Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

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Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

R

2005

1h 34m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

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.

Critics Consensus

Director Adrian Shergold doesn't shy away from the darker elements of the movie's subject, and Timothy Spall is mesmerizing as the title character.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The key to the film is in the performances by Spall and Stevenson -- and by Marsan. The utter averageness of the characters, their lack of insight, their normality, contrasts with the subject matter in an unsettling way.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 2, 2007

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Ruthe Stein

San Francisco Chronicle

Grim and disturbing yet perversely riveting.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 22, 2007

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

The movie grows more compelling in the latter half as British public opinion turns against capital punishment and Pierrepoint begins to have his own doubts.

Jun 21, 2007

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Adrian Shergold's The Last Hangman, an account of the career of Albert Pierrepoint (Timothy Spall), Britain's final executioner, is a superior work.

Feb 15, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Plodding biopic.

Rated: C+

Jul 17, 2009

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Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

Rated: 5/5

Dec 7, 2007

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william d

Interesting biopic and excellently executed (no pun intended), terrific acting by Timothy Spall.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Morbidly fascinating

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

An insightful and emotive character study of Pierrepoint that integrated some key moral issues rife in the society it was performed.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

good, be warned this ain't no barrel of laughs.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

Excelente Timothy Spall, en un sencillo pero intenso relato sobre la pena de muerte.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

This movie starts slow but is quite moving by the end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

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Adrian Shergold

Director

Timothy Spall

Albert Pierrepoint

Juliet Stevenson

Annie Pierrepoint

Eddie Marsan

James 'Tish' Corbitt

Michael Irwin Norton

Josef Kramer

Cavan Clerkin

George Cooper

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Christine Langan
Screenwriter: Jeff Pope, Bob Mills
Production Co: Granada Television
Rating: R (Nudity|Disturbing Images|Brief Sexuality)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 1, 2007
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.8K
Runtime: 1h 34m

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