Beautiful, moving film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Defense attorney Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) gets out of jail for taking a swing at insanely tough Judge Henry Fleming (John Forsythe) for railroading his client Jeff McCullaugh. McCullaugh is imprisoned after exonerating evidence comes in 3 days after a deadline. Fellow defense lawyer Jay Porter (Jeffrey Tambor) is a friend. Gun-toting judge Francis Rayford (Jack Warden) is friendly and very eccentric. His grandpa Sam (Lee Strasberg) in a nursing home has dementia. He starts dating Gail Packer (Christine Lahti) who is on the committee investigating him. Judge Fleming is arrested for rape and he calls on Kirkland to defend him.While I like the sense of chaos in the legal and penal systems in my movies, a judge shooting into the ceiling is going over the line especially if everybody just shrugs it off. There are a couple of points about the law that don't ring true. The acting is superb led by Al Pacino. Jack Warden is excellent. Director Norman Jewison is able to create a nice sense of a broken system.

I loved this in 1979. It was a good evening's entertainment. Lots of fun. Pacino was in his element. We all cheered him. The good guys won. The bad guys and the corruption they represented took it on the nose. I would have given it a '10' back then.The thing is, it ain't 'back then' anymore. And boy does this movie show its age. I know it's heresy to say but entertainment gets dated. This one hasn't aged well. It's none too subtle. As one of the IMDb reviews I just read said, less would be more. Charlie Chaplin was hilarious in 1925. He ain't that funny today. This was a bravura performance back in '79. In fact, several of them were. The writing seemed crisp. It felt almost embarrassing today. The "5" is for how much I enjoyed this 30+ years ago. It wasn't there for me anymore. I can only imagine how this film would look to a young audience today.

As you can see on my rating, this is one of my all time favorite films of all time. Pacino was just excellent. But he had a almost dream team of a cast to back him up.Let's start with the late great Jack Warden as the loony/crazed eccentric Judge Francis Rayford. When he pulled the gun and shot it in the courtroom, man that one gets me every-time. he has a sort of a Death-Wish and Pacino's Arthur is in a way scared of him. It's very evident on the helicopter scene! Funny. He practically stole the movie along with Tambor and Forsythe.Next we had the late great John Forsythe as the evil and despicable Judge Henry T. Fleming. Man what a great job he did! I would have never imagine the "Charlie" of Charlie's Angels as a bad guy! He played him as a suave thinking he is the law incarnate and because of that he thinks he's untouchable, yet he is way worse than the criminals he puts away. What a great villain. He just oozed badness.Next we have the late great Lee Strasberg as Grandpa Sam. How well he played him. So sad were these scenes to me because I can relate big-time as I take care of my loved one who suffers from dementia and Alzheimers. It is very difficult to see your love one's mind and body deteriorate on a daily basis. But I decided to take the caregiver role nonetheless. Ans it has taking it's toll on me but I would not have any other way.Then we have the hilarious and funny Jeffrey Tambor as the insane Jay Porter. He practically stole the picture from Pacino. From the very 1st scene he had, he had me cracking up. That's how good he was in this. His "deteriorating' of a lawyer who cannot take it or hack it anymore is so believable. His scene with Pacino when he comes over late one night to tell him that a client Porter got off, knowing he was guilty, just killed a couple of kids is devastating. No wonder he went bonkers because he felt responsible. Great performance by this talented and great actor.The tall and beautiful Christine Lahti as the ethics committee member Gail Packer 'hunting' down corrupt lawyers was OK. This was Lahti's movie debut per say. (she had done a couple of TV movies before this one) It was funny to have her as Pacino's love interest because she towered over him big-time. She's 5'10", he's 5'7". They really didn't have chemistry per say, but she was OK.The late great Sam Levene played Arnie, Grandpa Sam's friend and fellow resident at the rest home. His few scenes were poignant and funny and sad. A great way for this actor to end his career. This was to be his final film.The late Robert Christian as the tragic and doomed transvestite Ralph Agee was well done by Christian. His very 1st scene was funny and very humiliating at the same time. I was very happy Pacino's Arthur decided to represent him and try to keep him/her out of jail. Christian expressed the fear of winding up in jail and it felt very real. Tragic ending though.Another tragic person was Jeff McCullaugh played by the great Thomas G. Waites. A innocent guy who is in jail and can't seem to get out! No matter what Pacino does. It has a lot to do with Forsthe's Fleming who is being a complete jerk and not even considering to review the case because he has issues with Pacino's Arthur.Larry Bryggman as Warren Fresnell, a fellow colleague of Tambor & Pacino, did a good job. His one oversight caused a tragic mishap. Very intense scene with Pacino and it's the 1st time we see Pacino's Arthur just blow up and lose it.The great Craig T. Nelson as prosecuting attorney Frank Bowers, was a worthy and believable adversary for Pacino in the final court case concerning Fleming. He did a good job.The wonderful and funny Dominic Chianese as Carl Travers, a client of Arthur who just can't keep from getting into one mess after another. ( all concerning woman) was just hilarious. From the very 1st time we see him in, he was just on a roll. Kind of reminded me of Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Almost the same kinda of intensity and delivery of lines. His lending a "helping hand" to Arthur, helps Pacino come to a resolution and conclusion of what to do with Fleming.The great Joe Morton plays a Prison Doctor. But his scenes were short and he didn't really have much to do. In the Special Edition DVD of this film, they have a deleted scene which included more of Joe Morton's doctor calling in Pacino's Arthur and informing him that Waites Jeff McCullaugh was brutally beaten and raped and Pacino comes to the Prison hospital to see McCullaugh. But I can see why they deleted it, it just did not do much for the flow of the movie. it was better done without this deleted scene that when we see the McCullaugh character again, he has taken hostages and armed himself because he was brutally beaten and raped. Kind of makes more sense.Two character actors I recognized but they really had just bit cameo parts were Beverly Sanders(remember her from a memorable Sanford & Son episode,Matchmaker(1974)as Nora Simpson) as Sherry, Arthur's secretary and John Aquino (of Diner fame, he was 'Tank') as a Deputy Sheriff.There was another deleted scene included on the Special Edition DVD that is worth mentioning called "Thanksgiving Basketball Game" In it we have Pacino, Tambor and Bryggman and the rest of the guests, going outside for a friendly game of ball.

I think this is a fantastic film which is frequently snubbed on movie polls but totally deserves a decent nod. It can at times seem like an episode of one of those police drama series so popular around the time it was made (Miami Vice springs to mind in some parts). However once you get past the 'period' nature of the film it takes on quite a different character. Pacino's lines have been parodied often in popular culture to the point where the film could easily be transformed into comedy, but this has not been the outcome simply because Pacino is so darn engaging and emotion that raw is hard to deny. If I told you to watch a film in which the hero is a moral lawyer you would probably think that his character sounds like Mr Boring; but Pacino is anything but. He really gives his character so much depth in every glance, movement, breathe.... He jumps out of the picture and grows with intensity as the film progresses to one of the best moments of film history; the infamous court room explosion ending. By this point you're so engaged that you are going through the emotions right along with him; cheering with the crowd, laughing at Pacino's refusal to exit the room quietly and finishing with the line 'you have just heard my opening statement'=classic :D The relationship between Pacino and his love interest at first seems just like a typical element to add to the film; ie, this is the 70s, our star needs a love interest etc. Yet their bedroom fights add tension to the mix and give what could have been a boring run of the mill romance a bit of unlikeliness. The supporting cast are by no means bad, but some lesser characters seem to not be able to completely deliver the emotion Pacino needs to bounce off in order to truly explore his own performance; basically Pacino is a god and sweeps the floor with the rest. This is actually not a good thing because it detracts from the overall film. However, this film is a great drama to loose yourself in for a while and despite the depressing subject matter of 'injustice' through most of the film; the ending does succeed in reversing allot of the frustration. In fact you do get a strong sense of the film's overall more relevant message; justice will be delivered if people use their discretion and don't simply follow bureaucratic procedures for the sake of doing so. Free from corruption and infused with moral integrity; one man can make a difference. This is one of my go to movies for procrastination and dish-washing distraction. It's entertaining even after the first watch and that's what makes it a classic piece of Pacino.