Best Courtroom Movies
by listfreak | created - 22 May 2016 | updated - 18 Aug 2021 | PublicTop lawyer, courtoom drama, jury, law, legal movies.
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1. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 865,693 | Gross: $4.36M
The true classic.
2. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 137,934 | Gross: $8.18M
3. My Cousin Vinny (1992)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Crime
Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience.
Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield
Votes: 140,658 | Gross: $52.93M
4. A Few Good Men (1992)
R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller
Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon
Votes: 287,499 | Gross: $141.34M
5. Erin Brockovich (2000)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick
Votes: 221,492 | Gross: $125.60M
6. JFK (1991)
R | 189 min | Drama, History, Thriller
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
Votes: 169,984 | Gross: $70.41M
7. Primal Fear (1996)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, John Mahoney
Votes: 247,226 | Gross: $56.12M
8. A Time to Kill (1996)
R | 149 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey
Votes: 181,745 | Gross: $108.77M
9. Amistad (1997)
R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 82,822 | Gross: $44.18M
10. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 258,187 | Gross: $77.32M
11. Inherit the Wind (1960)
Passed | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York
Votes: 32,789
12. Runaway Jury (2003)
PG-13 | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman
Votes: 104,636 | Gross: $49.44M
13. Rules of Engagement (2000)
R | 128 min | Drama, Thriller, War
An attorney defends an officer on trial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians after they stormed a U.S. embassy in a Middle Eastern country.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 50,328 | Gross: $61.34M
14. Presumed Innocent (1990)
R | 127 min | Mystery, Thriller
As a lawyer investigates the murder of a colleague, he finds himself more connected to the crime than anyone else.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Greta Scacchi, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 45,813 | Gross: $86.30M
15. 12 Angry Men (1997 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 117 min | Crime, Drama
Twelve men must decide the fate of one when one juror objects to the jury's decision.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Ossie Davis
Votes: 17,080
A surprisingly good remake.
16. The Rainmaker (1997)
PG-13 | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An underdog lawyer takes on a fraudulent insurance company.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight
Votes: 82,910 | Gross: $45.86M
17. In the Name of the Father (1993)
R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King
Votes: 187,180 | Gross: $25.01M
18. When They See Us (2019)
TV-MA | 75 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.
Stars: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Marquis Rodriguez
Votes: 137,922
19. The Night Of (2016)
TV-MA | 66 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After a night of partying with a woman he picked up, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
Stars: Riz Ahmed, John Turturro, Bill Camp, Amara Karan
Votes: 171,873
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