Sunday, December 5, 2010

Anatomy of a Murder

Some of the more prolific courtroom dramas are 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Verdict. Another acclaimed but not as well known courtroom drama is Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder.

Former District Attorney Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is approached by Laura Manion (Lee Remick) to defend her husband Frederick (Ben Gazzara). He has been charged for murdering a bartender who raped Laura. Paul must try to find solid proof that Frederick was temporarily insane at the time of the shooting, as well as fighting the case against Attorney General Claude Dancer (George C. Scott).

Like what I said on my review of Laura, Otto Preminger is renown for introducing touchy subjects to the world of cinema. In Anatomy of a Murder, it was rape (as well as words never uttered in a movie before at that time). I really like the performances from Stewart, Remick (who was a newcomer at the time) and Scott. I also love the score by Duke Ellington. If you haven't seen Anatomy of a Murder, you so should.

My Rating: *****

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are appreciated. More so if they are appropriate.