Top 20 Execution Scenes in Movies

[@WatchMojo]

Which of these left the biggest impact on you? Let us know in the comments below! For more content like this, click here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aquqd4l-d7KJftU Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm and 8pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!

[@Phil_A_O_Fish]

Braveheart was the most inaccurate of films not just on this list but in general. Sir William Wallace wasn't known as Braveheart by the Scottish people at that time, that title went to Robert the Bruce. Furthermore William Wallace didn't shout " Freedom! " at any time throughout his execution - that was yet another Hollyweird invention added on purely to try to jazz things up a bit. In conclusion I wish that they'd stop rewriting and corrupting our British history simply to try to make money from as many people as possible - most notably from people in the U.S.A.

[@williamsummerson1204]

John Coffey.

[@emilybeers4693]

You should have had Eduard Delacroix in there. That one was crazy.

[@Erati243]

for 20. It wasn't quick and it shouldn't have been. It WAS TOTALLY fair. He was their, he knew what was gonna happen to the man's family and he watched it happen with no attempt to stop it and no remorse. He was just as guilty as rupert. the rest I won't argue the commentary.

[@tremolandi3918]

Frankenstein Unbound

[@kaylahensley1581]

I think Del's death from The Green Mile should have made the list too. The antagonistic guard botched it on purpose and the scene was pure nightmare fuel.

[@spishyofficial]

I was SURE that would be on here, so shocked it wasn't

[@karenikeda5931]

I agree. It should have been in the top 5 because it was so gruesome.

[@leslietaylor4458]

There is no Mouseville. It was all made up.. Just thought you'd like to know..

[@janewilliams7047]

Agreed - that was the most horrific part of that brilliant movie...

[@slytheringingerwitch]

He's cooking now! They cooking him good!

[@MORONIC_official]

Sad moments. The green mile scene was the saddest to me.

[@Schakuta]

The green mile was the first movie to make me tear a shed. The second movie years later was 12 years a slave, the moment Solomon comes home. I started crying as he started apologizing for not being there with them. One of the most impactful scenes I saw in my whole life. Him coming home and saying sorry really broke me. All the horrors he went through to come home and say sorry to his loved ones. For me it was even more heartbreaking than the green mile. Even tho it can seem as a "happy end" because he finally returns home. Him coming home made me "understand" and feel the pain he went through. But John Coffey's death as well as his words " I'm tired, Boss" will ever stick to me and my life. It's amazing how movies are able to transfer those feelings to us viewers, so we really start to think about life. If a movie can make you cry the movie for sure can be considered art. 12 years a slave really gave me a perspective on how it must have been to be a slave as well the green mile inspired me to stay positive and a nice human being even tho you have any reason not to. Those movies really made me learn the terms "hope" and love and I'm grateful for being able to have the experience to "witness" conditions other people live in and how they deal with situations. I think nearly on a daily basis about some aspects of those movies.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

I haven't seen "The Green Mile," but I will admit that the execution scene, which was shown here, was very dramatic and intense. What really made it sad was that John Coffy was being electrocuted for a crime he didn't commit. Since the film is set in North Carolina, a Southern state, in the 1930s, when the racist Jim Crow laws were still in effect, one could speculate that John was convicted and sentenced to death mainly because of the color of his skin. By the way, showing John dying in the electric chair was a blooper, because in North Carolina, the method of execution has long been the gas chamber.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

​@@Schakuta " 'The Green Mile' was the first movie to make me tear a shed." TEAR A SHED? DON'T YOU MEAN "SHED A TEAR"?

[@MORONIC_official]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 I did not know about that historical blooper about North Carolinas execution system. The more you know.

[@KaelRavenheart]

Agreed. Green Mile was most heartbreaking. It remains one of my top 3 favorite movies. That said, whereas Braveheart doesn't break the top 10(despite being an excellent piece of fiction itself) I do understand the No. 1 spot being given to it. Cultural impact is a huge factor to consider.

[@Pbkid1313]

The Green Mile will go on record as the only movie that’s ever made me cry

[@lisaboban]

To me, it's a perfect movie. Perfect story, perfect cast, perfect performances.

[@nicolasvaleije9948]

keep the lights on boss

[@tomwithey711]

Noones recording that.

[@williamdiffin28]

It's one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Its implied message of: 'The Chair is good because sometimes innocent African Americans get executed in it' is characteristic of everything that is fatally wrong with the USA and with her diseased narratives.

[@Pucsipeti]

Well, well, well We will see about that :D Here are some movies for you: Deux hommes dans la ville (Two men in town), Das Boot, Man of La mancha (with Peter o Toole), Cast Away, The world fastest indian, The Father (2020), Le proffesionnel, The hero (Jet Li), Fearless (also Jet Li), 13th warrior, Knight's tale, 12 Angry man (1956), The good, the bad and the ugly, For a few dollars more, Hacksaw Ridge

[@saranissen6210]

The Green Mile is my favorite movie, and that death scene with John Coffy is really one to make me tear up, he is really a gentle giant.

[@dragonrage500]

The saddest part for me is the ending with the mouse. If johns power took a mouse (creatures that MAYBE live for 3-4 YEARS.) with tom hanks looking around 30-40 there. then the mouse reaching tom hanks age at like 70-80? that means a human with an average lifespan of 60-90 years. if put at the same rate tom hanks could end up living for CENTURIES. centuries with the guilty of "killing gods miracle"

[@ethandegge3127]

The ending to the Green Mile is just overwhelmingly sad, everyone cried watching it

[@ingelindenau1712]

And in reality the actor died a few years ago.

[@NaimaBoukhouf-vr7qm]

And dead man walking Sean penn acting was stunning

[@rsjones9303]

I get that they don't wana double dip but Del's death from the Green Mile is one you'll never forget.

[@leslietaylor4458]

There is no Mouseville.. that's just a story they made up to shut you up.. just thought you'd like to know - That line alone starts the gasping

[@Zero-bm1hj]

@@leslietaylor4458 Talk about double dipping, then Percy had the gall to call Del a homophonic slur. Brutal should’ve punched him in the face again.

[@loyalistmundicomedentisdux9538]

The entirety of Paths of Glory is forever entombed in my mind. The cruelty, realism, the sorrow is hard to match by other war films. Can't beat Kubrick.

[@spokanetomcat1]

You forgot Kirk Douglas produced it as an anti-war film.

[@tomconneely1361]

There's a brilliant radio adaptation that's worth catching.

[@wojtek1765]

The green mile really annoys me every time, because the Gentle giant was innocent the whole time

[@leslietaylor4458]

You have to understand the whole movie. John Coffey was suffering in life. He mentioned after Eduard Delacroixs death "He's the lucky one". It is more than just sad. It is an artistic blend of many emotions and that's what makes the movie so powerful and unique

[@JGE_DK]

The John Coffey scene gets me EVERY time!! 😢 Seriously... I'm a 51 year old dude, and I bawled my eyes out for John Coffey, when I saw The Green Mile for the first time in 1999 - and I'm STILL bawling my eyes out for John Coffey. 😭 Yep, even the short clip in this video got to me. 😢 But don't worry. I AM okay. 🥲 I'm just emotional, that's all. ☺

[@twistedteague]

The book broke me. I refuse to watch the movie.

[@matthijssmeets9325]

For me, The execution of Sarah Fier in Fear Street 1666 was the saddest to watch. Because the people in her village accused her of witchcraft while she was innocent all along. And what it makes it more sadder was that her friends were the only ones who knew she was innocent. 😢

[@alexistorres3948]

The Hunger Games execution was the craziest scene I’ve ever witnessed in theaters ! The way everyone gasped

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

The Green Mile...How big of a Sociopath do you have to be to let someone suffer that way?

[@davidsmith871]

I can't believe The Execution of Private Slovik isn't in there. It was one of the most intense scenes I've seen in any movie.

[@feoffor]

Not a theater movie

[@mumblingpatchey318]

The mother's death in Jojo Rabbit. You don't need to see her execution to feel the impact and sadness

[@elijahalbiston]

That’s a good one, and you only have to see the shoes to know everything.

[@lawrencewood289]

Definitely! Or the German soldier basically saving JoJo before his own execution. My daughter had me see this film. I am grateful. Sheer genius.

[@w4vze]

@@lawrencewood289sir captain k, helped Jojo throughout, and till the end

[@DanaCristianaAgent]

Dancer in The Dark remains one of the saddest deaths I've watched on television. So sad. I couldn't stop crying.

[@DodderingOldMan]

It's one of those films that I absolutely loved... and will probably never watch again. Too emotionally exhausting.

[@zsuzsannasalda]

I agree ...counting the steps, as her feet didn't want to carry her , needed to use the board , because she couldn't stand straight .. heartwrenching

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Cringeworthy .!

[@jocreek1894]

A very deserving scene that was missed is from the 1980 Australian film 'Breaker Morant', set during the Boer War and based on a true story. The two men reach to hold hands as they walk to the execution spot is poignant enough, however, Morant's last words of "Shoot straight ya bastards" will tear at your heart as they are executed.

[@myname7056]

Are you an Aussie, or just someone who’s seen it?

[@marthacarson7561]

I was waiting for that scene, too. Surprising it was not included.

[@TRINZINI]

"Shoot straight ya bastards ! Don't make a mess of it ! "

[@clevewatson9175]

I had exactly the same thought. The details about them holding hands, and Morant's last words, were apparently recorded in the writings of one of those present at the execution.

[@Elitist20]

The interesting thing is the two actors (Edward Woodward and Bryan Brown) improvised holding hands, and only found out later that it actually happened that way.

[@longtallshaz]

The Green Mile execution with the dry sponge was the worst I've seen in a film

[@leslietaylor4458]

Definitely, a lot happens in that scene. But if you read the book, it actually tells you Eduards crime. He raped and murdered a woman then tried to get rid of the body by gasoline and fire. The fire spread to an apartment and 6 more were killed in the fire. Percy knew the story, and him catching on fire himself was sort of a hint of poetic justice.

[@angemaidment5640]

“Dead Man Walking” leaves you with so much to think about. Nothing is straight forward.

[@rodneysmith4682]

The green mile had my big ass crying like a baby fresh out the womb

[@williamsummerson1204]

Rebecca delivered a perfect narration to this video. John Coffey's execution is soul crushing. 🙏😭

[@unknownchoujin1436]

More like soul obliterating. After seeing that scene, it's like I never had a soul. I doubt another movie will be as impactful, but I could be wrong.

[@IrishScribbler]

Except she can’t even get the names right. It takes some pretty strong drugs to cock up a character’s name mere seconds after getting it right. My guess is that she’s been snorting Charlie.

[@munibullahkhan]

Execution scene from Anna and the King is one of the best, deserves top 5

[@robertparker4833]

You missed ‘Breaker Morant.’ One of the greatest movies ever.

[@kerraptregolls4929]

The green mile is more historically accurate than braveheart

[@MusondaV]

And you skipped Del's electrical chair mayhem in Green Mile?

[@rustydustyman]

It's been a while since I've seen The Green Mile, but I'd argue that the more impactful execution scene was the one that was deliberately sabotaged to make him suffer. I can't remember the name of the character, but it's the one who had the rat.

[@joshuaeruela5274]

It was Edward Delacroix if I remember correctly. He was executed without the sponge being wet

[@mikegallant811]

​@@joshuaeruela5274and his pet wasn't a rat, it was a little mouse, Mr. Jingles.

[@arin27_]

The Wind That Shakes the Barley - definitely worth a mention

[@johncahalane7327]

You don't even want to go there for brutality unspeakable things were done on all sides from 1916 to 1923 in Ireland the savagery got even worse during The Irish Civil War ....Ballyseedy Co Kerry one of the worst crimes committed by anyone in history, unspeakable savagery...

[@Ghost80]

The Jodie Foster version of The King and I. When the lovers are executed. That was heartbreaking to watch.

[@marianparoo1544]

There is also the original. 1930s or 1940s.

[@marianparoo1544]

Absolutely incredible and unforgettable

[@glennmartin8664]

I was surprised to see "The Execution of Private Slovik" omitted -- Martin Sheen and Ned Beatty are amazing together.

[@marioperez9394]

I love Law Abiding Citizen it’s one of my favorite movies

[@spokanetomcat1]

You missed out on the execution of 80-year-old Jacque DeMolay in 1314 France. The last Grand Master of the Knights Templars. Betrayed by the King of France, Phillip the Fare, and others to grab the riches of the Templars. He was arrested with other knights on Friday, October 13th, 1307. He was roasted, not burned, at the stake, which is worse than being burned, on a small island in front of where Notre Dame is located today in Paris. Last words, "We die innocent! The decree which condemns us is an unjust decree but in Heaven, there is an August Tribunal, to which the weak shall never appeal in vain."

[@orlandowilliamson691]

That's the guy on the shroud of Turin I believe.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your lists!😊😊😊

[@culcune]

The film "Let Him Have It" (1991) didn't have a particularly memorable execution scene, but the circumstances (and the movie in general) leading up to the execution is very poignant. Based on a true story, it puts the idea of executing the 'wrong' person (wrong for the most part) at the forefront.

[@BriGuyIL1980]

I remember it. Christopher Eccleston really sold it as Derek being led into the hanging room with a look of absolute terror on his face that you feel like he may start screaming in a moment had the white hood not been but on him, but even then you hear his strained, hyperventilating breathing and then, like lighting, he falls through the trap door, a shot of his shoes falling off and landing on the dusty floor below. And then the camera panning up his body into the bright lightbulb overhead. Yeah. It's stuck with me.

[@kooltom4]

Yeah that one is haunting and stays with you, even after all these years.

[@kyle381000]

James Cagney in "Angels with Dirty Faces" is chilling. Tough guy trying to show the horror of what happens to guys like him.

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

I like "In Cold Blood"....especially when my grandparents told me the actual story behind it. My grandparents lived the next town west of Holcomb, KS. The incident happened the year my mom graduated from high school.

[@ingelindenau1712]

Best were the addiction of ASPIRIN tablets. Good Idea of Truman Capote !

[@Daniel-nn8mr]

Green Mile makes the manliest men cry.

[@jonjahr3403]

This video was good but it needs a part 2 They should've also had Del's execution scene from The Green Mile in this video. Personally, my all-time top 4 movie execution scenes are 1, John Coffey -The Green Mile 2, Eduard "Del" Delacroix - The Green Mile 3, The execution of John Proctor, Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse - The Crucible and 4, The stoning death of Giles Corey - The Crucible

[@GAURAV25855ify]

5. Fallen 6. Dead man walking

[@there4you19]

My favorite Execution is When Optimus Prime executed Sentinel Prime.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

Robocop - Alex Murphy getting shot multiple times in the chest, having his arm blown off, and getting shot in the head. That Execution was hard to watch.

[@lolahernandez6871]

Iy was distuebing as a child watching that. But the acid guy who got splattered all over the windshield , now THAT TRAUMATIZED THE F**K OUTTA ME ! 😱😱😱

[@matthewcaughey8898]

The difference is Murphy was rebuilt and regained his humanity while taking vengeance upon those who killed him. For a chance to come back and seek vengeance? Whatever it takes is what I’ll give

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

That wasn’t so much an execution as it was torture and plain old murder

[@Senacacrane]

I'll be honest, the saddest one that left an impact on me was The Green Mile one.

[@williammcgeehan3424]

Matin Sheen in The Execution of Private Slovik ( 1973 ) is really the number one execution scene.

[@blairkimberlin3447]

while Braveheart's execution was tragic I don't think any other film execution will ever be as heart wrenching as The Green Mile

[@GAURAV25855ify]

Thats true

[@GAURAV25855ify]

Remdemption

[@Luxray2000]

The Green Mile is one of the only movies that has ever made me cry, and it was an adaptation of a Stephen King novel of all things

[@CordsZ]

The execution scene in A Hidden Life by Terrence Malik is the best of the lot. There’s no blood, no gore, you don’t actually see or hear anything, but the tension builds so much by the end that you’re a wreck.

[@dcstealth11111]

in my opinion escape from sobibor when people were forced to pick a friend to die with them was absolutely gut wrenching

[@janetkizer5956]

There's a haunting execution scene in Bangkok Hilton that is truly unforgetable, but then that whole tv movie is. It was made back in the days when long TV movies ruled, and Nicole Kidman was not yet famous outside of Australia.

[@jacquiejones-m2h]

I was thinking of that movie while watching this video. Yes, it was truely unforgettable .

[@johncahalane7327]

Your so correct the sheer terror but the real thing is even worse

[@Hammerhead547]

The hangging of Gordon Northcott from The Changling should be on the list because it's a semi-faithful recreation of the hanging that caused the state of california to build the "green room" in an old smokehouse near the old pig farm at san quinton, the movie doesn't go into the grotesque details but gets just enough of it right to make the point that he 100% deserved to die for what he did. Northcott went to the gallows like a coward (begging for his life), the hangman deliberately placed the noose in such a way that it would strangle the condemned and when northcott was dropped he wriggled gagged, gasped and relieved himself in his trousers over the 11 minutes it took him to strangle to death.

[@StevenMitchell-h7v]

Sommersby should have been at least an honorable mention

[@connietreloar2102]

The execution in Monsters Ball was bleak, realistic and chilling.

[@dystopiawanderer]

I've never seen Law Abiding Citizen, but that made me genuinely uncomfortable. It doesn't help that I hate needles, but being strapped down, unable to move, that hurt flowing through your veins... The thought, in this case coupled with the sight, makes me feel physically ill. Not to mention being surrounded by the sociopathy in and of the room.

[@lolahernandez6871]

Well then u should avoid the dismemberment scene with the mirror.....💀💀

[@dystopiawanderer]

@@lolahernandez6871 Why would you say that, now I have to look it up :-)

[@lolahernandez6871]

@@dystopiawanderer 😎

[@Hammerhead547]

The movie directly implies that ames tortured and r*ped the 7 year old daughter of the main character before killing her. His character was a worthless mongrel who 100% deserved what happened too him on that gurney, in his final seconds of life he experienced the horror and agony that his little victim felt before she died. The fact that the character was clearly expecting an easy death only to have that hope stolen from him as he felt the chemicals burning him alive from the inside out makes the agony on his face that much sweeter to see.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Honestly I would rather take the firing squad. At least it would be quicker

[@Reloaded_______]

We had to watch The Crucible after we read it when I was in high school for a compare and contrast, and I was literally crying when Proctor was about to die. When the executioner pushed him off in the middle of praying, my classmate laughed out loud and that made me laugh at him, smh! Now I can’t take that movie serious at all!! I guess my classmate didn’t expect it to happen that way 🤦🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

[@aprilleerose]

It’s historically accurate that Anne Boleyn didn’t cry during her execution. She was strong til the end.

[@azohundred1353]

"Angels With Dirty Faces" from 1938 starring the great James Cagney in an intense performance in a powerful movie. It belongs on this list for its ending. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. It's well worth your time.

[@philippebaron556]

susan hayward in i want to live oscar 1959

[@azohundred1353]

@philippe baron Definitely! Susan Hayward gave a tour de force performance and her Oscar was well-deserved. "I Want To Live!" is a brutal but powerful film. Excellent choice!

[@philippebaron556]

sandrine bonnaire in joan the maid 1994 is good also

[@educatingourworld]

It should have been number one

[@cameronhermann9400]

Green Mile always makes me cry 😢

[@josefk7437]

My favorite TV execution was the one on The Twilight Zone that is based on an Ambrose Bierce novel. It is the execution of Peyton Farquar. He is hanged, but he imagines escaping, only to go back to him being hanged. The Ambrose Bierce story explains how he got there.

[@bheast86]

there was a movie short also made of AN OCCURENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE

[@waverly2468]

The Uma Thurman movie "The Life Before Her Eyes" (2007) has a similar plot to that TZ episode.

[@gaylestegall7239]

I love that episode.

[@thisissparta789789]

@@bheast86The short film is in fact the same as the Twilight Zone episode. They aired the whole film.

[@DonAbrams-hq7ln]

Like the oxbow incident

[@Clipgatherer]

Execution scenes can vary from the melodramatic to the absurd, but in your compendium the scene that moved me the most was the hanging of the young brothers Bobby and Billy Joe in “Hang ‘Em High”. Christ, they were just children. The firing squad scene in “Paths of Glory” was also brilliant.

[@psalm2764]

Gallipoli.

[@Anakin_Skywalker01]

The thing that makes the dirty dozen so good is that the criminals technically get executed anyways even if they agreed to take the mission.

[@DarthAzabrush]

At World's End's execution scene is even more disturbing if you recognise that its probably the most historically accurate thing in the whole series. There were over 210 capital crimes under the British criminal code of 1690-1832. Some of them REALLY stupid.

[@robertembury6094]

The hanging scene of the Swede in Hell on Wheels is one of the most realistic I've seen in cinema

[@lindasmith6316]

I remember that...

[@kyle381000]

I always expected that the Swede would find a way out of that one.

[@LethalSaliva]

The scene where he strangles that poor woman will haunt me for the rest of my life😨😢. I will never watch that scene again!

[@bfineducation1035]

The scene where Duncan was burned alive in The Last of the Mohicans should be in the list.

[@GodzillaPowerPuffFan]

The Braveheart execution scene was really sad and powerful but I think number 20 Was Way worse because I can’t sleep because of that

[@janel.8921]

I Want to Live! (1958) has an intense gas chamber scene. Susan Hayward won an Oscar for this part.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

I forgot about that movie! "I Want To Live" was based on the true story of Barbara Graham, who was accused of taking part in the robbery and murder of an elderly woman in 1953. She was convicted mainly on the testimony of one of the other robbers, who claimed that Miss Graham had brutally beat the old woman to death while the others were shouting "Give her more!" However, this film suggests that the witness's statements were false, because he said that Graham had used her right hand to attack the victim, yet, according to the film, Graham was LEFT-HANDED! Also, while Graham did have a criminal record, it was mostly for NON-VIOLENT CRIMES, like prostitution, drug-related offenses, and, one time, perjury. While it was true that she was recorded trying to convince someone to give her a false alibi (some argue that this was a blatant act of entrapment), the movie argues that she only did this out of desperation, because she had no other way of proving her innocence. There was also the possibility that she didn't get a fair trial, because of the negative publicity that surrounded the case, with newspapers and magazines calling her "Bloody Babs." Despite these doubts, Barbara Graham was eventually executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison in 1955. Two men who had also been convicted of taking part in the robbery and murder were executed right after Graham's death. Yes, they should have included the execution scene from "I Want To Live" on this list, or at least gave it an "honorable mention," but it was left out, just as it was on a previous WatchMojo video from several years ago about the "TEN Best Executions in the Movies." Both videos also left out another famous cinematic death row segment, the electrocution of "Rocky" Sullivan (James Cagney) from "Angels With Dirty Faces" (Warner Brothers, 1938). What made that scene memorable was not so much the execution, but the way Rocky behaved while walking the "last mile" to the execution room. In the film, Rocky is a well-known racketeer who returns to the New York City slum area where he was born and raised, and finds that he's considered a hero to the local juvenile delinquents (played by the "Dead End" Kids). This displeases the local priest, Father Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien), Rocky's old childhood friend and former partner in juvenile crime, who's been trying to reform the boys and prevent them from entering the kind of criminal life that Rocky had entered. In the climax, Rocky is convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Father Connelly visits Rocky in his death cell and tries to convince his old friend to pretend to be a coward when he's escorted to "the hot seat" so that the slum boys will no longer see him as the brave and tough hoodlum that he's been for much of his life. Rocky, however, turns down the request, believing that the whole idea is ridiculous! But, at the last minute, when actually facing the death chair, Rocky suddenly breaks down and begins pleading for his life, screaming that he doesn't "want to die," which he keeps shouting right up to the moment the switch is pulled, silencing him forever. The next morning, the boys read in the newspapers about how Rocky "died a coward," and at first, they don't believe it, until Father Connelly, who witnessed everything, assures them that it's the truth, and the kids realize that they were stupid to look up to a crook like Rocky Sullivan. Cagney's performance in "Angels With Dirty Faces" is considered one of his best, especially in his "cowardice" act in the finale. So that film definitely should have been on this list.

[@peterwhite507]

Came here to say this. Should have made this list easily.

[@jeancoppin6353]

I think it's been about 55 years since I saw it and I still remember her silently struggling against the gas.

[@PeterAnton-h5q]

Yes definitely I Want to Live -- 1958, bothered me the most when I first saw the movie when I was in my teens, playing on TV. The execution scene bothered me

[@MsBrynnElizabeth]

2 execution scenes in movies that nearly cause me to have a panic attack 1. Zack‘s final moments - alpha dog This movie was based off an actual crime - this whole thing really happened 2. Lewis‘ Walk to the gallows - Return to Paradise I would post a summary; but I think YT would not be happy with it. Lots of things you can’t say lol But I recommend just looking up each scene - because words can only convey so much emotion … you have to see it/hear it.

[@josebro352]

What about the 1958 film I Want to Live starring Susan Hayward? That film traumatized me when I saw it as a kid.

[@KDaynes43]

When the guard tells her after strapping her in the chair " take deep breaths, it will be easier" and she replied " how would you know". Hits deep

[@BigFella117]

There are three moments where it is ok for a man to cry: 1. When he gets married. 2. When his first child is born. 3. John Coffey’s death in the Green Mile.

[@kylebentley7512]

4. Anytime he feels the need to

[@sarahudson108]

Very true crying is a way to release the grief and start healing .

[@peterswires8439]

4. When Jenny Agutter cries "Daddy! It's my daddy!" in The Railway Children.

[@lau_sol24]

5. At any emotional scene from "Schindler's List"

[@nowy5]

10, when he cuts the onion

[@tracidavis3565]

Good List. I always think of Jake Spoon in Lonesome Dove. Gus and Woodrow having to hang their former friend was sad.

[@KDaynes43]

Actually, Jake kind of hung himself. Yes Gus & Woodrow had him restrained, but Jake spurred the horse himself. Shocking all watching

[@davy_K]

Kieslowski's A Short Film About Killing needs to be on this list - it shows execution via short drop hanging. Also - the burning at the stake of Oliver Reed's character in The Devils is highly effective.

[@jec1ny]

I'm assuming you haven't seen the movie Pierrepoint. That aside, my sympathy is more with the victims of killers, than with their murderers. Hollywood has a long tradition of turning everyone on death row into a falsely convicted martyred saint. The real world is somewhat darker.

[@krashd]

The deaths of all of the "feelers" in Equilibrium that Christian Bale can't save.

[@carrieachilles6362]

I never saw the green mile. After reading the book, I couldn't.

[@m3rrys0ngstr3ss]

It's brutal to watch, I don't blame you.

[@davidhaught-rn1wg]

I would’ve included “I want to live”.

[@PrinceIsot]

The Joan of Arc with Milla Jovovich made me cry during the execution scene. I couldn't understand why they killed someone that fought so bravely for them but religion.....

[@nigelmounce33]

Danton's execution in movie of the same name. Best guilloting ever.

[@LesHaskell]

Wow! I just discovered tonight that John and Elizabeth Proctor are my 8th great-grandparents. Actually 13 of the 20 who were executed are in my family tree.

[@jocelynhale7168]

I really just need to know how many people thought, “WTF, Will?!” when they saw the thumbnail lol

[@sparrow_mae3221]

Definitely made me double take

[@michaellecaplain3377]

The Green Mile gets me every time. I've been reading Stephen King's novels since I was 13 and treasure my serialised The Green Mile books. The film has the dubious honour of being one of only two movies - the other being Les Miserables - that has ever had me in pieces. TGM feels more poignant than ever now that Michael Clarke Duncan is no longer with us, too. A masterpiece of writing and cinematography.

[@richardhogenson594]

You forgot the execution in “The Chamber “.

[@GAURAV25855ify]

Yes that two and carolina skeleton story Gworge akinner 14 years old kid

[@kuyar_moonshadow0501]

I will NEVER forget when I watched "The Passion of the Christ" on Good Friday with my mom last year. We were sobbing through most of it and even had to pause it at least once, cuz we were just crying so much. I can handle pretty gruesome scenes in movies and games, but that one hit differently, cuz it was supposed to me Jesus. I know it wasn't really Him in the movie, but just knowing that that really happened... 😢 That was the only movie from this list I've seen, btw.

[@shirleyhansford8903]

My son and I saw it as soon as it came. Maybe a year later they got a vhs tape from a friend. I took it from my mom and told her you don't need to see this.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

*be

[@krashd]

The Romans were a fairly barbaric bunch despite being supposedly civilised. If your crime was bad enough your death could be horrific and stretch for days.

[@marianparoo1544]

And people brought children to see it. Sickening.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@marianparoo1544 Are you referring to the actual crucifixion of Christ, or to the movie being discussed here.

[@leslietaylor4458]

If any of you have not seen The Green Mile, it's one you got to see. It is a cinematic masterpiece that will trigger all of your emotions (yes even laughter)

[@landoncaggiano612]

facts

[@jhwx88]

The ending of A Hidden Life should be here as well. Subtle but super impactful.

[@bitfenix90]

IN COLD BLOOD... and they missed THE EXECUTIONER"S SONG with Tommy Lee Jones as Gary Gilmore.

[@Senacacrane]

Let's be honest, some of these movie scenes are brutal and some of these are sad as well.😢

[@erickierce7241]

Leaving out the execution of Lewis in "Return to Paradise" and Sophie Scholl in "The Final Days of Sophie Scholl" did this list an injustice.

[@oolooo]

No special mention of A Man of All Season ? .The Dialogue of the Carmelites ? .Damn .

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

The weird thing with Coin’s death is that the crowd don’t rip Katniss apart - they didn’t know the truth of the situation.

[@braydenolsen5876]

Another execution that’s heart-wrenching is Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman) in “The Chamber.” Watching his to-the-end racist character die in the gas chamber for killing two little boys is justifying, but heart-wrenching as his grandson Adam Hall (Chris O’Donnell) did everything he could to save his racist grandfather’s life.

[@Hammerhead547]

It also turned out that sam tried to warn them not to go to the law office because he realized that rollie wedge (his accomplice in the crime) had changed the timing on the bomb so that it would kill innocent people, he didn't want anyone to die that day but wedge set him up and used him as a patsy. Wedge even went to the prison to visit sam in order to taunt him and threaten adam's life, after that sam decided to clear his conscience and spilled the beans to adam who in turn spilled the beans to the FBI who arrested wedge as sam was being gassed, so with his dying breaths sam got his revenge on wedge and the klan.

[@DonAbrams-hq7ln]

How about Robert Askes hanging in chains in the Tudors

[@bheast86]

Rocky in ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, Lady Jane Grey in LADY JANE, Thomas More in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

[@scottwexlin6456]

I would add "The Devils", a film hard to find in it's original uncut brutality. Oliver Reed is tortured, then burned at the stake, and the special effects, especially for 1972, make it very hard to watch.

[@CodyFairlessLee]

I like THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and THE GREEN MILE. I also love SCHINDLER'S LIST and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END.

[@Mr.Glidehook]

Absolutely the Passion and the Green Mile made me burst. But there's no justice to be had in executions. And one thing more should have been on this list: US Army Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier to be put to death during WW2 for desertion...since the Civil War. He lies in an unmarked grave, or he did the last I heard. The Army was ashamed of him. Or were the commaders really ashamed of themselves? A TV-movie which never got much attention and the book it was based on just didn't interest people. He died (he was portrayed by Martin Sheen) sobbing Hail Marys while a priest (Ned Beatty) looked on, powerless. I was in tears. The firing squad failed to immediately kill Slovik, who slumped down and moaned. The post he was tied to held him up, and he moaned while a doctor used a stethoscope and the detail commander ordered the squad to reload. Beatty cried out in rage, "go ahead and give him some more, you like it so much!" But the second volley wasn't necessary. He died with a hood over his head, and no one can know what expression he had as he passed. It was a long read, a difficult movie and one of Sheen and Beatty's finest performances and if I don't remember it perfectly, it's only because of time. The 1974(?) film has never left me.

[@marthacarson7561]

I remember watching that movie as a teen. Sad and powerful.

[@willhemmings]

Susan Hayward playing Barbara Graham in I Want To Live! (1958), is an extremely powerful execution scene, never forgotten

[@aaaht3810]

Should have definitely been on the list. Great acting by Hayward. Gas chamber and execution procedures well researched.

[@eltoneagle8136]

There's no film scene execution more legendary than the incredible " Braveheart"

[@CashelOConnolly]

It’s disgusting that the USA still has the death penalty 🤬

[@eldesgraciado6690]

No, it's not. The reason the death penalty exist is to avoid that a serial killer or anyone who has lost the basic human traits like love, empathy, or compassion, gets set free by future generations. We don't know if in 20 years the majority of the USA may become woke/liberal and will begin to free murderers to "give them a second chance". This is a way to prevent this.

[@DonAbrams-hq7ln]

We need it, crime has risen and jails are full, prosecutors don't do anything, bail is affordable, cops can't shoot, crooks get released, car jackers kill, people on drugs are not responsible ,rioters go for police facilities :ALL because society Is breaking down and GOD is DISRESPECTED when we feared the law, crime was MANAGEABLE.

[@DonAbrams-hq7ln]

And the DOJ and other governmental entities have been corrupted since Hoover.

[@ermericcarolissen694]

Sophie Scholl and Return to Paradise.

[@jojor9766]

I think that you should have mentioned James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces.

[@develyntwocentshenderson5739]

and technically, the green mile had two that were outstanding

[@kailyns8159]

Since we’re talking executions, does anyone remember a 1990s movie about a white woman who thought her black neighbor murdered her mother when they were both kids? The execution scene in this film haunted my dreams for months. Now that I’m older, I’d like to rewatch the movie. But I can’t recall the title, any actor names, or even a studio. And the description is too vague to help. The movie is split into present day and flashbacks. We see the black boy, who is all of 10, get arrested, tricked into signing “his” confession (he can’t read or write, the white cops tell him to make his X), told he is getting a special meal (his last meal, if I remember right he asks for Icecream), and then get executed via electric chair, crying uncontrollably the whole time because he is so confused and scared. In present day, someone is trying to kill the now adult white woman, who was just released from a mental institution because she was framed for the murder of her sibling. As the movie progresses we find out that the white cops knew a white boy whose dad was influential in the town was the real murderer, and at the dad’s request the cops “framed” the black boy and executed him before questions could be asked. Then years later the same white boy tried to r-e the white woman’s sister and he killed her too, at which point the boy’s dad told the cops to frame the victim’s sister, but not to put her in prison. I only saw this movie once. I was very young, staying with my great-grandmother, and I remember she made me change the channel during the execution because she was uncomfortable. Unfortunately we flipped back too soon and saw the character die. It’s possible I’m confusing two movies as one story, as we did watch two other movies that visit. I just know the execution scene is unforgettable, whatever movie it’s from. The Green Mile has some of the best execution scenes in cinema. Especially John Coffey. And yes, the 1928 Joan of Arc film is a masterpiece.

[@taylorsmith9418]

Yes I do remember that

[@kailyns8159]

@@taylorsmith9418 Any chance you recall a channel/studio, actor, or maybe even a piece of the title?

[@PaulHamM3]

Carolina Skeletons was the name of the film, based on a book of the same name and sadly based off true events that happened in the 1940s of a young lad called George stinney who was tried and convicted of the rape and murder of two young girls. Eventually after many years the conviction was vacated in 2014.

[@NickJohnCoop]

The executioner for Anne Boleyn had been sent for from France because he was a specialist who could do the stroke in one go, many decapitations took multiple attempts that would make the already horrible affair even worse.

[@raggarbergman]

It wasn't to uncommon that the ececutioner was drunk to so he missed. We have a case here in Sweden where he missed and hit other parts and needed a few strokes to the neck until he tore the last bit of with pure brute strength.

[@shackledallegiance1091]

John coffey’s death got to me so bad that I am never watching the green mile again

[@aaaht3810]

Of this group of 20, I would have to say "The Green Mile", "Paths of Glory" and "In Cold Blood" were the ones that were the best. I think Robert Blake's portrayal of Perry Smith (In Cold Blood) was excellent. Very good acting. I would add to the list the gas chamber execution scene from "I Want to Live" with Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham. Very well researched and well done.