...And Justice for All. (1979)

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Valerie Curtin (written by) &
Barry Levinson (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1979 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

This man needs the best lawyer in town. But the problem is... he is the best lawyer in town.

Plot:

An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is asked to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial. But if he doesn't do it, the judge will have him disbarred.

Plot Keywords:

Affair | Baltimore Maryland | Grandfather Grandson Relationship | Bald | Irony

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Arthur Kirkland
Jack Warden	...	Judge Francis Rayford
John Forsythe	...	Judge Henry T. Fleming
Lee Strasberg	...	Sam Kirkland
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Jay Porter
Christine Lahti	...	Gail Packer
Sam Levene	...	Arnie
Robert Christian	...	Ralph Agee
Thomas G. Waites	...	Jeff McCullaugh (as Thomas Waites)
Larry Bryggman	...	Warren Fresnell
Dominic Chianese	...	Carl Travers
Craig T. Nelson	...	Frank Bowers
Victor Arnold	...	Leo Fasci
Vincent Beck	...	Officer Leary
Michael Gorrin	...	Elderly Man

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:Unrated | Brazil:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Norway:16 | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was 75-year old character actor Sam Levene's final film. It culminated a 40+ year acting career.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gail and Arthur are eating Chinese takeout, Gail opens the same container twice.

Quotes:

[Arthur has agreed to go flying with Judge Rayford, thinking the Judge flies planes. But he is not pleased to find that the Judge flies helicopters]
Arthur Kirkland: Where are we going?
Judge Rayford: You wanna go someplace in particular?
Arthur Kirkland: No. Down, I would prefer to go down...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Three's Company: And Justice for Jack (#5.2)" (1980)

Soundtrack:

Something Funny Goin' On

`Catch-22' inside a courtroom

I liked And Justice for All. I found it very entertaining and absorbing. In its satiric way, the movie is full of rich characters and plausible situations even if sometimes you can spot the cliché around the corner. Sometimes satire works as a magnifying glass to expose and better criticize something. And I believe that's what happens in this movie with all those bizarre scenes and deranged characters.

Even though Jewison focuses problems such as corruption, criticizes the danger of powerful people in the wrong places and brings up moral dilemmas about the practice of law, I believe And Justice for All is more of a satire than a serious alert to a possible decadence of the judicial system. The odd elements in the plot are one too many to see the movie strictly from its dramatic point of view: a cross-dresser client, an evidence-eating defendant, a suicidal judge, a hysterical lawyer.

In a certain way, the message of this movie reminded me the one of Mike Nichols anti-war comedy Catch-22: in order to cope with a crazy situation you have to become a little crazy. In a war scenario people fight for values like justice and order, but they also fight for power and interests; the same thing happens inside a courtroom. Some lawyers see Law as a business, some see it as a way to promote their personal careers and some see it as the opportunity given to those who have nothing else to lose.

The performances are just great, specially the ones of Jack Warden and Jeffrey Tambor. Al Pacino unquestionably steals the movie with another over-the-top performance as the lawyer willing to risk everything and delivers another memorable speech during his `opening statement'.