Product Details

• Actors: Julianna Margulies, Ben Shenkman, Keith Robinson, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Terry Kinney
• Writers: Dave Erickson
• Producers: Don Kurt
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Cantonese, French, Korean
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: February 24, 2009
• Run Time: 283 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001MVYUP2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,470 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Canterbury's Law: The Complete Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

“Why are lawyers buried 30 feet underground? Because deep down they really are good people.” That crack, delivered by a character in Canterbury’s Law about his own profession, pretty accurately reflects how a lot of folks feel about attorneys. But that hasn’t stopped television producers from churning out shows about them, or viewers from watching, and this short-lived Fox series (with all six episodes on two discs) is a fine addition to the canon. Julianna Margulies stars as Elizabeth Canterbury, a defense attorney struggling to maintain her private practice in Providence, Rhode Island. Like several other female leads these days--The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick and Saving Grace’s Holly Hunter are but two examples--she isn’t always, or even often, especially likable; though she’s clearly good at her job, Canterbury can be arrogant and humorless, with a knack for alienating everyone around her, friend or foe. She also has a penchant for bending the legal rules, starting with the very first episode (directed by Mike Figgis of Leaving Las Vegas renown), in which she commits two felonies in the process of gaining an acquittal for an accused child murderer. That stunt puts her directly in the crosshairs of Deputy District Attorney Zach Williams (Terry Kinney), her vindictive nemesis, but it’s hardly Liz’s only problem. Indeed, the unsolved abduction of their son three years earlier has put an unbearable strain on her marriage to law professor Matt Furey (an excellent Aidan Quinn), climaxing in an extraordinarily bitter (and drunken) scene in the third episode, “What Goes Around,” that’s straight out of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff. The ongoing personal element of the show, also including Canterbury’s relationships with nominal partner Russell Krauss (Ben Shenkman) and private investigator-lover Frank Angstrom (James McCaffrey), is more compelling than the actual cases, but it’s also more than enough to keep us involved in this slick, fast-moving show. The box set has no bonus material. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Emmy® Award winner Julianna Margulies stars in Canterbury's Law, "a lightning-paced legal drama that roars with a feisty thunder" (Matt Roush, TV Guide). Cunning, shrewd and tough as nails, defense attorney Elizabeth Canterbury (Margulies) takes on the risky cases no other lawyer could possibly win in this edgy and "highly entertaining" (John Griffiths, US Weekly) six-episode DVD collection. Whether she's battling the city's ruthless deputy attorney general, her independent-minded associates or her long-suffering husband Mat (Aidan Quinn), Elizabeth fights for justice no matter what the cost!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining legal drama but because the network cut it short, you're really left with no closure, February 19, 2009

By 

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Canterbury's Law: The Complete Series (DVD)

A legal drama with an edge, "CANTERBURY'S LAW" was a series that had so much potential but was cut too short with only six episodes in the DVD complete collection.

The drama which aired during the Spring of 2008 featured Emmy Award Winner Julianna Margulies ("ER") as the feisty defense attorney Elizabeth Canterbury. A woman who seeks justice for the people she defends even if it means breaking the law.

Running the law firm Canterbury & Associates, she is joined by her partner Russel Krauss (Ben Shenkman) and her two attorneys Chester Grant (Keith Robinson) and Molly McConnell (Trieste Kelly Dunn). They take on cases which seem impossible and a grand slam for the District Attorney but Elizabeth Canterbury has always outbest the Deputy Attorney General Zach Willliams (Terry Kinney).

But Elizabeth's personal life is anything but good. Her marriage to her husband Matt, a law professor has gone down the drain since their son was kidnapped. Three years ago, she took her toddler Sam to the playground and answered her phone for business and next thing you know, she lost sight of him and they don't know if he is dead or alive.

Despite being successful as a defense lawyer, her life has been spiraling down hill. She has become a drunk after hours, she has been having an affair with Frank Angstrom (James McCaffrey) and because her husband has held his pain of feeling that she is responsible for their son's kidnapping, he wants to move on with their lives and declare him dead. But Elizabeth believes her son to be alive. And thus, her marriage life is in shambles.

To make things worse, because she has broken the law in order to win a case, now she is being investigated by the District Attorney and Grand Jury for jury tampering.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"CANTERBURY'S LAW" is featured in 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The video quality is similar to a lot of dramas that are on DVD which has a bit of grain.

As for the audio, the audio is English 5.1 (Dolby Digital) and the series is primarily a dialogue-driven drama series with the occasional rock music that is played during certain scenes. But the dialogue is clear and I had no problems hearing the audio.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features on this DVD unless you count "previews" as one of them. Previews are for "Damages", "The Lazarus Project", "Rescue Me" and "The Shield".

JUDGMENT CALL:

"CANTERBURY'S LAW" is a legal drama that had a lot of potential and Julianna Margulies did a really good job as Elizabeth Canterbury, a defense lawyer who is strong, feisty and a woman that no one wants to mess with but to show that behind that tough demeanor, her personal life is just in shambles.

With this series coming from Denis Leary and Jim Serpico who are responsible for "Rescue Me", I expected the potential for something explosive for the first season. But it's really unfortunate that FOX canceled the series with only six episodes.

I definitely gave this series a try and I really felt that "CANTERBURY'S LAW" had so much potential and what urked me so much is that by watching these six episodes, there was an ongoing storyline about Elizabeth hoping that her kidnapped son is still alive. And to know that with no conclusion, we're left with an open ended series with no closure.

It's very unfortunate that the creator/director Dave Erickson was never given the opportunity to finalize the series. Even if there was one last episode to tie up loose ends, at least it would have been some sort of closure to the series and its characters. It's a shame to watch these characters taken to such highs but then taken to the lowest of low's and that glimmer of sunshine will never come.

I actually enjoyed Julianna Margulies performance and it was great to see her play this type of role. After watching each of the six episodes, I really got into the main characters (the partner and attorneys at Canterbury's law firm) and seeing this battle of wits between Canterbury and the Deputy Attorney General.

I enjoyed "CANTERBURY'S LAW" but with only six episodes, the series definitely had potential. Unfortunately, the network canceled it too quickly and thus, the series never had any true closure to the series storyline or its characters. And as entertaining the episodes were, you are left with wanting more but knowing that there is no more. What a shame!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome show, quick demise, October 25, 2009

By 

J. Treadway "poetic justice" (Evington, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canterbury's Law: The Complete Series (DVD)

I love Julianna Margulies acting style. Everything about her screams grace and depth when portraying her characters. I am loving 'The Good Wife' and in turn sought some other shows she had starred in to add to my collection.

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this gem of a series. I agree with others that the show had so much potential. The acting was brilliantly played out. The theme and recurring events patterning through the show kept you waiting and wanting for more.

It's obvious that the wrong network had the rights to air it. If this had been on primetime tv such as the likes of an awesome show, "The Good Wife" that Julianna now stars in, it would have soared in popularity and would have been given a real chance to succeed.

I'm into the fourth episode, wishing there was more than six. However, fortunately I can also watch Julianna shine in her latest endeavor.

I liked this show so much I also bought a set for Christmas. If you like Julianna Margulies, you will DEFINITELY enjoy this short lived show!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Canterbury's Law, May 22, 2009

By 

Geminigirl (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canterbury's Law: The Complete Series (DVD)

This show is definitely a case of "right show, wrong network". I was able to catch 2 episodes while it ran but then stopped seeing it in the listings so I assumed that it'd been a mid-season test show and would return in the fall but was sad to hear that it'd been canceled.

Julianna Margulies was great in the lead role and her delivery of the pulled together "with it" attorney by day vs a woman who is falling into an alcoholic stupor by night connected with me as a viewer. I could feel her pain as a mother who had looked away for a moment as her child is kidnapped, I could feel her hope that the child is alive & would return to her one day and wanted to see more of her story - would she completely fall apart or keep it half together or eventually move on?

I liked the ensemble cast and was especially happy to see Keith Robinson (since I developed a crush on him after seeing DREAMGIRLS).I wish this show had been picked up by the TNT network since they seem to have a commitment to tv shows with strong female leading characters and I think that they certainly would've given the show more than 6 episodes to succeed which leads me to my final comment about this dvd "set" - it is too expensive for just 6 episodes of a now canceled show. Initially I thought that viewers would be getting at least 13 epis but I can't recommend the purchase but would highly recommend renting it because it had the makings of a good series but just didn't get enough of a chance to cultivate an audience.