Product Details

• Actors: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand
• Directors: Gregory Hoblit
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: March 10, 2009
• Run Time: 130 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001NY4X4G
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,339 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A high-profile slaying becomes the case of an ambitious attorney's career in this legal thriller based on the novel by William Diehl. Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a famed defense lawyer who volunteers his services to Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a Kentucky teenager charged with the murder of a Chicago archbishop. Covered with blood, Aaron was captured after a foot chase broadcast live on TV, making a gleeful Vail certain that he could raise his profile by defending the obviously guilty suspect. Assigned to prosecute is Assistant District Attorney Janet Venable (Laura Linney), who is Vail's ex-girlfriend. Vail's case becomes more complicated than he expected when a psychologist, Dr. Molly Arrington (Frances McDormand) concludes that Stampler suffers from multiple personality disorder. Vail also uncovers evidence that the archbishop was involved in a corrupt land scheme and may have molested young parishioners. Now the cynical, opportunistic attorney is faced with a daunting prospect, a client who may actually deserve his best defense. Its shocking, twist ending made Primal Fear (1996) a big box office hit and earned Norton, in his screen debut, an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Edward Norton is genius. And that's enough for this film., October 10, 2009

By	James Donnelly "Ave Atque Vale" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

To be totally honest, this is a very much by-the-numbers legal thriller. Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Steven Bauer, John Mahoney and Andre Braugher all put in fine performances. The film has good moments of suspense and drama, and Gregory Hoblit directs the film with a modicum of passion and intensity. When all is said and done, this is a pretty unremarkable film...

...and then you have Edward Norton.

Edward Norton's ingenious performance is what elevates this film above and beyond a great many other legal thrillers. This being the first of many great performances to come from Norton, he brings a lovability, gullibility, quiet menace and unbridled fury to a role that could have easily been portrayed in a very TV-movie kind of way by a lesser performer. When he's on screen, the quality of the performers around him turns the dial up to eleven. He gives the role of Aaron Stampler a life of its own, and he's really the only actor in the film that you can sense isn't just pantomiming a character stereotype. Gere is the flashy, selfish, self-absorbed defense attorney; Linney is the cold-as-ice, tough-as-nails prosecutor; McDormand is the intelligent, maternal psychologist; Woodard is a tough-but-fair judge; Bauer plays essentially the same role he played in SCARFACE... anyway, you get the idea.

It's essentially a film that, if it had lacked Norton, would be maybe a 2-star movie at best, even with the shock ending. But because Norton is such a naturally gifted performer and the way that he sells the character and the shock ending is what elevates this film to a highly recommended 4-star film.

Also, bear in mind, Cuba Gooding Jr. for JERRY MAGUIRE beat Norton for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1996. What is Cuba Gooding Jr. doing now? After a string of embarassingly awful features, he's done nothing but Direct-to-DVD films and bad television shows. Norton... he's committed some of the most amazing performances to film since then and is still not recognized by the Academy.

Just another example of how frighteningly wrong the Academy can be.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best movies I've ever seen!, April 10, 2009

By	S. Lazzar "RockStar2005" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is not much I can say about this movie except that it is IMO a genuine classic! Great script and plot, top-notch acting performances, and a surprise ending that is up there with the best of them.

The blu-ray also includes some great NEW interviews and commentary by the key cast and crew members. Edward Norton's contributions to the movie are the highlight here. You realize just how great of an actor he is after watching the bonus feature entitled "The Final Verdict - Making Of Featurette" (HD - 18 minutes). Also, all of the extra bonus feature material is in 1080p/24p, so the quality is equal to that of the movie itself. I would HIGHLY recommend buying this in blu-ray for the extra features alone, in addition to the better picture quality.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Presentation,Even Had A Surprise Ending!, November 19, 2009

By	Rogue1 "Rogue1" - See all my reviews

One of the best movies I've ever seen. It was the first time I ever saw Edward Norton and it was immediately clear that I was watching a major major talent!