A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.
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Title: True Believer (1989)
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1 win & 1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| James Woods | ... | Eddie Dodd | |
| Robert Downey Jr. | ... | Roger Baron | |
| Margaret Colin | ... | Kitty Greer | |
| Yuji Okumoto | ... | Shu Kai Kim | |
| Kurtwood Smith | ... | Robert Reynard | |
| Tom Bower | ... | Cecil Skell | |
| Miguel Fernandes | ... | Art Esparza | |
| Charles Hallahan | ... | Vincent Dennehy | |
 |
Sully Diaz | ... | Maraquilla Esparza |
|
|
Misan Kim | ... | Mrs. Kim |
| John Snyder | ... | Chuckie Loeder | |
| Luis Guzmán | ... | Ortega (as Luis Guzman) | |
| Graham Beckel | ... | Sklaroff | |
|
|
Tony Haney | ... | Montell |
| Joel Polis | ... | Dean Rabin | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mom, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he did not commit. Written by <Vertigus@aol.com>
Plot Keywords:
lawyer | reference to the black panthers | defense lawyer | asian american | prison gang |Taglines:
The killing. The conviction. The cover-up. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
17 February 1989 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Das dreckige Spiel See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$8,742,750Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Kitty Greer: Come on, Eddie, that's not fair!
Roger Baron: Come off it, Eddie! We're all committed to the case, we all believe it's a good fight.
Eddie Dodd: Good fight? You think I'm going into court to make a fucking statement? You think Shu gives a shit whether we go down but go down nobly? This is a man looking at 40 years of HARD TIME! He could've had a deal and been out in five, but he bet it all on ME! Don't give me that liberal yuppie bullshit about ...
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Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by Jimi Hendrix
Courtesy of A.R.M. BV & Are You Experienced Ltd.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The character Shu Kai Kim is based on Korean-American Chol Soo Lee, who was imprisoned for nearly ten years after a wrongful conviction for a murder he did not commit. See more »Goofs
The opportunity for cross-examination or re-direct examination of the witnesses is frequently glossed over. Not just that a character doesn't cross-examine such as the lack of cross of the prisoner at the end of the state's case, but most egregiously, the judge gives the district attorney no opportunity for re-direct of the eyewitness who testified she never took her eyes off the gun even though she obviously wanted to say more. No competent DA would fail to give her a chance to clarify her statements during the cross-examination. See more »Quotes
Eddie Dodd: [Eddie is having a hard time building a defense] I can do this shit myself!Kitty Greer: Come on, Eddie, that's not fair!
Roger Baron: Come off it, Eddie! We're all committed to the case, we all believe it's a good fight.
Eddie Dodd: Good fight? You think I'm going into court to make a fucking statement? You think Shu gives a shit whether we go down but go down nobly? This is a man looking at 40 years of HARD TIME! He could've had a deal and been out in five, but he bet it all on ME! Don't give me that liberal yuppie bullshit about ...
See more »
Soundtracks
All Along The WatchtowerWritten by Bob Dylan
Performed by Jimi Hendrix
Courtesy of A.R.M. BV & Are You Experienced Ltd.
See more »
TRUE BELIEVER (1989) *** James Woods, Robert Downey Jr., Margaret Colin. Woods excels as a hippie liberal defense attorney (patterned after the legendary NYC defender William Kunstler) who gets a chance at redemption in the case of an young Asian man accused of cold blooded murder that opens a can of worms including corruption and a life lesson in ideals and dignity.