Pierrepoint (DVD)

Pierrepoint is a film based on Albert Pierrepoint, a hangman in British prisons from 1933 until 1955, during which time he hanged 608 people. The film was directed by Adrian Shergold and stars Timothy Spall as Pierrepoint. I rented this film on DVD, and it was entitled The Last Hangman, apparently a recent change in the film name. It does seem a very confusing decision to change the name of a film at such a late stage and may lead people into thinking that the two names actually represent two different films. It is possible that the film was renamed however as Pierrepoint was not Britain's last hangman, as he retired in 1955 and the last execution was in ...  Read the complete review

This is a review of the DVD. Albert Pierrepoint was one of the last hangmen in Britain. He hanged hundreds of condemned criminals during his 20-year career, and is probably the most famous British executioner since Jack Ketch (I mean, how many others could you name off the top of your head?). This low-budget film from last year is a biopic of Pierrepoint. A seemingly perfectly ordinary Yorkshireman who works as a grocer, he decides one day to become a hangman (following in his father’s footsteps). He quickly gains a reputation as one of the best at his job, but although he takes pride in his work he doesn’t discuss it with anyone, regarding it as a ...  Read the complete review

A review of just the film, Pierrepoint was produced in 2005, originally under the title The Last Hangman. The region 2 DVD was released in 2007 and you can get it online for less than a fiver these days. Originally a humble grocer working in the North of England, Albert Pierrepoint went on to become England's most prolific hangman. Between 1932 and 1956, Pierrepoint executed hundreds of criminals, including more than 200 Nazi war criminals. Noted as being the best in the business, Pierrepoint's attention to detail was meticulous and he always ensured that the executions were conducted respectfully and without suffering. Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman is a ...  Read the complete review

Albert Pierrepoint is pleased to get the job as a hangman, and takes great pride in his work, going to the trouble of estimating the height and weight of the victim to ensure that they die as quickly and humanely as possible. His talent for quick executions wins him the approval of those as senior as Field Marshall Montgomery, who offers his services as hangman for many German war criminals. In private, Pierrepoint is a fun-loving man who enjoys a drink and a singing session down his local pub. As time goes by, however, the stresses of the job begin to tell on him, particularly when he has to execute one of his friends. And when the death penalty lobbyists come to the ...  Read the complete review

I approached a biographical film about the life of Britain's most famous hangman with some trepidation. The thought of making a drama about the last, sad moments of convicted criminals was a difficult one to come to terms with, and I worried that I would come face to face with unpleasant details about the technicalities of death by hanging. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth: Pierrpoint is a film filled with taste and understatement. Timothy Spall portrays the enigmatic figure of Pierrepoint with enormous sensitivity, and the film centres on the famous hangman's own mental and domestic traumas rather than indulging in gratuitous detail about ...  Read the complete review