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...And Justice for All
1979 119 min United States of America R 16+
★7.7
Drama
Director: Norman Jewison
Trailers
Description
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat of being disbarred.
Budget:
$6M
US Gross:
$33.3M
Worldwide:
$33.3M
Starring
Al Pacino
Actor
Jack Warden
Actor
John Forsythe
Actor
Awards
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 1980
— Best Actor
Academy Awards 1980
— Best Screenplay
Academy Awards 1980
— Best Actor
Golden Globe 1980
— Best Actor (Drama)
Key opinion
...And Justice for All is a passionate, high-stakes courtroom drama that serves as a biting critique of systemic corruption and the fragility of the legal process. While its intense, theatrical tone and blend of satire and tragedy polarize viewers, Al Pacino’s raw and powerful performance remains the film’s undeniable focal point.
| Acting | Al Pacino’s intense, high-energy performance effectively anchors the film’s erratic narrative shifts and provides a powerful moral center. | |
| Theme | The film succeeds as a scathing and still-relevant indictment of judicial corruption, bureaucratic cynicism, and the practical impossibility of achieving true, impartial justice. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay employs a jarring, chaotic mix of dark humor, grotesque absurdity, and intense drama, which some find refreshing and others view as overblown or cliché. | |
| Direction | The film's tone is highly divisive; proponents praise its bold, confrontational satire, while critics characterize it as hollow posturing and an inconsistent 'circus' of absurdity. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the climax are split between those who find the abrupt, interpretive ending a powerful final statement and those who view it as a weak or unresolved 'dice-game' conclusion. |