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DSL Video Collection — O thru R |
The Official Story (Almi 1986), color, Spanish with English subtitles, 112 min. (#72)
Directed by Luis Puenzo. Cast: Norma Aleandro and Hector Alterio.
In the mid-1970s the Argentine military dictatorship carried out a brutal campaign of torture and murder against its own citizens. Here is the story of a sheltered wife of a wealthy businessman who finds that her daughter, adopted at birth, may have been stolen from a family of "los desaparecidos." Great adjunct to the Human Rights course.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), color, 129 min. (#165)
Director: Milos Forman. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, and Scatman Crothers.
In Ken Kesey's story Nicholson is committed to an insane asylum where he foments revolt against repressive Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).
The Ox-bow Incident (1943), b & w, 75 min. (#79)
Directed by William Wellman. Cast: Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthoney Quinn, and Harry Morgan.
A pair of drifters try to stop the lynching of three men who may be innocent. An effective portrayal of the terror of mob rule. One of the best westerns ever made.
Pacific Heights (1990), color, 103 min. (#129)
Cast: Melanie Griffith and Michael Keaton.
The ultimate "we can't evict the bad tenant" story.
The Panama Deception (1992), color, 91 min. (#93)
Cast: George Bush, his archnemesis Manny Noriega, 26,000 U.S. troops, and a bunch of dead civilian extras.
Academy award-winning documentary about the U.S. invasion of Panama. Should make even Republicans in the crowd think a minute since they labeled it subversive and tried to ban its showing here.
The Paper Chase (20th Century Fox 1973), color, 112 min. (#42)
Directed by James Bridges. Music by John Williams. Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Lindsey Wagner, and John Houseman.
Life as a first-year law student at Harvard. Just like Dickinson, except Joe Kelly doesn't have a daughter that looks like Lindsey Wagner.
The Paradine Case (1947), b & w, 125 min. (#110)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Gregory Peck, Charles Laughton, Ethel Barrymore, and Louis Jourdan.
Hitchcock's courtroom classic — beware of beautiful clients.
The Pelican Brief (Warner Bros. 1993), color, 141 min. (#206)
Cast: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard, and John Lithgow.
John Grisham's thriller about a law student (Julia Roberts) who writes a brief exposing the plot behind the killing of two Supreme Court Justices (not likely). Denzel Washington is the investigative reporter who . . .
Penalty Phase (1986), color, 100 min. (#78)
Cast: Tony Richardson, Peter Strauss, and Melissa Gilbert.
A respected judge jeopardizes his career by letting a vicious killer walk. Script by lawyer-turned-writer Gale Patrick Hickman.
Philadelphia (1994), color, 125 min. (#130)
Cast: Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
Tom Hanks is fired from his law firm when they discover that he has AIDS, and Denzel Washington takes his case against the firm. Winner of two Academy Awards.
Presumed Innocent (1990), color, 127 min. (#90)
Cast: Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, and Paul Winfield.
Based on the Scott Turow novel about an up-and-coming attorney in a county prosecutor's office who is hard-working, dependable, and may be a murderer.
Primal Fear (Paramount 1996), color, 130 min. (#195)
A high-powered Chicago lawyer gets more than the publicity he seeks when he takes the case of a poor alter boy accused of killing the archbishop. His win-at-all-cost ethos is challenged. Possible "moral": don't sleep with lawyers you might have to work against in court.
QB VII (Columbia 1974), color, 313 min. (#155, 156, and 157)
Cast: Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, Anthony Hopkins, Leslie Caron, John Gielgud, and Anthony Quayle.
TV dramatization of Leon Uris's novel, a libel suit is brought against a best selling author whose book accused a doctor of conducting medical experiments in Nazi concentration camps. It concludes with the dramatic trial in the courtroom, QB (Queens Bench) VII.
Rashomon (1951), b & w, in Japanese with
English subtitles, 83 min. (#66) Oscar for Best
Foreign Film in 1951.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Toshiro Mifune,
Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura.
A man is murdered and his wife raped by bandits.
Four witnesses each give a different account of
what happened. "Sensuous imagery and dramatic action
combine in this profound exploration of the quicksilver
nature of truth." Highly recommended as a thought-provoking
supplement to the Evidence and Trial Advocacy courses
Regarding Henry (1991), color, 107 min. (#124)
Cast: Harrison Ford and Annete Bening.
Ruthless, successful lawyer, Henry Turner, is shot in the head, looses all memory, and starts over.
The River's Edge (Hemdale Films 1986), color, 99 min. (#63)
Directed by Tim Hunter. Cast: Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper.
One of a group of close-knit teenage friends murders his girlfriend. The group's reactions reveal the alienation of contemporary teenagers from adult society. Great performance by Dennis Hopper as the leftover biker dope-fiend who can't understand the teenagers' lack of values. Future D.A.s can practice looking at dead bodies without getting sick in front of the Coroner.
Rumpold of the Bailey (1986), color, 16-52 min. episodes (#125 to 132)
Cast: Leo McKern.
John Mortimer's stories of Rumpold, the barrister who is more interested in his criminal defense work than pleasing the other members of his chambers. When not in court he is placating "she who must be obeyed" or having a glass of clarat at Pomeroy's Wine Bar. A must see if you have missed them on PBS.
