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1. Primal Fear (1996)
directed by Gregory Hoblit
featuring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Alfre WoodardA high-profile slaying becomes the case of an ambitious attorney's career in this legal thriller based on the novel by William Diehl. Richard Gere ... More
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2. Absence of Malice (1981)
directed by Sydney Pollack
featuring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Luther Adler, Wilford BrimleyIn this legal drama from director Sydney Pollack, Sally Field stars as Megan, an ambitious newpaper reporter who, based on information from FBI ... More
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3. The Accused (1988)
directed by Jonathan Kaplan
featuring Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Leo Rossi, Ann HearnBased on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up ... More
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4. The Crucible (1996)
directed by Nicholas Hytner
featuring Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce DavisonWhen Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was first staged in 1953, it was widely acclaimed as a metaphor for the recklessness of Joseph McCarthy and ... More
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5. The Rainmaker (1997)
directed by Francis Ford Coppola
featuring Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place, Mickey RourkeFrancis Ford Coppola is both scripter and director of this drama adapted from the John Grisham novel about broke, inexperienced Memphis law-school ... More
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6. A Time to Kill (1996)
directed by Joel Schumacher
featuring Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Brenda FrickerCarl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands after the legal system fails to adequately punish the men who brutally raped and ... More
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7. North Country (2005)
directed by Niki Caro
featuring Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, Woody Harrelson, Sissy SpacekA fictionalized account of one of America's most groundbreaking sexual harassment lawsuits comes to the screen in this hard-hitting drama. In the ... More
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8. Fracture (2007)
directed by Gregory Hoblit
featuring Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth DavidtzA structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) and an ambitious young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) become locked in a deadly battle of wits when the ... More
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9. The Conspirator (2011)
directed by Robert Redford
featuring Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Kline, Alexis BledelRobert Redford focuses on the chaotic moment in history directly following President Lincoln's assassination to tell the story of the proud mother ... More
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10. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
directed by Edward Dmytryk
featuring Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis, May WynnRobert Francis is at the center of the story as Willis Keith, a newly-minted ensign assigned to the destroyer/minesweeper U.S.S. Caine during World ... More
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11. Advise and Consent (1962)
directed by Otto Preminger
featuring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Gene TierneyList of all editionsThe first of Allen Drury "all names changed to protect the guilty" political novels, Advise and Consent was brought to the screen by producer ... More
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12. My Sister's Keeper (2009)
directed by Nick Cassavetes
featuring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Jason Patric, Sofia VassilievaList of all editionsDirector Nick Cassavetes collaborates with screenwriter Jeremy Leven (The Notebook) for this drama about a pair of parents who resort to unorthodox ... More
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13. A Civil Action (1998)
directed by Steven Zaillian
featuring Kathy Bates, John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy, Zeljko IvanekList of all editionsDirected by Schindler's List screenwriter Steve Zaillian, this courtroom drama is based on a true story and non-fiction book by Jonathan Harr. The ... More
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14. Suspect (1987)
directed by Peter Yates
featuring Cher, Dennis Quaid, Liam Neeson, John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna, Philip BoscoList of all editionsBritish filmmaker Peter Yates directs Suspect, a suspenseful courtroom drama set in Washington, D.C. After a Supreme Court justice commits suicide ... More
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15. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
directed by Stanley Kramer
featuring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Werner KlempererList of all editionsAfter the end of World War II, the world gradually became aware of the full extent of the war crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich. In 1948, a ... More
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16. Reversal of Fortune (1990)
directed by Barbet Schroeder
featuring Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Uta HagenList of all editionsThis film is a darkly humorous, determinedly ambiguous adaptation of Alan Dershowitz's book about his successful legal appeal of Claus von Bulow's ... More
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17. Inherit the Wind (1960)
directed by Stanley Kramer
featuring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Florence Eldridge, Dick York, Henry "Harry" MorganList of all editionsThe Evolution vs. Creationism argument is at the center of the Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee Broadway play Inherit the Wind. Lawrence and Lee's ... More
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18. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
directed by Billy Wilder
featuring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Una O'ConnorList of all editionsHaving just recovered from a heart attack, fabled British barrister Sir Wilfred Robards (Charles Laughton) has been ordered by his doctor to give up ... More
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19. Losing Isaiah (1995)
directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal
featuring Jessica Lange, Halle Berry, David Strathairn, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Daisy EaganList of all editionsTwo women of dramatically different social, economic, and ethnic circumstances find themselves locked into a bitter child custody dispute in this ... More
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20. The Burning Bed (1985)
directed by Robert Greenwald
featuring Farrah FawcettList of all editionsFarrah Fawcett earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of Francine Hughes in the television movie The Burning Bed. The film is ... More
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21. Breaker Morant (1980)
directed by Bruce Beresford
featuring Edward Woodward, Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Jack Thompson, John WatersList of all editionsBreaker Morant is one of the most acclaimed Australian films, telling a powerful tale of wartime betrayal and injustice. Henry "Breaker" Morant ... More
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22. The Paradine Case (1947)
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
featuring Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Louis JourdanList of all editionsBased on a novel by Robert Hichens, The Paradine Case concerns Anna Paradine (Alida Valli), on trial for the murder of her wealthy husband. British ... More
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23. The Chamber (1996)
directed by James Foley
featuring Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Lela Rochon, Robert Prosky, Millie Perkins, Raymond J. BarryList of all editionsBased on a novel by John Grisham, this drama deals with a man trying to come to terms with his family and their ugly secrets. Adam Hall (Chris O ... More
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24. Jagged Edge (1985)
directed by Richard Marquand
featuring Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Peter Coyote, Robert Loggia, Leigh Taylor-YoungList of all editionsIn this hit thriller, a prosecuting attorney-turned-defense lawyer falls in love with a rich, charming client who's been accused of murdering his ... More
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25. A Soldier's Story (1984)
directed by Norman Jewison
featuring David Alan Grier, Wings Hauser, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, Dennis Lipscomb, Art Evans, Patti LaBelle, Denzel WashingtonList of all editionsInspired by the Herman Melville novel Billy Budd, writer Charles Fuller created the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play, which he then adapted ... More







