Trial film is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.[1][2]

The trial genre differs from the broader courtroom drama in that the latter includes any film in which a justice system plays an integral role in the film's narrative, and thus does not necessarily require the inclusion of a legal trial.[2]

Notable films

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In 1989, the American Bar Association rated the 12 best trial films of all time in their ABA Journal, providing a detailed and reasoned legal evaluation for its choices. Ten of the films are in English; M (1931) is in German and The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) is a French silent film. Moreover, ten of them take place (at least, in part) in a courtroom.[3]

In 2008, the American Film Institute compiled its own "courtroom drama" top-ten list, five films of which were also on the ABA list.[2]

The ABA also published a list of the 12 best trial stageplays, noting that the transition from film to the stage is sometimes difficult. It also has an extensive honorable mention list.[4]

Title Release year Top ten list[2][3] Notes
12 Angry Men 1957 American Bar Association (ABA);

American Film Institute (AFI)

Nominated for 3 Academy Awards.[2]
A Cry in the Dark 1988 AFI Nominated for an Academy Award, based on a real trial.
A Few Good Men 1992 AFI Court-martial
A Man for All Seasons 1966 ABA and AFI Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 6.[2] Based on a real trial.
In Cold Blood 1967 AFI Nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Based on a real trial.
Anatomy of a Murder 1959 ABA and AFI Nominated for 7 Academy Awards. Based on a real trial.[2]
Inherit the Wind 1960 ABA and AFI Nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Based on a real trial.
Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 ABA Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning 2. Based on a real trial.
Kramer vs. Kramer 1979 AFI Nominated for 9 Academy Awards, winning 5 of them.
M 1931 ABA
Paths of Glory 1957 ABA Based on a real court-martial.
The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 ABA Based on a real trial.
The Trial 1962 ABA
The Wrong Man 1957 ABA Based on a real trial.
To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 ABA and AFI Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 3.[2]
The Verdict 1982 ABA and AFI Nominated for 5 Academy Awards.[2]
Witness for the Prosecution 1957 AFI Nominated for 6 Academy Awards.

Varieties

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Aside from the first few minutes of the film, 12 Angry Men (1957) does not take place in a courtroom. It views the particular case and the system of justice through the prism of jury deliberations. The film explains practical explications of legal concepts basic to the American system of justice, and their effect on a particular trial and defendant. Those include the presumption of innocence, burden of proof, and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.[3]

The trial in M (1931) does not take place in a legal courtroom; rather, crime syndicate leaders along with the city's underground hold proceedings in a warehouse. Despite the lack of legal trappings, "it is one of the most effective trials ever filmed, questioning our notions of justice and revenge, mob rule and order, power and responsibility." Wearing long leather coats instead of robes, criminals become judges. The murderer is cast as the victim, while the forces of law and order must rely on luck. Peter Lorre strikingly raises the issue of his culpability due to alleged insanity, and the imposition of ultimate retributive justice is depicted as being unsatisfying for society and the survivors of the murdered victims.[3]

Courtroom films are typically dramas, but there have been several comedy films centering around trials, including Adam's Rib, My Cousin Vinny, and Legally Blonde.

Military trial films

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The military trial film is a subtype of the trial genre that focuses on military trials (i.e., court-martial).[1][2]

They typically include conflicting questions of loyalty, command responsibility, ethical rules and rules of engagement, obedience to superior authority, politics and class conflict. War and trials are good foils for one another. The struggles are perennial and engaging. A partial list includes:

Title Release year Description
The Caine Mutiny[5] 1954 climaxes in a strongly contested court martial, and a particularly dynamic cross-examination, in which Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) acts out one of film's most dramatic meltdowns.[6] The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards.
Paths of Glory 1957 black and white depiction of a corrupt World War I French court martial leading to a firing squad, and a 'futility of war' conclusion. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Kirk Douglas as the failed defense attorney.
Town Without Pity 1961 Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington were nominated for an Academy Award for the theme song, "Town Without Pity", which was sung by Gene Pitney.
King and Country 1964 In the trenches in France during World War I, a British captain (Dirk Bogarde) has to defend a shell-shocked private (Tom Courtenay), who is charged with desertion. The film was directed by Joseph Losey.
Breaker Morant 1980 a court martial of Australian soldiers, including Harry 'Breaker' Morant, by their British commanders in the aftermath of the Boer War in South Africa. The film details the tribulations of the defense counsel and the defendants, as they try to throw a wrench into the administrative gears of Morant's court martial. Anticipating the Nuremberg trials and the defense of "superior orders", the soldiers' main defense is that they were doing their duty as they understood it, and following orders and policy from above. Nevertheless, this "kangaroo court" moves to its inevitable conclusion.[7] The film was nominated for an Academy Award.
A Few Good Men 1992 released after the ABA's list was compiled, the film contains the famous "You can't handle the truth" exchange.[8] The film was adapted from a Broadway play written by Aaron Sorkin (who also wrote the screenplay), and acted by Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson.
Rules of Engagement 2000 Marine Colonel Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) is brought to court-martial on charges of disobeying the rules of engagement in a military incident at an American embassy in Yemen, with flashbacks to Vietnam.
Shaurya 2008 a Hindi-language film based on the backdrop of the Kashmir conflict, and directed by Samar Khan starring Rahul Bose and Kay Kay Menon in lead roles.
Melvilasom 2011 a Malayalam-language film based on Soorya Krishna Moorthy's stage play of the same name, which itself was based on the play Court Martial by Swadesh Deepak.
American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally 2021 It is based on the life of Mildred Gillars, an American singer and actor who during World War II broadcast Nazi propaganda to US troops and their families back home.

Religious trial films

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Historical trial films

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Historical trial films are noted for frequently taking dramatic liberties with historical accounts for the purposes of simplifying the storyline, exaggerating dramatic effects, or pressing a point with the audience.

Comedies

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  • Judge Priest, a 1934 Will Rogers comedy directed by John Ford.
  • Roxie Hart, 1942 comedy directed by William Wellman.
  • In Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) has his sanity examined at a hearing. The film won 4 Academy Awards, with Gwenn winning for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film was also nominated for Best Picture.
  • Adam's Rib, a 1949 comedy directed by George Cukor.
  • Divorce Italian Style, a 1961 comedy-drama film directed by Pietro Germi.
  • Kibar Feyzo (1978) is a Turkish comedy drama film starring Kemal Sunal, Şener Şen, Müjde Ar, Adile Naşit, İhsan Yüce, İlyas Salman and Erdal Özyağcılar.[10]
  • From the Hip (1987) is a Comedy Drama starring Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins, John Hurt, and Ray Walston about a first year lawyer manipulating his way into trying a case much earlier in his career than is normal. Much of the humor took place in the first case, a simple assault case in which he garnered significant media attention and developed a high profile for himself and attention to his firm. The more dramatic second case was a murder case which tested the young attorney's ethics.
  • A Fish Called Wanda, a 1988 heist comedy film following a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to recover stolen diamonds hidden by their jailed leader. In an effort to locate the diamonds, one of the thieves seduces the barrister defending the leader.
  • My Cousin Vinny, a 1992 comedy film about an inexperienced personal injury lawyer who is hired to represent his cousin and the cousin's friend, who have been put on trial for a murder they did not commit.
  • Liar Liar, a 1997 American satirical fantasy comedy film starring Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a single day.
  • Legally Blonde, a 2001 American romantic comedy film about a sorority girl who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend by following him to Harvard Law School, culminating in her defending a fellow sorority member on trial for murder.
  • Chicago, a 2002 satirical musical comedy film adapted from the 1975 stage musical of the same name, centered on the fictional cause célèbre trial of a woman who killed her paramour.

Other examples

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Rafter, Nicole. 2001. "American Criminal Trial Films: An Overview of Their Development, 1930–2000". Journal of Law and Society 28(1):9–24. JSTOR 3657944.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "American Film Institute, Court Room drama top ten". 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Verone, Patric M. "The 12 Best Trial Movies" from the ABA Journal. November 1989 reprinted in Nebraska Law Journal".
  4. ^ Chanen, Jill Schachner (August 1, 2012). "The Theater's 12 Greatest Courtroom Dramas". ABA Journal. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  5. ^ From the 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk, ISBN 0-89577-414-3
  6. ^ "Review noting Captain Queeg cross examination".
  7. ^ "'Breaker' Morant, A film review by Christopher Null".
  8. ^ Excerpt of cross examination in A Few Good Men.
  9. ^ Pallister, David (19 October 1999). "An injustice that still reverberates". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  10. ^ "Kemal Sunal all films" (in Turkish). Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  11. ^ Variety film review; 16 November 1977, p. 21.
  12. ^ "The Last Wave". Creative Spirits. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Apollo Guide Review "And Justice for All" by Norman Webster".
  14. ^ Leib, Brenden (2018-01-31). "The Top Ten Trial Movies of All Time - Leib Knott Gaynor LLC". Leib Knott Gaynor. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  15. ^ "Runaway Jury (2003) Film Review; Courtroom Confrontation With Lots of Star Power" The New York Times

Further reading

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