Highest-Rated Movies about 'Capital Punishment'

A Short Film About Killing (1988), The Executioner (1963), A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005), West of Memphis (2012), Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003), Apprentice (2016), The Executioner (1970) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Capital Punishment movies.

#2. The Executioner (1963)

Storyline: An old executioner in early-1960s Spain, who is a very gentle, nice, caring man proud of traditions, is approaching retirement age. As his profession isn't the most popular, he worries about who might take his place. He worries about his daughter too; she seems doomed to spinsterhood because as soon as any prospective groom learns what her father's trade is, he flees in terror. Enter the local undertaker, a handsome young man with exactly the same problem: no girl wants him given his profession. So, you have the woman whom almost nobody would marry and the man whom almost nobody would marry. Obviously, they are meant for each other. But here the old executioner has something to say: He does not object to his daughter marrying the young undertaker; he seems a decent man--but he will only agree to the marriage if the prospective groom agrees to take the executioner's job when he retires. Father tells the worried fellow: "Don't worry, they sentence people, but they pardon them at the last moment!"—Jose Beltran <pepe@prince.pe.u-tokyo.ac.jp>

Plot Keywords: black comedy, satire, spanish cinema, social criticism, bureaucracy, moral dilemma, absurdism ...

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#4. Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005)

Storyline: Albert Pierrepoint (Timothy Spall) finds great success as Britain's most famous public executioner, and his notoriety rises to a new level after he is selected to hang Nazi war criminals after the Nuremberg trials, but the experience changes him, and he begins to question the morality of his vocation at the same time that abolitionists begin a campaign to end hanging.

Plot Keywords: biography, historical, crime, drama, british, true story, moral dilemma ...

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#5. West of Memphis (2012)

Storyline: West of Memphis is an examination of a failure of justice in Arkansas. The documentary tells the hitherto unknown story behind an extraordinary and desperate fight to bring the truth to light. Told and made by those who lived it, the filmmakers' unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defense, allows the film to show the investigation, research and appeals process in a way that has never been seen before; revealing shocking and disturbing new information about a case that still haunts the American South.—Production

Plot Keywords: documentary, true crime, legal drama, wrongful conviction, murder, justice, courtroom ...

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#6. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

Storyline: This documentary looks at Aileen Wuornos convicted of killing 7 men while working as a prostitute in Florida. This is actually the second Wuornos documentary made by this group the first being Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992). With her execution now on the horizon Nick Broomfield returns to Florida to complete the story. Her argument has always been that the killings were in self-defense but she eventually pleaded no contest or guilty to most of the murders. Broomfield was able to film several interviews which reveals her state of mind and puts into question her mental competence.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: documentary, true crime, serial killer, biography, death penalty, crime scene, interviews ...

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#7. Apprentice (2016)

Storyline: Aiman is a 28-year-old Malay correctional officer who is recently transferred to the territory's top prison. He lives with his older sister Suhaila in a modest housing estate. At his new workplace, Aiman begins to take an interest in a 65-year-old sergeant named Rahim. Soon, it is revealed that the charismatic Rahim is actually the long-serving chief executioner of the prison. Rahim also takes notice of the principled and diligent Aiman. When Rahim's assistant suddenly quits, he asks Aiman to become his apprentice. Aiman tells Suhaila of his new job position, but Suhaila becomes upset, as their father was actually executed by Rahim. Aiman knew this all along. Can Aiman overcome his conscience and a haunted past to possibly take over as the next chief executioner?—augenschein Filmproduktion

Plot Keywords: drama, crime, prison, moral dilemma, human nature, psychological, social issues ...

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#8. The Executioner (1970)

Storyline: Explosive international intrigue results when British Intelligence Agent John Shay (George Peppard) suspects Adam Booth (Keith Michell), a colleague, of being a double-agent. Although Shay's superiors warn him against an investigation, he travels to Greece and Turkey in order to check out his suspicions. There, Shay becomes involved with the beautiful Sarah (Dame Joan Collins), who was once his lover, and is now Booth's wife. Before long, Shay realizes that he is being used as a Communist pawn, and has fallen into grave danger.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: crime, thriller, drama, spanish cinema, film noir, social criticism, moral dilemma ...

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#9. Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999)

Storyline: Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris investigates the case of a man who became an authority on capital punishment, but was discredited when he got involved on the wrong side of a court case. Leutcher, a meek man whose appearance belies his grim expertise, develops what he says is a more effective electric chair. Before long he's in demand from officials who want his opinions on other kinds of execution. But when called to aid the case of an accused Holocaust denier, Leutcher's problems begin.

Plot Keywords: documentary, biography, holocaust, controversial, interview, historical, legal ...

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