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Posted: |
Oct 20, 2021 - 5:30 PM
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By: |
Last Child
(Member)
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It was a product of its time, based on a best-selling novel, dealing explicitly with details not previously discussed in mainstream movies. It has huge star power, hip jazz music, and a laid-back, non-judgmental depiction of real life that might seem unimportant to audiences today. So it can disappoint for appearing as mere soap opera without much courtroom drama. You might be a victim of nebulous expectations, and if you ever watch it again in a year or three, you might appreciate or enjoy it because you expect it to be worse than it is. A more intense and grimmer courtroom drama made two years later, which feels like a foreign film, is "Town Without Pity." I think it still works today, partly because its an ensemble, partly because Kirk Douglas is so Kirk in it. Doesn't seem to be as popular or well-known as ANATOMY, which is unfortunate. In a sense, the guilty go free in both films because both lawyers are so good.
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I saw this some time in the 1990s and remember that I liked it quite a bit. It lacked melodrama and was more about how the various characters' own inclinations as well as their positions (accused, defense attourney, prosecuter, etc.c) influence their point of view and personal "truth". But that's how I remember it, it's been a while. I like the Duke Ellington soundtrack on its own though. Excellent stuff.
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I love this movie, though I can't help but compare it to the book. The Book is a real classic, perhaps the best murder trial novel in modern times. Still in print after sixty-plus years. The movie is very faithful, though condenses much of the trial. There are some "cute" additions that distract--like the courtroom scene with the dog. Still, the film is gritty, atmospheric, and the acting is uniformly superb. And even condensed from the novel, the film still manages to show a lot of trial action, which most "trial" films don't do.
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Deleted previous comments -- realized I haven't watched the film in over a decade so...
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