Courtroom Dramas
10 Episodes
The American courtroom is the ultimate stage—a living theater where human dramas of truth, justice, and ethics play out with sometimes life-or-death stakes—so it’s little wonder that it’s the setting for some of the most riveting films ever made. Impassioned speeches, sharp cross-examinations, and explosive testimony make the courtroom drama an actor’s dream, while master directors like Sidney Lumet (12 ANGRY MEN), Otto Preminger (ANATOMY OF A MURDER), and Miloš Forman (THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT) use the intricacies of the legal system to explore complex questions of morality, subjectivity, and human nature. Full of surprise twists and bombshell revelations, these films remind us that there are multiple sides to every story.
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01:01Episode 1Courtroom Dramas Teaser
Episode 1
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1:59:11Episode 2. . . And Justice for All
Episode 2
Directed by Norman Jewison • 1979 • United States
Starring Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe“You’re out of order!” Al Pacino electrifies in this scorching indictment of the justice system, a rousing blend of scathing satire and impassioned drama from socially conscious director Norman Jewi...
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2:09:37Episode 3The People vs. Larry Flynt
Episode 3
Directed by Miloš Forman • 1996 • United States
Starring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward NortonDirector Miloš Forman brings his slyly subversive sensibility to this wickedly entertaining, stranger-than-fiction look at one man’s notorious public persona and unconventional private life. Wo...
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1:44:57Episode 4Kramer vs. Kramer
Episode 4
Directed by Robert Benton • 1979 • United States
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane AlexanderGroundbreaking in its empathetic look at both the emotional and legal fallout of divorce, this landmark drama features powerhouse performances from Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as a couple w...
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1:57:18Episode 512 Angry Men
Episode 5
Directed by William Friedkin • 1997 • United States
Starring James Gandolfini, Jack Lemmon, George C. ScottWilliam Friedkin’s remake of the 1957 Sidney Lumet/Henry Fonda classic brings together a powerhouse ensemble cast that includes Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Ossie Davis, Edward James Olm...
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2:40:50Episode 6Anatomy of a Murder
Episode 6
Directed by Otto Preminger • 1959 • United States
Starring James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben GazzaraA virtuoso James Stewart plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: the defense of a young army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a local tavern owner who he belie...
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2:07:59Episode 7Inherit the Wind
Episode 7
Directed by Stanley Kramer • 1960 • United States
Starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene KellyOne of the twentieth century’s most spectacular trials—the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, which pitted the theory of evolution against creationism in a battle over intellectual freedom—is vividly dra...
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1:56:26Episode 8Witness for the Prosecution
Episode 8
Directed by Billy Wilder • 1957 • United States
Starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles LaughtonAgatha Christie’s masterful stage play gets a brilliantly entertaining screen adaptation courtesy of Billy Wilder, who deftly balances courtroom intrigue and black comedy for a triumph of st...
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1:36:19Episode 912 Angry Men
Episode 9
Directed by Sidney Lumet • 1957 • United States
Starring Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb12 ANGRY MEN, by Sidney Lumet, may be the most radical courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system that is as riveting as it is spare, this iconic adap...
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2:05:37Episode 10Philadelphia
Episode 10
Directed by Jonathan Demme • 1993 • United States
Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio BanderasThe first major Hollywood film to address the AIDS crisis and homophobia is a groundbreaking, empathetic social drama directed with a humanist touch by Jonathan Demme. Tom Hanks won the Acad...