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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5034377070170
Format: PAL
Number Of Discs: 1
Sales Rank: 182419
Theatrical Release Date: May 22, 1999
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
On a bright sunny day in 1948, Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer) sets off down the road to go catch some fish; by the end of the movie's opening sequence, he is the one who's been caught, and wrongly accused of the murder of a white shopkeeper. Racial inequality, at the time, is so pervasive in Louisiana that the white defense lawyer's argument at Jefferson's trial is that his client is not worthy of conviction: 'You might just as soon put a hog in the 'lectric chair as this,' he declares. Outraged by this statement, Jefferson's godmother (Irma P. Hall) does not want her godson to die as a hog. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid of the black community's teacher, Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle), to teach him to 'be a man.' As Grant and Jefferson get to know each other (and the viewer gets to know them both), it's not clear which of them needs the lesson more. As in Ernest J. Gaines's award-winning novel, the movie goes beyond the conflict between the races to explore divisions that splinter the black community: education versus religion, dark skin versus light. And, thanks to masterful performances from Cheadle and Phifer as well as a thoughtful screenplay by Amy Peacock, A Lesson Before Dying goes even further, examining what it means to be human and the responsibility a man has to himself and to his community. Originally made for HBO, this adaptation of Gaines's novel richly deserves to be seen by a wider audience. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Hello! This is an American Masterpiece!
Hello! This is an American Masterpiece! Where are the critics? Where are the Oscars? This is Americana at its very best! At Amazon's current $6.99 it is a steal. Make sure you have some tissue's available. It's a heart warming tear-jerker of a movie.
Old aunt Emma, Jefferson, the feisty preacher, Irma P. Hall,
Mekhi Phifer, Cicely Tyson and the Grant Wiggins characters are never to be repeated performances.
This film has it all, from injustice in Court to Protestant ... Read More
Rating: - "I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man."
From screenplay, to cinematography, and most certainly through the exceptional performances, this superb film is a tearjerker you can feel good about - on many levels.
The movie's most compelling quality is its clear-eyed view of racism in America's deep south. The black people we meet all have distinct personalities complete with problems, strengths, fears, disappointments, and ambitions - just like anybody else. They are people first, black people second. Racism, in all of its cruel ... Read More
Rating:  - A lesson for us all
A "Lesson Before Dying" is a powerful and passionate film, so beautifully written and so beautifully acted it is one of those rare exceptions where the film adaptation is better than the book. Mehki Phifer gives a powerful performance as Jefferson, a young man sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit. He truly brings honesty and humanity to a young man who is seen by white society as inhuman. And Don Cheadle brings compassionate and dignity to the teacher who must help Jefferson stand tall.
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Rating: - There are more important lessons to be learned than death with dignity
In Louisiana in 1948 a young black man named Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer) makes the fatal mistake of accepting a ride from another pair of young men. When they stop at a local store to get some beer the other men do not have enough money and the white storeowner will not give them credit. Guns are drawn and everybody ends up dead but Jefferson, who is arrested for the crime. Since this is a question of black and white justice in the South before the Civil Rights Movement, Jefferson is condemned to be executed. ... Read More
Rating:  - Hog of a story
During the first half of the 20'th century (and before) there were many injustices perpetrated against the negro. Those stories need to be told and understood. This movie tries to tell such a story but failed because it ignored the historical realities. I lived in a place much like the one in the movie in the 50's and was overwhelmed with the liberties the movie took with "the way it was."
First, had anybody white or black been caught with their hands in a cash register with 3 dead people around, ... Read More
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