...and justice for all. (1979)

A lawyer is forced to defend a guilty judge, while defending other innocent clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Valerie Curtin, Barry Levinson

Stars:

Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Arthur Kirkland
Jack Warden	...	Judge Francis Rayford
John Forsythe	...	Judge Henry T. Fleming
Lee Strasberg	...	Grandpa Sam
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
Craig T. Nelson	...	Frank Bowers
Dominic Chianese	...	Carl Travers
Victor Arnold	...	Leo Fauci
Vincent Beck	...	Officer Leary
Michael Gorrin	...	Elderly Man

Storyline

When a judge is charged with rape, Arthur Kirkland is forced to defend him. Kirkland has had problems with the judge in the past, including one incident when the judge wrongly sentenced his client Jeff McCullaugh because of a technicality. Kirkland faces a moral and legal dilemma.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | judge | attorney | lawyer | court | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

And Justice for All

Filming Locations:

Culver City Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$33,300,000, 31 December 1979

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1980, star Al Pacino won the Best Actor Award for his performance in this film but was a co-winner for the gong in a tie with Uelese Petaia for Sons for the Return Home (1979).

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Goofs

When the judge fires his M1911A1 pistol into the courtroom's ceiling, the gun does not eject an empty cartridge case and no debris falls from the ceiling.

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Quotes

Jeff McCullaugh: If everybody agrees I'm innocent, how come I'm going BACK to jail?

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Connections

Spoofed in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Agent for H.A.R.M. (1997)

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Soundtracks

Something Funny Goin' On
Music by Dave Grusin
Lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman
Sung by Zachary Sanders (as Zack Sanders) and the N.Y. Jailhouse Ensemble

User Reviews

Better now than when I was 11

I remember this movie from when I was a kid. I remembered it fondly, and always pictured Pacino giving the big "This whole courtroom's out of order!!" speech.

I just rented it again after not seeing it for about twenty years, and WOW! There's a lot more to remember than that one speech. I absolutely loved this movie! I always like Pacino, but sometimes he just plays a similar character over and over. In this one, young Pacino got to play everything from scared to sad to funny to furious... and I thought he did great. I haven't felt for a character so much in quite a while.

The relationship between Pacino and his "leading lady" was a good one, especially for the '70's. I thought those two characters were interesting together.

The music sucked, but every movie soundtrack at that time sounded like a porno flick, didn't it?

It's a story where one bad thing after another happens in a short period of time, in very unrealistic (we all hope!) fashion - but that's a whole movie genre in itself (although I don't know what you'd call it), to make us think of lots of different things and to push the main character over the edge. Without all the subplots, I don't think the ending would have made as much sense.

I'd like a copy for my video library, and I don't say that often.