Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience. Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield. Votes: …
The Devil's Advocate Theatrical release poster Directed byTaylor Hackford Screenplay by Jonathan Lemkin Tony Gilroy Based onThe Devil's Advocate by Andrew Neiderman Produced by Arnon Milchan Arnold Kopelson Anne Kopelson Starring Keanu Reeves Al Pacino Charlize Theron Jeffrey Jones Judith Ivey Craig T. Nelson CinematographyAndrzej Bartkowiak Edited byMark …
· 3. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Deemed one of the greatest courtroom dramas of all time and based on the novel with the same title, Anatomy of a Murder follows Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler (played by James Stewart), who has his work cut out for him after agreeing to defend Lt. Manion (played by Ben Gazzarra), who murdered a local bar owner after learning he’s been …
Live. •. Dark Waters - A corporate defense kawyer decides to take on an environmental lawsuit against a powerful chemical company that exposes a long history of environmental pollution. Length: 126 minutes. Director: Todd Haynes. Stars: Anne Hathaway, Bill Camp, Mark Ruffalo. Watch Movie: Dark Waters.
Filming took place around New York City and Florida. The Devil's Advocate received mixed reviews, with critics crediting it for entertainment value and Pacino's performance. It grossed over $153 million in the box office and won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
In The Devil's Advocate, someone other than Satan will have sex to conceive the Antichrist, though Milton nevertheless brutally rapes Mary Ann. Incest becomes a way of creating the Antichrist, since the offspring of Satan's son and daughter will inherit much of Satan's genetic makeup.
Kevin's fundamentalist mother, Alice, visits New York City and suggests they both return home, but Kevin refuses. When billionaire Alex Cullen is accused of murdering his wife, his stepson, and a maid, Milton assigns the high-profile case to Kevin.
As Gainesville, Florida defense attorney Kevin Lomax, who has never lost a case, defends schoolteacher Lloyd Gettys against a charge of child molestation, he belatedly realizes his client is guilty and local reporter Larry warns him a guilty verdict is inevitable. However, through a harsh cross-examination, Kevin destroys the victim's credibility, securing a "not guilty" verdict.
Pacino's character, Satan, takes the guise of a human lawyer named after the author of Paradise Lost, John Milton.
In 2014, Andrew Neiderman wrote a prequel novel, Judgment Day, about John Milton arriving in New York City and obtaining control of a major law firm. Neiderman brought the book to Warner Bros. for a television series adaptation. John Wells and Arnold Kopelson unsuccessfully attempted to adapt Devil's Advocate into a series in 2014. Produced by Warner Bros. Television, Wells and Kopelson took the project to NBC for a television pilot written by Matt Venne.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes assigned the film an approval rating of 63% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 6.22/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Deemed one of the greatest courtroom dramas of all time and based on the novel with the same title, Anatomy of a Murder follows Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler (played by James Stewart), who has his work cut out for him after agreeing to defend Lt. Manion (played by Ben Gazzarra), who murdered a local bar owner after learning he’s been accused of rape.
At first, Mick assumes that the case will be an easy, open-and-shut affair. He soon learns, though, that there’s more to it than meets the eye and that it’s connected with a previous case of his.
In the film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, Brockovich is played by Julia Roberts. Her attorney, Ed Masry, who eventually hires her at his firm, is played by Albert Finney. It is when she starts working at Masry’s firm that Brockovich discovers medical records related to the case and kicks off her investigation.
Elle follows her ex, Warner Huntington III (played by Matthew Davis), to Harvard law school after he breaks up with her on the night when she expects him to propose.
The only lawyer who will help him with his case is Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington.
Philadelphia (1993) Directed by Jonathan Demme, Philadelphia tells the story of lawyer Andrew Beckett, who struggles to hide his homosexuality, as well as his HIV status, for fear that they will have a negative impact on his career at a prestigious Philadelphia law firm.
Trivia: Julia Roberts’ salary for her role as Erin Brockovich made her the first actress in Hollywood to earn more than $20 million.
The Client - A small boy who saw the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to help protect him when the DA tries to use him to take down the mob family.#N#Length: 119 minutes# N#Director: Joel Schumacher#N#Stars: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro#N#Watch Movie: The Client
Murder in the First - A young attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner who has been accused of killing another inmate, despite his client having just spent over three years in solitary confinement.#N#Length: 122 minutes#N# Director: Marc Rocco#N#Stars: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman#N#Watch Movie: Murder in the First
Inherit the Wind - Based on the real-life Scope Trial, two esteemed lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.#N#Length: 128 minutes#N#Director : Stanley Kramer#N#Stars: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly#N#Watch Movie: Inherit the Wind
Length: 107 minutes. Director: Michael Anderson. Stars: Michael York, Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard.
...And Justice for All - An attorney is forced to defend a guilty judge, while still helping other innocent clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.#N#Length: 119 minutes#N#Director: Norman Jewison#N#Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe#N#Watch Movie: ...And Justice for All
The Paper Chase - A 1L law student at Harvard has trouble balancing his schoolwork and his relationship with the daughter of his toughest professor.#N#Length: 113 minutes#N#Direct or: James Bridges#N#Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman#N#Watch Movie: The Paper Chase
The premise is so interesting – a man having an extra-marital affair becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his girlfriend and has to lawyer up. Who’s the lawyer? The very wife he was cheating on. ‘In Defense of a Married Man’ is a satisfyingly soapy, made-for-TV movie that features some brilliant acting and a script that draws you in. The viewers can feel the lawyer’s pain when she has to defend in court the very man who has wronged her with his philandering ways. But she chooses to do justice to her profession rather than being vindictive.
Two FBI agents and a District Attorney team up to bring to justice the killer of one of the FBI agent’s teen daughters. After the brutal murder of Jess’s teenaged daughter, her partner at the FBI spends years obsessively working on the case and finds a clue, 13 years after the crime happened. Together with the DA, they re-open the case, hoping for some closure at long last after seeing justice done. But none of them could foresee another shockingly devastating secret come to light. The premise is intriguing enough, but the film is overly melodramatic which makes it an uncomfortable and disturbing watch. The cast is great (Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman) but the film underutilizes their acting talent.
Matthew McConaughey plays the protagonist in ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’, nailing his role as a charismatic and sleazebag hustler of a lawyer who works out of his Lincoln sedan. He usually defends small-time crooks and petty criminals but one day lands a high profile, high rewards case defending a Beverly Hills lothario in an attempted murder case. What he takes on thinking a simple open-and-shut case morphs into something darker and more gruesome and the low-life lawyer undergoes a change of heart (because he is inherently a good man after all). He vows to take down the very client he had sworn to protect once. The plot of the film is briskly-paced, with a clever and sharp narrative, and twists that are not completely unpredictable but still keep audiences engaged.
This historical drama movie traces back the story of Milada Horakova, who was a pre- World War II politician. She was arrested and tried in court for the first time by the Nazis during the war. The second time she was again arrested and tried for her refusal to leave the country and cease the activities of the opposition which infuriated the post-war Communist government. The film provides an excellent overview of how Milada fought for the freedom of her own country while giving up on her own personal freedom. The historical accuracy has been presented very subtly throughout the film and pays a very awe-inspiring tribute to the struggles of the national hero.
Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba are outstanding as they bring to life the intriguing story of Molly Bloom, the aspiring Olympic-skier who ran the most exclusive, highest-stakes underground poker game for top-tier celebs (including Hollywood royalty, business moguls, and the Russian mafia) and who was ultimately arrested by a team of automatic weapon-wielding Feds, in the middle of the night. While the script is lacking in places, the film maintains its gripping, tension-filled narrative, interspersing the terse moments with the glamorous scenes of the rich and the elite. ‘Molly’s Game’ is a highly engrossing watch, regardless of whether you’re into poker or not.
One very important aspect of society that is highlighted in this film is that of women being judged for their life choices, something which is quite prevalent all over the world. ‘Pink’ questions this patriarchal mindset and makes a strong case for a better world.
‘Rustom’ is a Bollywood film that is inspired by the true story of a Naval Officer who was accused of murdering his wife’s lover. The film follows a lot of courtroom scenes where the officer, whose name is Rustom, tries to prove his innocence by revealing the deeper truth behind why he killed the man in the first place. The film has some major plot twists by the end and the lead actor Akshay Kumar does a great job playing the role of an officer. The film is great but it’s far from the actual story and the plot has been twisted and turned in a way to make it look like a patriotic movie to please the crowds. But regardless of all the flaws and a little bit of sexism in the film with respect to adultery, the film is actually decent for a one time watch, and the last scene where the protagonist shot three bullets is very smartly written.
The film, which came and went in theaters in 2017 with little fanfare, stars Denzel Washington as the cranky, old-school lawyer of the title.
A lesser-known early work from screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, the mastermind behind Basic Instinct and Showgirls, Jagged Edge offers an alluring mix of violent mayhem, ill-advised romance, and legal intrigue. Glenn Close plays Teddy Barnes, a defense attorney recruited to defend a wealthy newspaper publisher (Jeff Bridges) accused of killing his wife. Soon enough, they're riding horses, preparing for trial, and carrying on their own secret affair. Set primarily in the wealthy homes and spacious offices of San Francisco's Reagan-era elite, the movie has a lushness that sets it apart from many of the legal thrillers of the '90s, which often played out in the sweltering Southern cities of Grisham's novels.
Primal Fear (1996) Based on the 1993 William Diehl novel of the same name, this classic thriller has it all: murder, a possibly innocent man on trial, multiple personalities, and a driven defense attorney (Richard Gere) who's fighting for justice for his client.
After the box-office success of movie adaptations of his novels The Firm and The Pelican Brief in 1993, plus his run on the best-seller list, the legal thriller writer looked untouchable.
It's easy to boil down A Few Good Men, directed by Rob Reiner, to Jack Nicholson yelling, "You can't handle the truth!". but it's similarly easy to forget what a disturbing and tense film about the cultish cronyism of the Marines it is.
A Few Good Men (1992) Considering this list was inspired by the release of The Trial of the Chicago 7, we had to include Aaron Sorkin's debut film as a writer, the adaptation of the play that made him a star, A Few Good Men.
A legal drama doesn't necessarily need to be centered on courtroom scenes to be satisfying. Civil lawsuits exist, too, and Erin Brockovich is a crackling thriller that's about the law and lawyers, as well as a character study and a takedown of corporate America. Steven Soderbergh's film is probably best remembered for Julia Roberts' Oscar-winning performance and her brash, foul-mouthed, and altogether lovable take on the eponymous real-life legal assistant who uncovers environmental negligence and cover-up perpetrated by California's major electric and gas provider. It's also a sun-soaked exploration of how companies knowingly poison people and do nothing about it, and the kind of bravura and doggedness it takes to take them down.
An A-list cast is headed by James Stewart as the defense attorney, George C. Scott as prosecutor, Ben Gazzara as the defendant and Lee Remick as his wife.
James Mason is diabolical as his courtroom opponent who cavorts with the judge, played by Milo O’Shea.
BREAKER MORANT (1980) Australian director Bruce Beresford adapts the story of three fellow countrymen who fight for the British Empire in the colonial Boer War in South Africa and are tried and convicted of war crimes.
Real-life wife Elsa Lanchester is his sharp-tongued nurse, and the two sparkle as they verbally spar. Tyrone Power is the playboy defendant; Marlene Dietrich is his wife and, surprisingly, the witness in question. It’s not the only surprise, as befits a Dame Agatha story. Watch for yourself.
Still, the rule of law prevails in the courtroom of Judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne).
LINCOLN (1939) Henry Fonda makes an engaging, beardless and believable Abraham Lincoln in John Ford’s fictionalized account of Lincoln’s early adult years from New Salem to Springfield, and—this being Hollywood—from the lovely and doomed Ann Rutledge to the ambitious and manipulative Mary Todd.
1. Harrison Ford , The Fugitive. Defense: “I didn’t kill my wife!”. There’s a very important rule when it comes to Harrison Ford movies: If it looks like he killed an innocent person (especially his wife), he did not kill that innocent person (especially his wife).
Defense: “Something’s missing. What was that about a carousel?”#N#In this movie, released the same year as Dark Passage, Steven Kenet arrives home to find out his wife has been unfaithful, so he strangles her to death. Or so he remembers doing. He has a mental breakdown and lands in a psychiatric hospital with no clear memory of the attack. However, instead of resigning himself to a life behind the high wall (eh?), Kenet teams up with Dr. Ann Lorrison (Audrey Totter) to learn the truth. They do, but not before we’re sufficiently traumatized by the realities of the mental-health system in 1947.
Makes guys like me think maybe we got a chance in the world.”#N#For a late-1940s thriller, Dark Passage was surprisingly futuristic: Wrongfully convicted killer Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart) escapes San Quentin in hopes of finding the true identity of his wife’s murderer — but instead of just hiding out in basement apartments à la Dr. Kimble, he gets a new face so as to search incognito. The disguise doesn’t work, and neither do his attempts to prove his innocence. But he and his new face end up in Paris with Lauren Bacall, so it’s all good anyway.
The Fugitive, the suspenseful masterpiece adapted from the 1963 TV show, is the best example of that rule. Ford stars as Richard Kimble, a physician who has been framed for the brutal murder of his wife. She actually dies at the hand (s) of a one-armed man, killed as part of a pharmaceutical-company conspiracy.
And that’s why she died, because of me.”#N#We’ll be able to debate this forever, but let’s just assume Andy Dufresne’s claims that he didn’t kill his wife and her lover are true. They seem pretty believable when delivered so convincingly to the patient, Oscar-nominated ears of Morgan Freeman, who plays fellow Shawshank State Prison inmate Red. Dufresne’s innocence, even if it’s all pretense, fuels his determination to escape prison via an elaborate, multi-decade plan. Let’s just … overlook his seeming willingness to accept that no one would ever find his wife’s true murderer.
A Short Film About Killing ( Polish: Krótki film o zabijaniu) is a 1988 drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Mirosław Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, and Jan Tesarz. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film was expanded from Dekalog: Five of the Polish television series Dekalog.
In her article about the film, Janina Falkowska describes the brutality of the effects class societies have on the lower class, emphasizing on the "hopelessness" of the latter and false hope of the former.
The confirmation of his sentence is read to him as well as the decision to deny clemency. He is given last rites by a priest, and offered a final cigarette by the warden. When he requests to have one without filter instead, the executioner steps forward, lights one of his cigarettes and puts it into Jacek's mouth.
Waldemar Rekowski (Jan Tesarz) is a middle-aged taxicab driver in Warsaw who enjoys his profession and the freedom it affords. His concern for turning a profit leads him to ignore some potential fares in favor of others. An overweight and crude man, Waldemar also enjoys staring at young women.
Kieslowski was not pleased, but he accepted the ultimatum, telling Idziak , "if you want to make green shit, it’s your affair.". The cinematographer concluded, "That’s how the graphic concept came about which Cahiers Du Cinema wrote that it was the most originally shot movie in the Cannes Film Festival.".
Cine-literacy author Charles V. Eidsvik suggests there is a "presence of senseless malice in the film", a notion reiterated in the forms of death and mutiny.
A Short Film About Killing was released in the same year that the death penalty was suspended in Poland. In 1988 the country carried out just a single execution, with 6 condemned prisoners being hanged in 1987.