SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Danny Blankenship I for one mostly like legal movies as they are mixed with drama, suspense and very tense scenes and most of the time the plots are revealing and with a twist. And this 1979 picture directed by TV man Norm Jewison has all of that with an all right title of "And Justice For All" it shows that the courts and legal system is a cat and mouse game with unfairness and plenty of corruption, and true the film is mixed with some funny moments and some outrageous characters to round the entertainment and overall quality of it.Al Pacino(one of the best around and one of his better roles which was Oscar nominated)is Arthur Kirkland a young criminal defense lawyer in Baltimore, who watches a system with criminals going free as it's the typical lawyers and judges are making deals like plea bargains and deals, yet all of a sudden the innocent are going unprotected. As after case after case Arthur is to repay a favor somewhat political it's like you scratch my back I scratch yours as Arthur is pressured into defending a high profile judge(played by John Forsythe) who's been accused of raping and beating a young girl. And you guessed it Arthur knows he's guilty and finally all of this comes to an explosive head! This film is simply about integrity and choosing between right and wrong it's a calling for morality and in the meantime it's a showcase and satire spin of the justice legal system which like anything else can be manipulated, really overall good underrated late 1970's film.

kai ringler first off what a great courtroom drama. Al Pacino turns in a wonderful performance,, as well as Craig T. Nelson, Jack Warden, and a host of others. this movie explores the criminal justice system,, and makes you wonder just how much this is based on reality,, a lot i'm sure. our lawyer hero tries to defend his clients the best he can,, some are guilty some are innocent,, you have to feel for his main client wrongly convicted and rotting in jail,, as far as the dirty judge goes, i'm glad the storyline had our hero not defending the scumbag judge,, the part of the movie that was intriguing to me was the woman hired to get dirt on the case and our hero,, he winds up sleeping with, I guess maybe he figured he would beat her to the punch so if she had information regarding the investigation he would be the first one to find out what was going on.

ramsfan "And Justice For All" is an entertaining yet meaningful movie in that it exposes the many flaws in our system of jurisprudence. It does so by taking a satirical look at the system through a variety of characters in the film. When Judge Henry T. Fleming is accused of rape, he hires defense attorney Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) to represent him. Kirkland is a fiery, idealistic lawyer who cares for people- and who detests Fleming, a man with whom he's battled in the courtroom and regards as both uncaring and arrogant. Furthermore, Fleming is holding up the release of a Kirkland client falsely accused of murder. This is of no consequence to Fleming, who instead sees an opportunity to make his innocence more apparent by having an adversary defend him. Kirkland wants no part of this charade, until Fleming threatens to blackmail him with long buried information on a breach of attorney-client privilege. Reluctantly, Kirkland takes the case.Several events rattle Kirkland as he prepares his defense; a near-fatal helicopter ride with a presumably suicidal judge (Jack Warden) and the public nervous breakdown of his law partner (Jeffrey Tambor). Things turn tragic when two of Kirkland's clients die in separate incidents. A harmless, transgender man hangs himself when he is mistakenly sent back to jail in Kirkland's absence, and McCullough- the man Fleming prevented from being released- is shot in a hostage situation, as Kirkland attempts to diffuse it. Enraged and disillusioned at such an unthinkable turn of events, Kirkland sits on a bench outside the courtroom and ponders his role in a system he perceives as terribly indifferent and cruel.Shortly thereafter, Kirkland receives photos from another client that show Judge Fleming engaged in S&M acts with a prostitute. When shown the pictures, Fleming smirks and admits his guilt in the rape for which he is accused. A disgusted Kirkland leaves the room as a haughty Fleming reminds him that "he'll see him in court". The trial begins, and after the prosecution's opening statement, it is Kirkland's turn. After what appears to be a legitimate attempt to discredit the prosecution for their "lack of a case", he stuns everyone by declaring Fleming's guilt and proclaims "he should go right to f*ckin' jail". As the judge objects and the crowd erupts into chaos amidst this blatant breach of etiquette, Kirkland is dragged from the courtroom. He screams at Fleming- who looks on with a mixture of both disbelief and disgust- for disgracing the law and the people he represents.Pacino is outstanding. His courtroom scene is one of those moments in film that is stamped indelibly on one's memory. He perfectly conveys the disenchantment of a man hopelessly swimming against the tide despite his best efforts. In the end he all but sacrifices a career to ensure that a thoroughly detestable man, a person who is "supposed to protect people" is ruined professionally. Fine character work is turned in by both John Forsythe as Fleming and Jack Warden as an eccentric judge who keeps a rifle in his chambers and eats his lunch on the ledge of a 4th floor balcony.A highly recommended movie and a must for Pacino fans.

spamobile Real old fashioned lawyer drama but with a human aspect in it. It's not all in the courtroom though, most is actually out of it. There are a number of stories running together but that's the life of a lawyer really all about. Al Pacino is his usual best again, the roll is really the type of character he excels in. Most other characters are fine too but it's all about Pacino of course. Very watchable movie, it continuously moves forward and changes. The actual main story is almost a side line in the story but it comes to a end with a big bang. Although the bang is big the outcome is a bit unexpected and in a way I think the movie is not completely finished. Watch it for sure though (and ignore the cheesy 70's music).