Waiting for the trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard to become a movie, something that will happen sooner rather than later, we have prepared a list with the best movies of lawyers and trials that you must see under penalty of… nothing, but they are worth taking a look at.
The genre of judicial drama holds endless possibilities. Of course, the tone and denouement of many of his works perfectly match those of the best sad and exciting movies to cry about, but this is not something exclusive. Some can even go further and embrace the supernatural from a court, such as ‘Deal with the devil’one of the best horror movies in history in which Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron face an unleashed Al Pacino doing, well, some mischief. A similar case, but decidedly more earthly, we also have in ‘some good men’one of Tom Cruise’s best films in which, in addition to some good men, there are also others who are worse than Cain.
We couldn’t leave off this list either. ‘In the name of the Father’, one of the best films by Daniel Day-Lewis, and that he did not get the statuette for Best Actor, which he would do with his enormous work in ‘My Left Foot’, ‘Wells of Ambition’ and ‘The Invisible Thread’. Instead, Tom Hanks he did win an Oscar for his performance in ‘philadelphia’one of the best LGBIQ+ films, and also one of the most necessary at a time when very few in Hollywood would have dared to make a film about HIV (thanks for the courage, Jonathan Demme).
Perhaps you are beginning to raise your eyebrow because we have not yet named a series of essential classic films that are part of this genre and without which this type of cinema would not have been able to achieve a certain degree of prestige and popularity. Calm down, here we have our ‘Twelve Merciless Men’ with Henry Fonda at the head, perhaps the greatest and best exponent ever filmed on “a trial film”. Next to it, we can also find ‘The law of silence’ with Marlon Brando as a port worker, ‘Anatomy of a Murder’a master class by the legendary James Stewart where we attend the procedures, work techniques and routines of a defense attorney and ‘Kill a Mockingbird’with Gregory Peck bringing to life Atticus Finch, one of the best characters in history, pure goodness, charm and decency. And which one do you prefer? The session is declared open!
Based on a newspaper article, ‘El dilemma’ is one of Michael Mann’s crown jewelsalong with others like ‘Heat’ and ‘Collateral’. An excellent sample of the confrontation between David and Goliathof man against the system, in this case, the tobacco companies, and of personal destruction without violence that is capable of generating an act as laudable -and punished- as the of wanting to reveal a truth that attends to certain hidden and harmful interests of certain companies and sectors.
‘Agree with the devil’ (1997)
It is not the roundest that you will see here, but yes funniest on this list. The monologues of Al Pacino to seduce Kevin, the ambitious and brilliant lawyer played by Keanu Reevesone of the most popular and charismatic actors in Hollywood, are anthologies. ‘Deal with the devil’ it’s a movie that bet on suspense what can cause give to the lowest instincts in search of fame, recognition and success and it is that “vanity is, without a doubt, our favorite sin”.
Although be one of best brad pitt movies and to have a luxury campus in which they stand out Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric and a twisted kevin bacon, ‘Sleepers’ is one of those tapes unfairly somewhat forgotten. A harsh story of innocence and self-forgiveness that shows what four men from a New York slum have become who, as children, were sent to reform school for an involuntary crime.
‘The two faces of the truth’ (1996)
‘The two faces of the truth’ is an entertaining judicial intrigue that, thanks to one of the best surprise final plot twists in cinema, reaches the remarkable. His ace up his sleeve has a first and last name: Edward Norton. The actor would debut (and outshine) with his superb interpretation as a young altar boy accused of brutally murdering an archbishop.
The final shot with Norton’s hands is one of those that deserves a big round of applause.
‘In the name of the father’ (1993)
Jim Sheridan would direct in 1993 this extraordinary prison dramawho received 7 Oscar nominations, and that rescues one of the darkest episodes of the fight against terrorism in Ireland, the one experienced by Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his father Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite), accused of participating in an IRA terrorist attack and sentenced to prison . ‘In the name of the Father’ and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit that we stand before one of the best biopics in movie history. Amen.
“Did you order the red code?” ‘some good men’ It is one of the best suspense thrillers. (legal, in this case), endowed with great agility and excellent pace thanks to an inspired script by Aaron Sorkin and with tense performances by Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon. She will always be remembered by him. priceless final climax that faced the characters of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.
‘The music box’ is one of the best escaped nazi hunter movies, an anguished family drama that enters fully into the emotional field and that shows the unexpected disappointment that is capable of emerging when uncovering the rotten miseries that human beings hide. It is heartbreaking to discover, from the hand of the lawyer Ann Talbot to whom she gives life Jessica Langthe true personality of his father (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a Hungarian immigrant accused of being a Nazi war criminal.
Who but Lumet to bring us another great trial movie? If in his first work the director of ‘Twelve Angry Men’ turned his gaze to the members of the jury, now the focus will fall on Frank Galvin (Paul Newman), a lawyer mired in a spiral of self-destruction aggravated by serious problems with alcohol And now you have an opportunity to redeem yourself by taking on a medical malpractice case. A work of overcoming, intense, exemplary and with an exceptional performance by Newman.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (1962)
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ could not be missing from this ranking, the educational film by Robert Mulligan which adapts Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Gregory Peck would go down in history as the noble and upright Atticus Finch (voted the greatest fictional hero by the American Film Institute), who will defend a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. A film full of nuances that is presented as a strong plea against racism.
‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959)
James Stewart He would step away from his “good guy” roles to take on the role of defense attorney for an army lieutenant accused of cold-bloodedly murdering his wife’s alleged rapist. Disassociating himself from the usual trend, Otto Preminger would bet on showing in the first bars of this exciting court melodrama the defendant’s guilt to develop a resounding work that exhaustively dissects a court case. Saul Bass’ credit titles, as always, memorable.
‘Winners or losers? The Nuremberg Trials’ (1961)
Stanley Kramer would direct an exceptional cast including
Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Montgomery Clift to deliver one of the best films about World War II because ‘Winners or losers?’ It’s not just a judicial film, it’s a deep, objective and much needed work which proposes an exhaustive look at the Nuremberg trials from multiple points of view.
‘Prosecution Witness’ (1957)
In 1957, billy wilder would direct the best adaptation of a work of Christie Agatha brought to the screen. A intriguing tape with a theatrical staging and ingenious dialogues by an unbeatable cast led by Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich Y Charles Laughton. Attention because we are facing one of the best endings in the history of cinema, a mixture of surprise and emotion.
‘Twelve Angry Men’ (1957)
Sidney Lumet In his debut, he would adapt a play written by himself to introduce us to the twelve members of a jury who must try a teenager accused of homicide. Everyone seems to point the finger at him, except member number 8 (Henry Fonda). ‘Twelve Angry Men’ is a fascinating study on the morality of the human being and its inherent prejudices in a space as suffocating and reduced as a deliberation room.
‘The law of silence’ (1954)
‘The law of silence’ is the masterpiece of the “snitch” Elia Kazan in which, on paperwe have the confrontation between a mobster who controls the lives of longshoremen on New York’s docks Y a former boxer (Marlon Brando) who works for him and whose morality encourages him to go to court to rat him out, and whose background is actually a hidden justification Elijah Kazan about his involvement in the “witch hunt” unleashed by Senator McCarthy.
Jorge Fernandez Mencias
Writer who talks about cinema, especially horror and science fiction, the perfect balance between the silence of space and the thunderous scream of the slasher.
