Dead Man Walking is a crime drama film released on December 29, 1995. Starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the 1993 non fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn), a character based on convicted murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. He is a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, and she visits him as his spiritual adviser after corresponding with him. The film was a critical and commercial success; it grossed $83 million on a budget of $11 million and received praise for the performances of Penn and Sarandon, as well as Robbins’ direction. Sarandon’s performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, while Robbins, Penn and Bruce Springsteen were nominated for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Song, respectively, for the single “Dead Man Walkin'”.
Dead Man Walking is a soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released in 1996 on Columbia Records. The album contains twelve tracks by major artists, including a title track by Bruce Springsteen, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to Colors of the Wind from the Walt Disney film Pocahontas.
The album is a collection of music thematically linked to the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. Although all the songs were inspired by the storyline, only four of them were featured in their entirety in the movie. A separate album of the film’s instrumental score, composed by David Robbins, was released by Columbia Records in April 1996.
The film’s executive producers, brothers Tim and David Robbins, personally solicited a number of their favorite musicians for contributions to the project.
“We contacted artists we particularly admired,” said David.
The contributors were provided with scripts, rough cuts, and other materials to help inspire their work. Many of the resulting pieces have lyrical content based on particular characters, Suzanne Vega wrote her song from the perspective of the nun, Sister Helen Prejean; Steve Earle took the point of view of a prison guard; and Bruce Springsteen, in the film’s title track, spoke as the convict himself.
Tracklist:
- Dead Man Walkin’ (Bruce Springsteen)
- In Your Mind (Johnny Cash)
- Woman on the Tier (I’ll See You Through) Suzanne Vega
- Promises (Lyle Lovett)
- The Face of Love (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with Eddie Vedder)
- The Fall of Troy (Tom Waits)
- Quality of Mercy (Michelle Shocked)
- Dead Man Walking (A Dream Like This) Mary Chapin Carpenter
- Walk Away (Tom Waits)
- Ellis Unit One (Steve Earle)
- Walkin Blind (Patti Smith)
- The Long Road (Eddie Vedder with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)
