what are the best movies about law(court,jury,attorney,...)?


I'm making a list of movies somehow related to law or court or... what do you suggest?
Best Answer:
My all-time favorite lawyer movie is "A Few Good Men." It's particularly good not basically for the all-star cast (Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and the list goes on) but because it shows some of the frozen work and emotional adversity lawyers enjoy to overcome. It's an inspiration to me when I'm in a case that looks hopeless. (I wish I could other pull off a win at trial like contained by this movie!) The examinations in the movie are unrealistically short but the law is more or less right. That it's within a military setting is important, but the real drama is in the chemistry between the characters and how Tom Cruise's qualities finds a way out of some very, very tough spots. And the movie get the law right, at least enough for dramatic purposes. Another moral movie showing how hard lawyering can be and how sweet it can be when you win is "The Verdict" with Paul Newman. Again, there are lots of big-time external problems that Newman have to overcome but the real issue is how he tames his own demons and finds the resolve to do what he needs to do -- surrounded by really heartbreaking circumstances. "My Cousin Vinny" is funny enough to hold up to multiple viewings, and it does a pretty good job at getting the canon right, also. Fred Gwynne as the judge comes close to stealing the show -- and it's pretty clear that he is actually being generous to both sides, and indeed so is the jury and the prosecutor, especially by the climactic examination scene at the end of the movie. And while it's a comedy, you do also get the sense of a newly-minted attorney finding a way to grow into his role within the system. When I give presentations to young at heart people about being a legal representative, I use movies and I usually end with the win-the-case examination scene from "Legally Blonde." The statute in that movie is not very good and the depiction of imperative school not very realistic. But that scene, contained by itself, is worth watching because in the space of those two minutes, Reese Witherspoon finds her way as a lawyer, too -- she transforms herself from an awkward, undecided student into a powerful, effective lawyer. And it's a woman doing it (against a woman prosecutor, before a woman referee, while cross-examining a woman witness) so it's especially inspirational to the young ladies in the audience and I like end on a note like that. These are all worthwhile for the object that they show the lawyers emerging from their shells -- Cruise's lassitude, Newman's alcoholism, Pesci's fish-out-of-water attitude, Withersppon's inexperience -- and grasping the power of the law, and thus the power within themselves as lawyer.
Primal Fear. Old university badass movie all revolving around a court trial. Also one of Edward Norton's breakout roles. Winner.
Jo left out To Kill a Mockingbird, and 12 Angry Men. They are old, but classic and can be found on the Turner Classic Movie web page. And, I recommend Paper Chase, if you want to see a allusion of what a lawyer has to go through to bring back there. Good Luck
Justice For All and Primal Fear are awesome.
Law-Related Movies - Court Martial Movies Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Starring Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, directed by Otto Preminger. A courtroom drama involving a murder trial where the accuse, a lieutenant in the army, is charged with murdering a bar owner who have raped his wife. Will the defence of temporary insanity prevail? Multiple Academy Award nominations. Read an online review. Billy Budd (1962). Starring Peter Ustinov, Terence Stamp. The story, base on Melville's novel, of Billy Budd, accused of mutiny on the high sea of the murder of the ship's Master-of-Arms. Read an online review. Breaker Morant (1980). Starring Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson. An excellent Australian court-martial movie set in the time of the Boer War. Three Australian lieutenants are treated as scapegoats when prosecuted for executing prisoners of war. Strong performance by their shelter lawyer. Read an online review. A Few Good Men (1992). Starring Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, many others. Tom Cruise plays a Navy lawyer charged next to the duty of defending two Marines charged with murder who say they were acting beneath orders of a colonel (played by Jack Nicholson). Good court room and trial prep scenes. Read Roger Ebert's review (2.5 stars out of 4). Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster. A strong dramatization of the Nazi war crime trials. Maximilian Schell won the Oscar for his portrayal of the fortification lawyer. Rules of Engagement (2000). Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson. A court-martial drama in which a lawyer/military man (played by Tommy Lee Jones) agrees to defend his colleague (played by Jackson) who is charged of breach of duty for a botched embassy rescue mission. At issue contained by the trial are the "rules of engagement" and the pressures that soldiers face when under enemy fire. Read Roger Ebert's review (2.5 out of 4 stars). Law-Related Movies - Courtroom Dramas The Accused (1988). Starring: Kelly McGillis, Jody Foster. Courtroom drama involving rape target Sarah Tobias (played by Jody Foster) who at times seems to be the one on trial. Read Roger Ebert's review (3 stars). Adam's Rib (1949). Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn. A courtroom drama/comedy where Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, as husband and wife, are on opposite ends of a criminal prosecution where on earth she defends a women charged with murdering her husband with Spencer Tracy prosecuting the covering. Conflict of interest? Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Starring Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, directed by Otto Preminger. A courtroom drama involving a murder trial where the accused, a lieutenant in the army, is charged next to murdering a bar owner who had raped his wife. Will the defence of stopgap insanity prevail? Multiple Academy Award nominations. Read an online review. And Justice for All (1979). Starring Al Pacino, directed by Norman Jewison (a University of Toronto graduate). Al Pacino defends a judge who is charged beside rape, a judge with whom he has have run-ins in the past. A good nouns of the justice system, corruption and legal ethics. Read James Berardinelli's review (3.5 out of 4 stars). Billy Budd (1962). Starring Peter Ustinov, Terence Stamp. The story, base on Melville's novel, of Billy Budd, accused of mutiny on the high sea of the murder of the ship's Master-of-Arms. Read an online review. Breaker Morant (1980). Starring Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson. An excellent Australian court-martial movie set in the time of the Boer War. Three Australian lieutenants are treated as scapegoats when prosecuted for executing prisoners of war. Strong performance by their guard lawyer. Read an online review. Capturing the Friedmans (2003). Directed by Andrew Jarecki. A captivating documentary of a high college teacher, his wife and their three sons and their involvement in the criminal justice system when the father and youngest son are charged next to sexual crimes involving children. The movie's tagline - "Who do you believe?" - is reflected in the questions raise by the director regarding the prosecution and defence of the accessed. Read Roger Ebert's online review (3.5 out of 4 stars). The Chamber (1996). Starring Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway. Based on John Grisham's innovative, the story of a young lawyer who defends his racist grandfather who is on destruction row for murdering two Jewish boys. Read Roger Ebert's review (2 out of 4 stars). A Civil Action (1998). Starring John Travolta, Robert Duvall. A well told story based on Jonathan Harr's book of a true story involving a class action lawsuit against environmental polluters that involves multiple ups and downs including the potential liquidation of the lawyer (played by John Travolta) handling the case. Read Roger Ebert's review (3.5 out of 4 stars). Class Action (1991). Starring Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. An unlikely scenario where father and daught
"My Cousin Vinny" is a great take on the criminal justice system. "Kramer v. Kramer" and "The Squid and the Whale" are excellent divorce movies. Paul Newman's "The Verdict" give you a David and Goliath view of the leveling ability of the Courts regardless of resources or lack thereof. . . . . and I almost forgot, "To Kill a Mockingbird" for a lofty stakes courtroom drama.
12 Angry Men Inherit the Wind My Cousin Vinny (Actually used in law school to show rules of evidence) The Chamber Life of David Gale Primal Fear A Time to Kill A Civil Action (Also talked about in statute school, all about Rule 11 sanctions) The Rainmaker ...And Justice For All
The Verdict. Paul Newman Anatomy of a Murder. Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott. 12 angry men. Best jury movie, cast starts with Henry Fonda The Lawyer. A fictionalized version of Dr. Sam Shepperd. To Kill a Mocking Bird--Trying to rescue a Black Man wrongly accused Philadelphia--a man dying of AIDS fight for the right of everyone Inherit the wind--the Scopes Monkey trial. The Paper Chase--Very close to the real first year of tenet school
Military Movies dealing with alleged crimes (court marshals or otherwise) as mentioned by others are outside the jurisdiction / dominion of common law relating to civilians etc. Moreover, Military jurisdiction is no more than a cover up, white wash etc, to keep senior officers and their high commanders from the inherent abuse / negligence and criminal deeds they daily practice! I've witnessed too may incidents of primarily ranker's and NCO's being undeniably charged next to outright fabrications and lies promulgated to ensure the finger never point to the senior guilty parties! Senior officers, where on earth charged, usually walk away with reprimands, which in time are considered lately "bad-luck" and put aside to ensure the respective career can move forward. As is the case when its a politicians, big business offspring and their close to parents who knows the ropes, who to deal with etc, etc, etc. The US Military contained by particular is rampant in every such degree As regard Common law, yes, indeed, many brilliant movies over recent years have be realistically made with great emphasis placed on actual facts In addition to the plentiful mentioned, Twelve Angry Men, is a hallmark movie in its own right. From the quiet and sometime angry exchanges of the jury there bit by bit emerges the inherent sense of judgement that eventually triumphs. Thus the 12 completey different men with their totally differing background, opinions etc, mould into unison and respect, with the realisation that due consideration of the facts and respective honest assessment must be applied and rendered! It worth noting that within the following years after the film was made - all the 12 go on to acclaimed careers in the film industry
Jo have already given you a great list, but before I went to Law School I saw a movie around a law school, now I know what regulation schools are like and the movie was a totally accurate depiction, here are my three favorites: For Law Schools: PAPER CHASE (Movie) A Movie Based on a indisputable Case: Tennessee v. John Scopes (Name of Movie - The Monkey Trial) To Kill A Mocking Bird (Movie)
There's no movie in the region of it yet, but try reading "The King of Torts"... totally amazing book, it SHOULD be a movie.