small as it would be in reality.
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richwicz — 15 years ago(December 22, 2010 08:10 AM)
The UK's government should re-introduce the death penalty for certain crimes imo.There is no proper deterrent nowadays for murder.Even though I felt bad for Evans, the chances are if the crimes were committed in this day & age Christie wouldn't have got away with framing Evans for the killings as he did back then.
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guitarhero2000 — 15 years ago(December 27, 2010 09:55 AM)
Christie apparently complained of an itchy nose as he was about to be hung, to which Pierrepoint replied something along the lines of 'That won't worry you for long, son!', not in a mocking way but more as a statement of fact.
People who study these kind of things believe that most people who know they are about to die gradually become resigned to it and can perhaps make peace with themselves. I wonder what if anything Christie thought to himself as the rain lashed down on his final night (it is fact that it was raining that night, i wasn't being poetic). Did he confront himself with his crimes or could his mind still shield him from the responsibility? -
PhantomHelmsman — 15 years ago(January 25, 2011 03:46 AM)
The historical facts would agree with you, with regards to people coming to terms with their impending death. There were very, very few cases in the 20th century of condemned prisoners struggling or resisting when the moment came.
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franzkabuki — 12 years ago(April 07, 2013 08:47 PM)
"Did he confront himself with his crimes".
I dont know whats there to "confront" when you simply lack conscience althogether. Theyre fully aware and mostly, in fact, proud of their murderous handiwork as well as the ability to avoid detection over long periods of time if thats been the case (it often is). For instance, according to an eyewitness, the nororious serial killer Dennis Rader whod been getting away with his crimes for almost 30 years, behaved & spoke in the courtroom as if he was there to receive an Oscar award.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
cythna — 13 years ago(February 28, 2013 04:45 AM)
Guitarhero, I think you are wrong. The film did show that Timothy had a temper, and that he and his wife fought. that does not make him a murderer. The prison officers who sat with him for the three weeks he waited to die all agreed that he was very mild tempered on the whole, and commented that he didn't seem capable of the crime he was accused of.I hope you are not suggesting that people who drink too much and fight with their spouses deserve to be hanged?
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highpriestess32 — 10 years ago(May 16, 2015 03:09 AM)
Watch 'Pierrepoint' starring Timothy Spall for a realistic depiction. He's incredibly matter-of-fact about his job and once famously started smoking a cigarette, did the hanging and then returned to the cigarette in a matter of seconds. The job got to him in the end though.
Interesting you should mention Pierrepoint because I bought 10 Rillington Place and Pierrepoint in the same purchase from Amazon. I think it may have been a suggested addition. I intend to watch the latter later today.
"Has anyone seen my wife?" - Columbo