Anatomy of a Murder

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Anatomy of a Murder

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Anatomy of a Murder

Ben Gazzara, George C. Scott, James Stewart, Orson Bean, Lee Remick

A defense lawyer takes on a case of a man accused of murdering a bartender who apparently raped his wife.

Id: 10906736

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Anatomy of a Murder Recent Reviews
  • pier007
    January 8, 2009
    pier007
    One of the finest courtroom dramas ever, and definitely the best exposure of the affairs in and out the courtrooms; as well as the trickeries, rapid-fire delivering and fast-talking that any efficient (not righteous) criminal lawyer should have, unbiased, detached from any inner ...( read more)conviction or moral standpoint.
    The opposite forces are masterfully played by Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott, two individuals with an expertise in the use of every cunning, dirty scheme able to be used in order to destroy the credibility of each other's arguments and win the case no matter what is right and what is wrong; that is what, at the end, paradoxically leads the person who won the case to question about the decision, even if he doesn't show any concern.
    Sadly, justice is such a variable and obscure concept... will it prevail? Think again.
    Preminger's direction is clean and focused on the right spots; the screenplay is snappy and occasionally very funny; Duke Ellington's music is quite mellow; and Lee Remick couldn't be lovelier, what a doll.
  • garyX
    June 22, 2008
    garyX
    Ex district attorney James Stewart is brought in to defend a decorated soldier who murdered the man who raped his wife. Otto Preminger once more tests the boundaries of what the American censors deemed "acceptable" in this groundbreaking courtroom drama. Stewart is as reliable as...( read more) ever as the crusading attorney, and easily the best scenes are when he and George C. Scott do battle during the trial. Unfortunately some of the supporting cast do not quite measure up; Lee Remick's immature performance is more of a flirtatious Lolita than the victim of a traumatic attack, and Joseph N Welch, a lawyer and outspoken critic of McCarthy may have been a very worthy choice to play the judge, but I couldn't help thinking how much better Spencer Tracy, the originally intended choice, would've been. It's intelligently written and tackles the hypocrisies of the law, such as the fact that all are innocent until proven guilty unless you are the victim of a rape, in which case it's the other way around as well as that appearances, grandstanding and innuendo are far more important in the courtroom than facts. It's all very worthy, but courtroom dramas are inevitably following the same formula, and the clinical attention to detail makes the proceedings a little dry and predictable. Worth it to see Stewart in action and his verbal sparring with Scott, but anyone who is not a fan of this type of film will not be entirely convinced to change their mind.
  • organgrinder136
    June 22, 2008
    organgrinder136
    having already seen a court room drama directed by otto preminger i have something to compare this too and i also have to say i liked his film of four years previous... "the court-martial of billy mitchell" more than "anatomy of murder". the main and only twist was that mary pila...( read more)nt was infact the bartenders daughter. it all hinged on that and you find it out half way through the film, so there isn't any great shock at the end. i guess if you rely heavily on the word drama then this is a good solid film, but a decent twisty and turny courtroom drama it is not. as usual i enjoyed watching james stewart do his thing on screen
  • brooklynspo
    July 23, 2007
    brooklynspo
    I generally loathe courtroom dramas - (so tired!) - but this is a real good one.

    Terrific use of locations and location sound.

    One of the goofiest trailers I've ever seen:

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052561/trailers
  • mjgildea
    October 27, 2006
    mjgildea
    Great movie and great soundtrack. Worth it just to hear Jimmy Stewart say the word "panties."
  • kfthajer
    January 4, 2010
    kfthajer
    The best courtroom film I have seen.
  • luiser2gh
    January 4, 2010
    luiser2gh
    Anatomy of a Murder tiene uno de los mejores nombres de una pelicula. Jimmy Stewar esta muy bien. La historia es interesante, buen score y bella fotografia. 8.5/10.-
  • FilmFanatik
    December 20, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Always will be one of the first and best courtroom drama films ever.
  • spaulsson
    November 16, 2009
    spaulsson
    My second experience from director Otto Preminger. The first, "The Moon is Blue", was something extraordinary and one of the best movies I've seen. "Anatomy of a Murder" is also absolutely fantastic with its well-written and intense trial drama. James Stewart and the rest of the ...( read more)cast is flawless. Great ending as well. It is not everyday you sit staring like an idiot on the screen for 2 1/2 hours, forgetting both time and yourself, but I certainly did it here!
  • alexroy69
    October 29, 2009
    alexroy69
    Un drame légal comme on les aime, qui n'a pas la concision de "12 Angry Men" mais qui s'y apparente par la force de son suspense. Le scénario est béton et James Stewart livre une de ses plus solides performances en carrière (comparable à "Vertigo"). Je n'ai honnêtement pas vu les...( read more) 160 minutes passer, et j'en redemandais quand le film s'est terminé. Les joutes verbales lors du procès sont hallucinantes.

    On a l'impression d'être privilégié, impression qui devait être encore plus forte en 1959 alors qu'il était mal vu de parler de viol et qu'on excusait souvent la chose sous prétexte que la victime était trop sexy. Et Preminger arrive avec un film qui présente des personnages tous moralement douteux, victime comme bourreaux, en posant cette question: en quoi est-ce que l'habillement d'une femme peut justifier son viol, et quelles sont les limites acceptables? Un gros coup de poing en 59, mais qui n'a perdu ni sa force, ni son actualité.
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