This 2005 film stars 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet' actor Timothy Spall as Britain's most efficient and prolific hangman, Albert Pierrepoint.Grocery man Albert, married to Annie (Juliet Stevenson), lives a fairly normal life, except his Father and Uncle are hangmen. In 1932, the time comes for Albert to follow in the family footsteps. He manages his early jobs without gaining recognition, such as the execution of the murderer Dorothea Waddingham (Lizzie Hopley). By 1945, Albert has gained a reputation as the most efficient hangman in the country, leading to him being selected to fly to Germany and carry out the execution of around 200 Nazi war criminals, due to their part in the Holocaust. He becomes well known in the British press, seen by the newspapers as something of a hero. But how will the quiet Albert deal with this sudden fame and will it affect his ability to pull off capital punishment?This was a powerful bit of cinema, very thought provoking. As expected, Spall puts in an outstanding performance as Pierrepoint. I particularly liked his moral standards, such as during the day he had to execute thirteen Nazi war criminals. Only twelve coffins were at the prison and he was told just to put the last one 'in the ground'. He refuses to do this, stating this man has paid the price for what he's done and he will be buried with dignity. As predicted, Albert can't deal with the sudden rush of fame (both positive and negative publicity) and things come to a head when he executes his friend Tish (Eddie Marsan) who murdered his ex-girlfriend. He can no longer live with being a hangman and resigns.The film ends with a note saying Pierrepoint died an opponent of capital punishment. It didn't act as a deterrent, only a form of revenge. I have to say, I agree and am glad capital punishment was finally abolished in 1965. If one looks at the current case of Ian Brady, the Moors Murderer who clearly wants to die, then it is doing some good keeping him alive. Hanging would be way too good for him.

Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter), Eddie Marsan, and Juliet Stevenson star in a film about a man (Spall) who follows in his father's footsteps to become the best hangman in England.What strikes you first is the detachment with which he does his job. He does not become personally involved, just do it quick and professional.Outside the job, he is a grocer, and a character that would never be connected with being a hangman: he sings and dances, and enjoys comedies.After he was chosen to execute 47 German prisoners of war, he changed. His identity became known, and he became the target of those who wished to abolish the death penalty.His calm composure starts to unravel little by little.His last two shown were the tipping point.Spall was outstanding in this film, and had great support from Marsan and Stevenson. It was an intelligent and captivating drama.

What a striking film. Realistic with every sentiment being portrayed by this fabulous cast. Personally I can watch this type film again and again. Not the brutality of capital punishment but " to the bone " British drama that no other film industry country can touch. A chilling round of applause goes to Timothy Spall. What a versatile actor from ultimate comedy to this role as Albert Pierrepoint. The intense portrayal of Pierrepoints wife played by Juliet Stevenson was played so classically. There was a great moment in this film when Pierrepiont hanged his friend "Tish" played by Eddie marsan. The strong powerful bond between these to guys came bouncing through the screen. I really enjoyed this film and I only discovered it by chance in the weekly section of the video library. I love British Drama.

Albert Pierrepoint is determined to carry on in the time-honored tradition of his family. That's why, like his father and uncle before him, Pierrepoint has trained to become one of England's premier executioners, a man who approaches his grim job with the utmost professionalism, priding himself on using scientific precision to make his hangings the quickest and most "humane" in all the world. Indeed, with his careful calibrations and emotional detachment, he manages to turn capital punishment into nothing short of an art form. So sterling is his reputation, in fact, that he is called upon by none other than Field Marshall Montgomery himself to supervise the hanging of dozens of convicted Nazi leaders after the war. This elevates Pierrepoint to something of a national celebrity in the eyes of a war-weary, revenge-crazed public, a position he neither craves for himself nor truly knows how to cope with, for it calls into question the dignity of the entire profession.Based on a true story, "Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman" offers a fascinating glimpse into a rarely explored, though frequently reviled, profession and the type of man best fit to carry it out. Filled with insight and depth and - dare we say it? - a certain amount of "gallow's humor," the movie makes no moral judgment on Pierrepoint as a person (at least until he does so himself); for much of the film, he is simply a man doing his job to the best of his capabilities, primarily concerned with making the exit from this world as speedy and painless a one for the men and women on the other end of the rope as is humanly possible. Pierrepoint refuses to see his "victims" as anything but human beings who, for that reason alone and regardless of what heinous crime they might have committed to have brought them to this point, deserve at least a modicum of dignity and respect in their final moments on earth. And he's determined to give at least that much to them. But no man can remain completely detached from the business he chooses to engage in, especially when it is as grim as this one is, and eventually Pierrepoint has to come to terms with the things he's seen and the things he's done in the course of that chosen profession. That day of reckoning is brought about by a strange twist of fate that sends Pierrepoint reeling, forcing him to reexamine what it is exactly he's so proudly and meticulously dedicated his life to.As written by Bob Mills and Jeff Pope and directed by Adrian Shergold, "Pierrepoint" is itself so detached in spirit and tone - at least in its first two-thirds - that it becomes an ironic commentary on the dehumanization that lies at the very heart of capital punishment. But then, without making a fuss of it or in any way grinding its tonal gears, the movie, in its final half-hour, turns into an emotionally devastating plea against continuing the practice of state-approved killing (which England did, in fact, do in 1965), as seen through the eyes of one man who got to experience it up-close-and-personal.As Pierrepoint, Timothy Spall delivers a performance that can only be termed a masterpiece of internalized understatement, while Juliet Stevenson is his perfect match as the subtly avaricious wife who is both supportive of what he is doing and secretly repelled by it at one and the same time.On every level possible, this is a truly extraordinary work.