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.
The Verdict follows Frank Galvin, played by Paul Newman, a once-promising attorney who’s down on his luck after being fired from a Boston law firm for accusations of jury tampering. At the beginning of the film, directed by Sidney Lumet, as a favor to his friend Mickey (played by Jack Warden), Galvin agrees to take on a medical malpractice case.
Set in 1839, Amistad tells the story of a slave ship sailing from Cuba to the United States. In the film, directed by Steven Spielberg, Cinque (played by Djimon Hounsou) leads the slaves in an uprising, which results in them being held as prisoners in Connecticut.
Trivia: Julia Roberts’ salary for her role as Erin Brockovich made her the first actress in Hollywood to earn more than $20 million. 9.
1. My Cousin Vinny (1992) Directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Dale Launer, My Cousin Vinny follows two young New Yorkers, Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, who are arrested and put on trial for murder while traveling in rural Alabama. The fate of these men rests in the hands of Vincent Gambini ...
This classic courtroom drama was directed by Sidney Lumet and details the deliberations of 12 men, all of whom are part of the jury deciding the fate of a poor young man who’s been accused of murder. If found guilty, he will face the death penalty.
In this film, written and directed by Steven Zaillian and based on a true story, John Travolta stars as personal injury attorney Jan Schlichtmann. Schlichtmann finds himself involved in a case that, while seemingly straightforward at first, ends up being incredibly difficult and appears to have the potential to be his undoing.
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
...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 Witching Hour - A gambler with clairvoyant and hypnotic powers, accidentally hypnotizes a young man, who then kills an enemy of the gambler. No one believes that the young man didn't have any murderous intent, so the gambler teams up with a retired lawyer in hopes of saving the young man from death row.
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
Reversal of Fortune - Rich Sunny von BĂĽlow lies brain-dead, and husband Claus is found guilty of attempted murder; but he maintains his innocence and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.#N#Length: 111 minutes#N#Director : Barbet Schroeder#N#Stars: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver#N#Watch Movie: Reversal of Fortune
Legal Eagles - A New York DA works and flirts with his legal opponent and her bizarre artist client, who is on trial for a murder that she didn't commit.#N#Length: 116 minutes#N#Direct or: Ivan Reitman.#N#Stars: Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah#N#Watch Movie: Legal Eagles
Tom Cruise has taken a bit of a press beating since Scientology took hold. Like or hate him, though, his high octane performance as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men is one of his greatest performances of all time.
Andrew Beckett – Philadelphia (1993) Andrew Beckett – Philadelphia Source: TriStar Pictures. Inspired in part by the real life case of Geoffrey Bowers, Hanks gives an Oscar-winning performance as Andrew Beckett, the Ivy-educated lawyer whose employment is terminated when his law firm discovers he has contracted AIDS.
They sit on all sides of the moral compass but we love them because they give us drama, action, humour, suspense and ethics all in one – they remind us of what it is to be human, to fight against the odds, to stick up for what’s right and, sometimes, what it feels like to cross that line.
Kaffee is the young, plea bargaining Navy JAG litigator who reluctantly agrees to defend two low-ranking Marines, charged with murdering a fellow Marine at the naval base, allegedly part of an unofficial punÂishment known as a “code red.”.
Finch is the lawyer we aspire to be, defending his client without fear or favour. Quotes: Atticus Finch: “If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view….
Fred Gailey : “Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don’t you see? It’s not just Kris that’s on trial, it’s everything he stands for. It’s kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles.”
Elle Woods – Legally Blonde Source: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Some might argue she’s flighty or vacuous, but Elle Woods is the kind of sharp, sweet, hip-swinging lawyer that just brings a smile to your face. I am pretty certain a lot of young girls went to law school solely because of this film.
The late, great Paul Newman stars in The Verdict as an alcoholic lawyer given a case that he sees as his last chance. He’s about to agree to settle when he realizes going to court would be the right thing to do for his client and his career. My favorite quote from the movie comes as Newman’s character, Frank Galvin, is giving his final speech to the jury: “if we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And ACT with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts.”
To Kill a Mockingbird. There are so many great things about the 1962 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, including this quote from attorney Atticus Finch : “You never really understand a person . . . until you consider things from his point of view.”.
A Civil Action. In the film A Civil Action attorney Jan Schlichtmann, played by John Travolta, gives us this bit of bleak information: “The odds of a plaintiff’s lawyer winning in civil court are two to one against. Think about that for a second.
The Client. The Client isn’t based on a true story , but rather on a novel by lawyer turned writer John Grisham. 11-year-old Mark Sway witnesses the suicide of a mob attorney, after the attorney reveals some secret details to Sway. Sway hires Reggie Love, a lawyer to defend and protect him.
Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts as the title character, is another based-on-a-true story law movie. In it, Brockovich is hired by an attorney, Ed Masey, after losing a personal injury lawsuit. She then plays a major role in winning a large sum in a lawsuit against an electric company that polluted the town’s water supply.