On J List of Movie Reviews
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The Jericho Mile (1979)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
5/04, 3/08, 7/11
3/08:
Before there was Steve Prefontaine and before there were Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, there was Larry "Rain"
Murphy.
The best memory I have of The Jericho Mile is the slow motion of him running topless in gray shorts with his
hair in the wind. It's the highlight and my favorite moment. Simply unforgettable. Michael Mann does a nice job of
bringing realism to the telefilm by mixing actors with the inmates at Folsom State Penitentiary.
All in all, The Jericho Mile is thrilling.
7/11:
Larry "Rain" Murphy makes it rain for the audience in The Jericho Mile, a marvelously shot telefilm by
Michael Mann.
The most thrilling movie moment is the slo-mo shot of Rain Murphy running shirtless in gray shorts with his hair
in the wind. It's easy to be moved by the power of the scene. I love the story: a convicted lifer who's only
allowed to run within the walls of prison yet is capable of setting a world record in the mile. The great cast
makes the drama work, but it's Peter Strauss who takes it to another level. Unforgettable is the ending when Rain
Murphy, while all inmates in the prison yard looked on, set a world record and threw the timepiece to the wall.
All in all, The Jericho Mile is pure Michael Mann.