Best Legal Dramas Films

Finally – one of the most popular legal dramas, which is not completely in a courthouse. As Sidney Lumet`s first film, 12 Angry Men focuses on a 12-member jury that evaluates the verdict of a poor 18-year-old. Initially, most jurors call teens “guilty,” but Juror #8 (Henry Fonda) fights for the idea that the teen is innocent. What makes a really gripping legal drama? Corrupt legal systems? Injustices exposed? More twists and turns than you can shake a stick? We`ve rounded up some of the most intriguing legal dramas — some fictional, some based on real-life criminal cases — for moviegoers, from the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men to the British film Let Him Have It. RBG – The incredible life and work of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed an impressive legal legacy while becoming a surprising pop culture icon. Length: 98 minutes Director: Julie Cohen, Betsy West Stars: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ann Kittner, Harryette Helsel Film: RBG In 1994, John Grisham was king. After the box office success of the film adaptations of his novels The Firm and The Pelican Brief in 1993 as well as his place on the bestseller list, the right-wing thriller author seemed untouchable. His string of successes continued with The Client, which tells the rather simple story of a brave young boy (Brad Renfro) who commits suicide, and the resourceful lawyer (Susan Sarandon) who helps him take control of the system. (Tommy Lee Jones, a bit of his game here, has less to do than the ego-motivated district attorney.) As in The Firm, The Client`s mafia elements are ridiculous, filled with cartoon villains and mind-blowing legal maneuvers, and the suspense sequences towards the end flirt with total boredom, but director Joel Schumacher, who also directed the 1996 adaptation of Grisham`s A Time to Kill, plunges the film into an exaggerated swampy atmosphere. The dynamic between Renfro and Sarandon makes it one of the most touching entries of its kind. Before raising your objections, let us set aside some reservations.

For the purposes of this list, we`re mainly thinking of thrillers or thriller neighbors that have been ripped off the headlines – meaning we`ve left out a number of classic courtroom dramas and trends towards the `90s and the present. (No disrespect for Witness for the Prosecution, Anatomy of A Murder, 12 Angry Men, The Verdict, or a number of other legal classics.) Think of John Grisham and the scenes where Tom Cruise beats Wilford Brimley with a briefcase. A legal drama doesn`t necessarily need to focus on court scenes to be satisfying. Civil lawsuits also exist, and Erin Brockovich is a crackling thriller about law and lawyers, as well as a character study and the dismantling of American companies. Steven Soderbergh`s film is probably best known for Julia Roberts` Oscar-winning performance and her bold, dirty and overall endearing portrayal of the eponymous real-life legal assistant that exposes environmental neglect and cover-up by California`s leading electric and gas utility. It`s also a sunny exploration of how corporations knowingly poison people and do nothing about it, and the kind of bravery and stubbornness it takes to bring them down. John Grisham`s series of adaptations in the 90s includes many of the greatest legal thrillers, but there have been a variety of great films with lawyers in the history of cinema. Here are the eleven greatest legal dramas of all time, ranked.

Anyway, let`s go: I swear to Sidney Lumet that I will try these films faithfully and make a real judgment after the evidence. Always carrying the cultural baggage of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford is friendly enough to play characters with a touch of defamation. This adaptation of lawyer and novelist Scott Turrow`s first bestseller in 1987 puts Ford, hair cut close to his head, in the role of a married prosecutor investigating the murder of a colleague with whom he had an affair. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, who also directed The Pelican Brief, with a sharp script co-written by Dog Day Afternoon writer Frank Pierson and shadow-dotted footage by Godfather cinematographer Gordon Willis, Presumed Innocent is a winning example of impeccable 70s cinematic craftsmanship applied to a 90s studio star vehicle. (John Williams` score is also top-notch.) Less grandiloquent than the last right-wing thrillers of the decade, the film explores a darker psychological terrain than one might expect and does not let go. An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a Californian energy company accused of polluting a city`s water supply. This seemingly forgotten eighties court thriller is a classic of the genre; Written by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct) as a modern version of Anatomy of a Murder, Glenn Close plays a trial lawyer who is reluctant to take on the case of a man (a young and unfathomable Jeff Bridges) accused of brutally murdering his wife. The reason she`s not sure of herself because she can`t decide whether he did or not, which provides much of the growing tension – both sexual and legal – as the plot points come thick and quick to puzzle you until a very satisfying twist. One of the most unfortunate victims of Hollywood`s transition from producing medium-budget adult films is the lack of big legal dramas. While the past decade has certainly spawned notable favorites like This year`s The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Lincoln Lawyer, Mangrove, Dark Waters, and The Mauretanian, legal dramas are no longer the hit star vehicles that were so popular in the `90s.

The legal drama over the court martial of two U.S. Marines accused of murdering a colleague and the difficulties of their lawyers as they attack the military establishment. Order, order! I`ll have order in this list of film best-ofs, so help me God As you can see in the rest of this list, the `90s were a golden age of stylish, cinephile legal thrillers, and they`re not much better than director Sydney Pollack`s The Firm. John Grisham`s first adaptation has a little bit of everything — tax papers, mocking gangsters and Gary Busey, to begin with — but there`s a reason to see this movie: the strangeness of Tom Cruise. He does a backflip in this film. What else do you need to know? The Rainmaker, one of grisham`s best adaptations, is directed by Francis Ford Coppola with absolute sincerity. Matt Damon plays the deliciously serious Rudy Baylor, a fresh-faced graduate of the University of Memphis who is the ultimate underdog. Paired with an idiosyncratic co-lawyer (Danny Devitos Deck Shifflet), he sets up an independent firm to handle a complex claim. The Great Benefit Corporation rejected a bone marrow transplant that could have saved the life of Donny Ray, 22, and Donny`s parents, Dot (Mary Kay Place) and Buddy Black (Red West), can only afford a lawyer who has never heard a case. Damon`s idealism is inspiring, and Jon Voight delivers a stunning performance as Great Benefit`s rogue defender, Leo F.

Drummond. And, of course, court dramas usually contain some of the film`s most intriguing thematic elements – murder, treason, deception, perjury, and sex, often presented with powerful monologues or speeches, exciting scenes of searching for evidence or suspects, or highlights of cross-examination. They may also feature unexpected twists and surprising testimonies, unusual motives, moral dilemmas, crusade lawyers, and unjustly accused victims. Many judicial dramas are based on historical events, such as the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial (in Inherit the Wind (1960)), the War Crimes Tribunal (in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)) and Sir Thomas More`s defence against treason (in A Man For All Seasons (1966)). However, for reasons of length, many non-fictional court dramas are often shortened or compressed, and details are sometimes glossed over or altered.