Best Hollywood Courtroom Dramas

There is a scene in the movie Philadelphia (last scene here) where Tom Hanks character replies that what he loves most about the law is “that every now and again – not often, but occasionally – you get to be a part of justice being done. That really is quite a thrill when that happens.” And this is what I love most about courtroom dramas specially when they are based on true stories.

So here is the list of the Best Hollywood Courtroom Dramas in no particular order.

12AngryMen 12 Angry Men
A jury of 12 men must decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his father. But only one juror wants to take the time to deliberate the case on the basis of reasonable doubt while the others want to return a verdict of guilty and go home.

The movie was adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. Almost the entire movie takes place in the jury room with the jurors arguing over whether the boy is guilty or not. This 1957 Black & White Classic is still engrossing and underscores the point that someone cannot be held guilty if there is reasonable doubt. Brilliant performances from everyone led by Henry Fonda. It was nominated for three Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. And this was the directorial debut of Sidney Lumet.

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tkamb To Kill a Mockingbird
Based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel by Harper Lee, lawyer Atticus Finch defends an innocent black man against rape charges but ends up in a maelstrom of hate and prejudice. The movie is told from the point of view of Finch’s daughter Scout.

Its a very bold movie for its time – to talk about a innocent Black man accused of rape by a White woman. The plot and characters are supposedly based on the author Harper Lee’s own life, her father who himself was an attorney and on a similar rape case that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old.

Gregory Peck is excellent as Atticus Finch and deserved the Best Actor Oscar that he got. The film also won Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Art Direction. It was nominated for a total of eight Oscars.

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Judgment-at-NurembergJudgment at Nuremberg
Spencer Tracy stars as American judge Dan Haywood, who’s chosen to guide a 1948 tribunal that’s trying Germans suspected of engaging in atrocities during World War II. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, Haywood must obtain justice in a case with raised stakes and mixed emotions. Maximilian Schell co-stars in an Oscar-lauded performance as defense counsel for the Nazi prisoners.

The movie is based on the Judges’ Trial before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal in 1947. It is in Black & White and quite long at over 3 hours and there are sudden zoom shots which look bad. And it does not quite get the Germans speaking in English cinematic liberty part and the the headphones part right. But what it does get right is way more. All the courtroom scenes are excellent. The movie raises the very important and still relevant question as to whether a judge who “does not make any laws should just carry out the laws of his country” even if they are unjust or should he stand for something – “justice, truth and the value of a single human being when it is the most difficult”. The movie also brings up the point that Hitler did do some good things like building the Autobahn and creating jobs for everyone and whether the trials are just “victor’s justice”. It also deals with the German people’s denial of any knowledge of those crimes and the defense that they could not stop Hitler even if they knew it.

The movie was nominated for eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director and won Best Adapted Screenplay. Spencer Tracy is very good as Judge Haywood and was nominated for Best Actor. Burt Lancaster is very good as Ernst Janning and his courtroom speech is excellent. Richard Widmark is good as the Prosecutor. Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress are ok. Montgomery Clift is very good as the man who was sterilized and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor. But its Maximilian Schell who won the Oscar for Best Actor who totally steals the show. His last speech about the guilt of the Vatican, Churchill and the American businessmen is excellent.

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afgm1 A Few Good Men
A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the court martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyer as he prepares a case to defend his clients.

Its an excellent courtroom drama/thriller which is completely engrossing and does not bore no matter how many times one has seen it. The climax is one of the best ever with the famous Jack Nicholson line “You can’t handle the truth”.

Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Bacon, Wolfgang Bodison and Kiefer Sutherland all give very good performances. Jack Nicholson is excellent and gives one of his career best performances. The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jack Nicholson and Best Film Editing.

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TheAccused The Accused
After a young woman suffers a brutal rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack. But it won’t be easy. Sarah has a shady past that could be used against her in court.

The movie is loosely based on the real-life gang rape of Cheryl Araujo that took place March 6, 1983, in Big Dan’s tavern, New Bedford, Massachusetts. She was a 21-year-old mother of two raped over the course of two hours while other patrons cheered. Link After the the March 1984 convictions of the men who attacked her she had to move to Florida because of hostility in her hometown. She died in a car crash two years later. Link

What’s remarkable about the movie is that the victim is not presented as goody goody. She drinks a lot, smokes pot and is “dressed provocatively” and flirts with the guy and “puts on a show” but the movie still sends the right message that it is still wrong to rape and that a “No” means a No. Jodie Foster is excellent in her Oscar winning role. Kelly McGillis is very good as the attorney. Bernie Coulson is good too as the witness.

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gom Ghosts of Mississippi
Decades after two hung juries cleared white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith (Oscar nominee James Woods) in the 1963 shooting death of civil-rights activist Medgar Evers, assistant district attorney Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) reopens the case to bring the man to justice. With support from Evers’s widow (Whoopi Goldberg), DeLaughter is determined to take down the murderer. Virginia Madsen co-stars in this drama based on the true 1994 trial.

Its another excellent courtroom drama based on a true story. “In 1994, thirty years after the two previous trials had failed to reach a verdict, Beckwith was again brought to trial based on new evidence concerning statements he made to others. During the trial, the body of Evers was exhumed from his grave for autopsy, and found to be in a surprisingly excellent state of preservation as a result of embalming. Beckwith was convicted on February 5, 1994, after living as a free man for three decades after the murder. Beckwith appealed unsuccessfully, and died in prison in January of 2001.” Link

Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg give very good performances. James Woods is excellent in a negative role and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

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PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia
In this heartfelt drama, Philadelphia attorney Andrew Beckett launches a wrongful termination suit against the hand that feeds him when his law firm finds out about his HIV-positive status — and his homosexuality — and fires him.

It was the first mainstream Hollywood movie which dealt with HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. Its based on the true story of Geoffrey Bowers who was dismissed after his employer discovered he had AIDS. He died in 1987 before winning a discrimination case against his former employer Baker & McKenzie, the world’s largest law firm. Link The makers initially denied that the movie was based on him but had to settle when the family of Bowers filed a lawsuit. They acknowledged that the film “was inspired in part” by Bowers life. Link

Tom Hanks won an Oscar for Best Actor for his excellent performance. Denzel Washington is also very good in a supporting role. Had posted scenes from it in Scene of the Week.

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Thecrucible The Crucible
Playwright Arthur Miller’s parable of the 1950s anti-communist crusade (thinly veiled here as the Salem, Mass., witch trials of 1692) receives lush treatment in this Oscar-nominated film adaptation from director Nicholas Hytner. After being spurned by her married lover (Daniel Day-Lewis), young Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) stirs up a frenzy of hysteria and fear with accusations of witchcraft. J

The movie is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials and shows how mass hysteria can be whipped up by mere accusations of witchcraft. Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent as usual. Joan Allen is excellent and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Winona Ryder is excellent in a negative role.

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TheRainmaker The Rainmaker
When young attorney Rudy Baylor goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill boy sue their insurance company. But to take on corporate America, Rudy and a scrappy paralegal must open their own law firm.

Another very good courtroom drama. Its about how Insurance companies deny legitimate claims. While they are victorious there is also an almost cynical ending that you don’t gain anything even after you win. Some may not like that.

Francis Ford Coppola’s direction is good for the most part. There are some scenes which seem implausible like Danny DeVito stealing from the information desk.

Matt Damon was good as the lawyer just out of Law School. Danny DeVito was good as his partner. Claire Danes was ok. Jon Voight was good as the attorney for the Insurance company.

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kvsk Kramer vs. Kramer
Ted (Dustin Hoffman) is a career-driven yuppie — until he finds out his dissatisfied wife (Meryl Streep) is leaving him and their 6-year-old son. But just as Ted begins to love being a full-time parent, his wife reappears to reclaim the boy. Kramer. Kramer vs Kramer won five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay.

The courtroom scenes involving the fight for the kid’s custody are excellent. It has excellent Performances by Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep and the kid. Akele Hum Akele Tum was inspired/copied from Kramer vs Kramer right down to the dialogues. Had made a post on it. Link

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Primal_Fear Primal Fear
When a blood-spattered altar boy is found running from a murder scene, his conviction seems certain. But when an arrogant defense attorney steps in, the issue of the boy’s possible guilt may be less important than winning the case.

Another very good courtroom drama/legal thriller. Keeps one engrossed right till the end. The final twist has become very common now but it was very good for its time.

Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney and Alfre Woodard all give very good performances but it is Edward Norton who totally steals the show in his Oscar nominated debut.

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Runaway_jury Runaway Jury
In this drama based on John Grisham’s best-selling novel, Nick Easter (John Cusack) gets himself on the jury of a landmark case against a gun manufacturer and, as the foreman, tries to influence the other jury members to vote a certain way. Meanwhile, Easter’s girlfriend, Marlee (Rachel Weisz), tries to swindle the attorneys (Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman) to pay millions of dollars to have the jury return a verdict friendly to their clients.

Another excellent Thriller/Courtroom Drama. John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz are all good while Gene Hackman is excellent.

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The_chamber The Chamber
Idealistic young attorney Adam Hall (Chris O’Donnell) takes on the death row clemency case of his unrepentant Klansman grandfather, Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman), in this big-screen adaptation of a John Grisham novel. The pair’s prickly meetings and Adam’s visits with his alcoholic Aunt Lee (Faye Dunaway) force Hall to confront his family’s dark past just as new evidence arises and suggests a government conspiracy in Cayhall’s case.

Has been a while since I saw this movie but had liked it a lot back then.

Chris O’Donnell, Faye Dunaway are good and Gene Hackman is excellent as usual.

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My-Cousin-Vinny My Cousin Vinny
When teenage buddies Billy (Ralph Macchio) and Stan (Mitchell Whitfield) are falsely accused of croaking a convenience-store clerk in a backwoods Southern town, Billy calls on his Noo Yawk cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), a fast-talking personal injury lawyer who’s never tried a case. Vinny’s crass demeanor lands him in hot water with the judge, but the lippy Brooklyn barrister has a few tricks up his sleeve. Oscar winner Marisa Tomei plays his gal pal.

This is more a courtroom comedy than courtroom drama. The courtroom scenes are excellent the way the inexperienced and unconventional Vinny argues. Joe Pesci is excellent and so is Marisa Tomei who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fred Gwynne is great as the old Southern Judge.

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Presumed_InnocentPresumed Innocent
Prosecutor Rusty Sabich is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a co-worker. But when his fingerprints turn up at the scene, he’s forced to admit he was having an affair with the victim and becomes the prime suspect.

Its very good and engrossing though a bit slow paced. The suspense of who the killer is very good and difficult to guess till the last moment. Even there the director Alan J. Pakula is brilliant and plays tricks with the identity of the killer. Harrison Ford is excellent. Performances by Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi are also very good.

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TheLincolnLawyer The Lincoln Lawyer
Tasked with defending rich lothario Louis Roulet, who’s been charged with assault, lawyer Mick Haller finds himself and his family in danger when he deduces the truth behind this and former cases he’s worked on.

Its a very entertaining legal thriller. The scenes involving the mind games between Mathew and Ryan are very good.

Matthew McConaughey is very good as the lawyer. Ryan Phillippe is also very good in a negative role.

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People_vs_larry_flyntThe People vs. Larry Flynt
Notorious pornographer Larry Flynt carries his free-speech campaign from lowly strip clubs to the U.S. Supreme Court in this Oscar-nominated biopic, which blends details of the publisher’s legal battles with scenes from his personal life.

The movie is based on Larry Flynt’s legal battles and specially the US Supreme Court Case – Hustler Magazine v. Falwell. The movie has Woody Harrelson doing various silly antics in court like showing up in a American flag as an adult diaper and wearing T-shirts with messages like “Fuck This Court.”

Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for his excellent performance as Larry Flynt. Edward Norton was very good as his lawyer. Courtney Love was also good as Althea. Miloš Forman was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director.

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45 Comments
  1. Anjanpur685Miles 10 years ago

    Good post. This is my fav theme. I havent seen any apart from Philadelphia in films.
    I had read The rainmaker and Runaway Jury and enjoyed them thoroughly. Will check out other films for sure.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Thanks.

      You should definitely watch 12 Angry Men and A Few Good Men.

  2. Rafsan Cr 10 years ago

    Finally Love this genre but have seen very few. from your list I’ve seen only 12 angry men and its one of the greatest movies ever made . Will definitely watch all of them .

  3. Rafsan Cr 10 years ago

    have u seen Judgement at Nuremberg ?

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      No haven’t seen Judgement at Nuremberg.

      • Bored 10 years ago

        @Sputnik – Highly recommend Nuremberg … must watch (imo).

        • cr7 10 years ago

          Judgement at Nuremberg is a classic . Must watch .

        • Author
          sputnik 10 years ago

          Yeah I wanted to watch that before I made this post but could not find it on Netflix Instant or any good link online.

  4. narad_muni 10 years ago

    Thanks a lot Sputnik.

    I like this genre but have watched a few only –
    12 Angry men – simply the best
    A few good men – excellent
    To kill a mockingbird – excellent
    Philadelphia – excellent
    Primal fear – very good.
    Kramer vs Kramer – very good.

    Yet to watch the rest…Heard a lot about Judgement at Nuremberg..will catch that one as well

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      You are welcome. I think you will like most of the ones in the list.

      Remember liking Amistad too but its been a very long time since I watched it and I don’t remember how much of it was courtroom drama. So did not add it. Might update the post if I get to re watch it.

  5. yakuza 10 years ago

    Good list .. Can someone compile same list for Bollywood as well ?

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Will do sometime in the next few weeks. There aren’t that many courtroom dramas in Bollywood though.

  6. Saurabh 10 years ago

    My Cousin Vinny’s what I’d call a chill out movie. Joe Pesci was really funny. Thanks to that voice and some terrific scenes with Marissa Tomei and Fred Gwyne ( 2 yoots scene and many more). I’d recommend Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins starrer Fracture. It’s somewhat like Lincoln Lawyer, with some mindgames between the lawyer and the accused. Slow but satisfying.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Yes its a chill out movie the only comedy in this post. Haven’t watched Fracture and have been wanting to watch this for a while.

  7. FS 10 years ago

    Excellent Post Sputnik. Finally you did it!!!!

    I believe you left out “Erin Brockovich” just because it did not have enough court room drama as it was one of the finest recommendations that came from you in the past to me.

    Have seen;

    12 Angry Men – Classical/Highly Recommended
    Few Good Men – Classical/Highly Recommended

    Primal Fear – Excellent
    Lincoln Lawyer – Excellent
    Philadelphia – Excellent
    Fracture – Excellent
    Find Me Guilty – Excellent (Vin Diesel’s one of the best movie – court room drama)
    Unbowed – Excellent (Had written a short brief note on it https://tanqeed.com/movies-you-watched-this-month-june-2013/#comment-123446)

    Runaway Jury – Very Good
    The Chamber – Very Good

    The Hurricane – Good
    In The Name Of a Father – Good

    {Though above two movies are not entirely court room drama but court rooms definitely play an important role in ruining their futures. Both the films have similar screenplay}

    Some Court related movies and not actually court room dramas that I would recommend would be;

    Erin Brockovich
    The Firm

    So Thanks for the post Sputnik. This will keep me busy and I was avoiding to watch “To Kill a Mocking Bird” along with Kramer v/s Kramer for the longest time obviously due to w/b but I’ll download the movies that you have recommended and will definitely watch them.

    • cr7 10 years ago

      You should see Judgement at Nuremberg .One of the best in this genre . You’ll like it .

      • FS 10 years ago

        I will Cr – Thanks for the Recommendation. Judgement at Nuremberg and The Verdict, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Kramer v/s Kramer, Witness to Prosecution, My cousin Vinny, Civil Action and The Rainmaker (might have seen it i think) are in my Top Priority list in this genre.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Thanks @fearlesssoul

      Yeah I left out Erin Brockovich because it did not have enough court room drama but its a very good movie.

      I had watched Find Me Guilty long time back when it released and liked it and remember Vin Diesel being excellent. Did not include just because its been a long while since I watched it and I did not remember much. Want to revisit it and may be will update the post and add that.

      Have not seen Unbowed. Will try to watch it soon.

      Had re-watched The Hurricane recently and commented here and did not like it that much this time. Had not included The Hurricane and In The Name Of a Father because as you said they are not entirely court room dramas. Agree with you that court rooms definitely play an important role in ruining their futures and that both the films have similar screenplay.

      Had watched The Firm long time back and liked it. Wanted to rewatch it. Again did not include it because it is not entirely courtroom drama. If you liked The Firm I would recommend The Client and Pelican Brief which are what you can call legal thrillers.

      Actually I did not like “To Kill a Mocking Bird” the first time I watched it. I expected a movie about the trial from the adult point of view and I thought why are the kids being given so much importance. But after a few years I rewatched it on TV this time from the point of the view of the daughter who narrates the story and liked it a lot. Kramer v/s Kramer is not black & white. You may have seen its desi version Akele Hum Akele Tum.

      • FS 10 years ago

        The best things about Good films is that even if you have watched the unofficial or official remakes before the original and when some of the scenes play at back of your head while watching the original, you tend erase it with the original stuff. This has happened to me many times with many films. Will definitely try to watch “the client and pelican brief”.

  8. Author
    sputnik 10 years ago

    Updated the post with Judgment at Nuremberg. Liked it a lot. Thanks @cr7 and @bored for the recco.

  9. I.One 10 years ago

    Excellent post Sputnik. Have watched only Few Good Men and The Rainmaker. Can you believe that. Have yet to watch 12 Angry Men 🙂

    Have bookmarked it for my reference in future.

    A Time To Kill was also a good movie based on courtroom. Liked the performances more than the movie itself.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Thanks. Had watched A Time To Kill a few years back but don’t remember much.

  10. alfa.one 10 years ago

    Good one sputnik.

    Can JFK be considered as court room drama ? If yes then you have missed out that.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Yes I think JFK can also be considered a court room drama. I had watched it a long time back so don’t remember in detail. Will try to re-watch and update the post.

      • alfa.one 10 years ago

        yah, u should try it. last 45 minutes are sensational. If u happen to get director’s cut (4.5 hrs), each and every aspect of the assassination have been discussed.

        I have seen Accused and kramer Vs Kramer and liked both of them. Insaaf ka tarazu and akele hum akele tum were based on these two movies.

        • Author
          sputnik 10 years ago

          Ok don’t remember if I watched the director’s cut or not but remember it being quite long.

          You meant Insaaf ka tarazu or some other movie coz Insaaf ka tarazu is a 1980 movie and The Accused is a 1988 movie.

  11. aryan 10 years ago

    @Sputnik

    Fantastic Post on Best Courtroom Dramas have watched 3 movies

    1) 12 Angry Men & liked it in Hindi Remake also

    2) Kramer Vs Kramer

    3) Primal Fear.

    I would like to see all which u have recommended.

  12. FS 10 years ago

    I think Kramer v/s Kramer and Philadelphia have one or two courtroom scenes, rest story is surrounding the court, so you should add Erin Broncovich to the list as well.

    • Author
      sputnik 10 years ago

      Its been a while since I saw Erin Brockovich but I don’t remember if it had any courtroom scenes. I remember only the arbitration scenes but will try to watch again and update the post.

      • FS 10 years ago

        Even the chambers had very few court scenes I believe.

        was your website offline few moments ago?

        • Author
          sputnik 10 years ago

          Don’t know. It gave me a message that the site is down a few hours back but when I refreshed it came back.

  13. Author
    sputnik 9 years ago

    The Verdict deserves to be in this post.

    Here is my comment on the movie.

    “A washed-up, ambulance-chasing attorney gets a chance at redemption when his friend tosses him an open-and-shut medical malpractice case. The movie was nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie is directed by Sidney Lumet the director of 12 Angry Men.

    Very good movie. Its a little slow paced and does not have any background score for most of its running time which adds to the feeling of slowness. I think The Rainmaker is quite similar to this in that both movies have the leading characters as ambulance chasers and in both there is an associate who helps the lead character and both are related to medical cases.

    The scene where Frank takes Polaroid pictures of Deborah Ann Kaye was the best scene of the movie. I was reading some IMDB threads after watching the movie and I saw this thread about the scene and someone has explained the scene so brilliantly.

    “The drama of that scene is an extension of the Polaroid technology; once you took the shot, and the photograph emerged from the film cartridge, it was a ghostly pale gray, and you had to wait for the chemicals to dry for the image to emerge (this only took 30-60 seconds, as I recall). As the images of Deborah Ann Kaye come into focus when the chemicals dry, the photographs become a proxy for Frank Galvin “seeing” her, really seeing her, and her condition, for the first time, and I think it is at that moment that Galvin’s conscience returns, and he changes back from “ambulance chaser” to dedicated attorney. As the pictures “develop”, so does Galvin’s conscience.” Link

    For almost the entire movie nothing goes right for Frank. This makes the movie seem very real. Getting the testimony of one of the witness completely off the records was a bit too much as I think that’s what the entire movie and verdict is based on. Without that testimony the ending is kind of unexpected.

    Paul Newman was excellent as the alcoholic attorney Frank Galvin who suddenly decides to so something out of conscience. He deserved the Best Actor Oscar nomination that he got. Charlotte Rampling was very good as Laura. Jack Warden was good as his associate. James Mason was very good as the rival attorney and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.”

  14. Author
    sputnik 9 years ago

    Harper Lee to publish sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird”
    By Ron Charles February 3 at 11:03 AM

    F. Scott Fitzgerald famously claimed, “There are no second acts in American lives,” but Harper Lee is out to prove him wrong.

    The beloved author will publish her second novel this summer. “Go Set a Watchman” was written more than 50 years ago — before her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird” — but it was never published.

    In a statement released this morning, the 88-year-old author explained that she wrote “Go Set a Watchman” about a woman named Scout. After reading it over, her editor asked her to re-write the story from the point of view of Scout as a child. “I was a first-time writer,” Lee said, “so I did as I was told.” The result was “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel that has sold 40 million copies since it was first publisehd in 1960

    The original story, “Go Set a Watchman,” was forgotten.

    “I hadn’t realized it had survived,” Lee said, “so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.”

    Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham said, “This is a remarkable literary event. The existence of ‘Go Set a Watchman’ was unknown until recently, and its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee’s classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter’s relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s.”

    Link

  15. cr7 7 years ago

    You guys should check out American crime story:People vs OJ Simpson . Its the best TV series of last year according to me . If you courtroom dramas this should not be missed at any cost .

    • Author
      sputnik 7 years ago

      I started watching it just a few days back. I finished watching the 3rd episode of season 1. Liking it a lot so far.

      • cr7 7 years ago

        Great .It gets better . Except for the verdict I didn’t know anything about the case . So I liked the fact that they covered both on and off the court activity of the case .

        • Author
          sputnik 7 years ago

          I knew about the verdict and glove thing from the bra spoof from Seinfeld. I did not know that he ran away when they came to arrest him. Found the police chase video on youtube.

          • FS 7 years ago

            Completed in one shot. Excellent courtroom drama & they took care of even the minute details of the case. Sometimes the lawyers from DA’s office looked laughable the way they handled the case & how overconfident they were with the case. I didn’t like the results although it reminded me of Salman’s drunk & driving case, as though who is responsible for the killings if it isn’t the prime accused. In both the cases, entire focus was onsingle person & yet they both got aquitted.

            Difference was in OJ, it was black & white deifferences & their rights, in Salman’s cae it was Celebrity v/s common people & their rights & influence on the judiciary

            Both cases mocked the judiciary system

            • Author
              sputnik 7 years ago

              Excellent comment on the similarity and difference between OJ Simpson case and Salman Khan case. Agree with you completely.

          • Author
            sputnik 7 years ago

            Finished the last 5 episodes in one shot.

            Excellent show. Loved it. The courtroom scenes as well as the scenes showing off the court activity were both excellent. The show did a great job highlighting the racism – both subtle and unsubtle among Caucasians as well as African Americans.

            Cuba Gooding Jr. was very good as O. J. Simpson. Sterling K. Brown was excellent as the co prosecutor Darden. Sarah Paulson was very good as Marcia Clark the prosecutor. John Travolta was very good as Robert Shapiro. Courtney B. Vance was excellent as Johnnie Cochran. David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) was excellent as Robert Kardashian, the friend who starts doubting O.J. Simpson. Kenneth Choi was good as Judge Lance Ito. Nathan Lane was good as F. Lee Bailey.

            Highly Recommended

            • cr7 7 years ago

              Great.I knew you guys would like it .Start the March thread with OJ review .

  16. FS 7 years ago

    “Judgment at Nuremberg” – This has to be the Best Movie on the above topic, thanks for that recco

    • Author
      sputnik 7 years ago

      Yeah its an excellent movie. Definitely one of the best ever.

  17. Author
    sputnik 3 years ago

    These two movies deserve to be in this post too.

    Indictment: The McMartin Trial
    The longest and most expensive trial in American history ended without a single conviction! The state of California spent seven years and 15 million dollars to prosecute the McMartin child-abuse case–a case that ended in deadlocked juries, a mistrial and outright acquittals. What’s wrong with a criminal justice system that lets that happen?

    Here is my detailed review.

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    The Trial of the Chicago 7
    The film is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the countercultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The trial transfixed the nation and sparked a conversation about mayhem intended to undermine the U.S. government.

    Here is my detailed review.

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