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21 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Most people seem to be missing the point!, 8 July 2004
Author: Dave Lawrie (Fanatical_About_Film) from Hull, England

I cannot believe some people on here! They post their comments going 'its a sick film, it should never have been released, the film makers are sick' etc etc etc. THATS THE WHOLE POINT!!! This film is REAL LIFE, not some footage that the film makers have created. Of course its sick, this is a film showing that the death penalty is barbaric and wrong by using images that say just that. The film makers are showing their disgust! They challenge you to look into the subjects eyes. Heres the problem with it all you see? These people who say 'its sick, it should never have been released' SUPPORT the ideas of the film makers, in that the death penalty is barbaric, and yet, try to blame THEM for what they have shown???!! Am I the only one who finds that ridiculous? They are hiding behind the issue, dismissing it as the film makers being sick, just because they are not capable of looking real life issues straight in the face and thinking 'is this what our race has become?' No, its just some people who wanted to 'gross people out' with archive footage; so what you're saying is the death penalty isn't to blame? Its just 'sick film makers' who are responsible for it all? All you guys so obviously support the views this film trys to put across, yet then contradict yourselves completely. Think it through next time! Anyway, the film itself is masterful.

The makers get their views across loudly and effectively, to an extent that it may even change the minds of some of those in favour of execution, or at least bring up the kind of discussion you can see from some of the more sensible comments posted here. The fact that the background of any of the criminals is not filled in is also irrelevant to their case. Its not important to the film what the guy did to end up being sentenced to death, its the fact that, by killing him, all we do is sink to their level. We are breeding a society who think death is the answer to all problems, and that is awful! So yes, the images are sick and provocative, but aint that the whole point? Its not the film makers fault, its human kind. We should support this kind of view, and yes, it should be used for educational purposes. Then maybe the next generation will not miss the point at all.

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Everyone should see this movie, 23 June 2003
9/10
Author: abel-16 from Larvik, Norway

I think this movie should be showed in schools all across the world. Look at the people that are being stoned for religious misconduct or the ppl that are shot for being junkies, and ask yourself if you really think that the death penalty is something that humanity needs in the 21 century.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A disturbing and very thought provoking film into executions, 30 September 2003
Author: Andrew Thomas Crane from Bath, England

I saw this thinking that i have seen a lot and nothing could shock me anymore, I was wrong. The final execution of the man in Beirut over came everything i have seen before. For those who say that more attention should be payed to the victims, they completely lose sight of the fact that the film is saying that the vast majority of people who have been executed in the 20th Century have never committed any 'Real Crime' and have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am a staunch opposer of capital punishment and i have read a lot of books and seen lots of movies with executions in them but i had to see this because it showed the reality of executions, that whether or not these people have committed crimes they are still human beings. At the beginning of the film they tell us to look into the eyes of people about to be executed. While they are being executed they are wearing blindfolds, which is more for the executioners than for the prisoners. By putting a blindfold over a person you effectively remove the humanity from their faces. I for one could never kill a person, regardles of what they've done because in the end they are the same as me. A great film 10/10

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Painfully moving documentary., 11 March 2003
10/10
Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

"Executions" is one of the most disturbing documentaries ever made.Broken down into chapters,the film tells about the major forms of execution-stoning,hanging,shooting,decapitation,lethal injection etc.It is certainly interesting and very moving discussion about capital punishment.The film has no fake scenes-it's certainly real.The final scene of the execution of Mohamadine Salar is so painfully moving and disturbing that I have a tears in my eyes during this scene-these shocking images will haunt you forever.They provide a chilling proof that most of these executions are not quick,clean or humane.The film may be extremely hard to take for some,but if you're not easily offended give this one a look.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
of course it's objective, 18 November 2003
10/10
Author: tedburt from Edinburgh, Scotland

This film is objective. The subject of the film speaks for itself without the need for heavy handed treatment.

If anyone has come out of this feeling it has a heavy anti-death penalty message, then maybe that's telling them something, because the film is simply factual.

No mention are made of the victims of crime or the reasons (or lack of them) people have been sentenced to death in the first place. Because this film isn't about crime, its about whether or not the principles behind capital-punishment are immoral and unjust, the abuse of power, and the hypocrisy of countries who consider it a form of justice.

Anyone who supports the institutional killing of prisoners should be made to watch this film. No doubt many who do will find the shooting of Mohammsdine Salar by Beirut gunmen grotesque and brutal as opposed to the highly acceptable (slow, agonising) use of the chair and lethal injection.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
An interesting documentary, 15 June 2001
7/10
Author: Afracious from England

This is an interesting documentary focusing on the subject of the death penalty and the execution of human beings. The program begins by showing us the guillotine from France, a century ago, and then moves to the current day. We are shown the various forms of execution from shootings, stonings and decapitations to electrocutions, gassings and lethal-injections. World War Two is looked at, with the Nazi's mass genocide of the Jews. Other atrocities are also shown in Bosnia, China, Iraq, Rwanda and South America. An executioner in a Virginia, USA prison shows us the procedure of an execution by electric chair. Some of the images are quite graphic, especially the shooting of a man in Beirut at the end, but overall it isn't too disturbing. The program is narrated well and is engaging enough, although it only runs for 57 minutes. Worth a look.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Think you are pro capital punishment? Watch this one and then make up your mind., 8 May 2007
10/10
Author: cuddlycheerful (cuddly@cheerful.com) from Stockholm, Sweden

This movie depicts human executions, genocide and other human atrocities. What makes it so special is how nothing is sugar coated the way that is common these days. Instead the issue is presented with graphic footage of real killings. Indeed, extremely brutal and shocking but extremely convincing as far as the invalidity of capital punishment concerns.

Another commenter, who had not even seen the movie, claimed the movie to be biased due to not telling about the crime of Robert Alton Harris who was the last man to be killed by gas in the USA. I beg to differ a whole lot. First, that killing is not representative for the movie considering how a large part of it is focused around war and genocide by ethnic, political or racial reasons throughout the world. Second, the issue is not about how criminals should be left unpunished but that the capital punishment is an unjust one and has no place in modern societies. It is illogical to grant the state the right to kill while it is looked upon as a horrendous crime when committed by a citizen. Third, the specific execution of Robert Alton Harris made the cup runneth over as what maintaining capital punishment by gassing concerned. An official who after the execution got questioned about the killing of Alton to have been "cruel and unusual" considering it lasted some 20 minutes responded: "That would be a valid judgment I don't know if I can make. It's not a clean, quick, humane way of killing somebody." For anyone wanting to make up his/her mind about the capital punishment I fully recommend this movie to be watched.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Executions (1995) - Censorship?, 17 February 2006
5/10
Author: God_Guns_and_Country

I haven't yet seen this text and at present, have no desire to do so, but I must register disagreement with the appalling comment which says that the public should be stopped from seeing the film. CENSORSHIP IS WRONG! Film is a form of creative expression just like any other art form. Art in history, has depicted many forms of death and violence(Shakespeare wrote some of the most elaborate murders to date), because art is about evoking human reaction, and judging by the comments made, this film has been very successful at doing just that. The right to see a film such as this should not be in the hands of other people. As long as the film sufficiently warns audiences of what they can expect to see, and treats the material in a mature manner, there is absolutely no reason why it should be stopped. Just to remind everyone, Censorship was prevalent in the Nazi and Communist regimes!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
It's JUST a documentary...relax, 9 July 2007
5/10
Author: tenthousandtattoos from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Let me ask you this: whats the difference if a violent murderer is locked up for the rest of his life or if he's put to death? Unless he murdered your wife/husband or a member of your family, I'd hazard a guess the answer is: NONE. That's my argument against capital punishment. Why let these f*ckers opt out early if we can sit them in a concrete room 24/7 for the next 50 years? The latter is the worse punishment I think. Beyond that, let's move onto this film.

I must admit I watched this film at 15 years of age simply because someone told me how "shocking" it was. Well, yes I was shocked, also interested in the history of capital punishment. This film was always going to cause a stir, but referring to the film makers as "sick" or "disgusting" or having made a "snuff" movie is appalling...it was made by a documentary film-crew, not some demented sociopath with a video camera, and it's hardly a snuff film. Nor is it a exploitation of the "victims" of capital punishment, it is simply a history of the death penalty. Capital punishment is bound to carry some disturbing images along with it.

Can't say it was an enjoyable movie experience...but it was interesting. As far as "shocking" goes though, I was far more disturbed when i first saw the famous Viet Nam war footage of the Viet Cong "spy" being executed with a point-blank pistol shot to the head (the still image just before the gunshot is in practically every illustrated history of the Vietnam War) than anything in this film.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
puts up a good argument, 13 October 2001
6/10
Author: motown_23 (jewbo23@aol.com) from Norfolk, England

unlike it seems with faces or death and traces of death films (i'm not sure as i havent seen any of them) this film doesnt set out to just shock people. it actually gives good evidence against executions. its a very interesting documentry and show a few executions but the last scene is very disturbing. a guy who had been convicted of a car bombing in some arab country is laid down and shot in the face and chest a few times with a machine gun. the narrator then says he was left to die and it took 60secs before he did.

7/10

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