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The Pelican Brief [1994]
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Another John Grisham legal thriller comes to the screen, pairing Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Alan J Pakula, who is known for dark-hued suspense pictures such as Klute, The Parallax View, All the President's Men, and Presumed Innocent. The Pelican Brief isn't up to the level of those films, but it is a perfectly entertaining movie about a law student (Roberts) whose life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter (Washington) and the two become fugitives. The charisma and chemistry of the leads goes a long way toward compensating for the story's shortcomings, as does a truly impressive supporting cast that includes Sam Shepard, John Heard, James B Sikking, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Tucci, Hume Cronyn, John Lithgow, William Atherton and Robert Culp. --Jim Emerson
Editorial
Special Features
Wide Screen
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers
Arabic
English
Editorial
Synopsis
Julia Roberts (ERIN BROCKOVICH) stars in THE PELICAN BRIEF as sharp law student Darby Shaw whose querying mind gets her into trouble. A faithful adaptation of John Grisham's (THE FIRM) best-selling novel, this taut thriller follows the travails that beset Shaw when her theory on the cause of the deaths of two Supreme Court Justices lands her name on the conspirators' hit list. When Shaw teams up with reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington--THE HURRICANE) they find themselves dodging deadly assassins in a suspenseful story that weaves complex narrative strands. The well-cast film also features a cameo by playwright-actor Sam Shepard (TRUE WEST).
Excellent Film - disappointing DVD version
Review date: 2008-08-10 Rating: 2 out of 10
I've always loved this film, I had it on tape for years. It's a great story, intelligent, with superb acting. Other reviews say it all
What did annoy me was that the DVD is two-sided. You have to watch half the film, then turn the DVD over to watch the other half. This isn't going to be enough to irritate everybody but it really irrited me, and I really wouldn't have bought it if I'd known about the format.
I'm the lazy type who likes to settle down, surrounded by food, and not get up again until the film is finished and there's no food left. Like I said, not going to bother everybody but still worth knowing.
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Reviews
a bit slow moving and not as watchable as "The Client"
Review date: 2007-09-01 Rating: 6 out of 10
I thought that the dvd of "The Client" - also a novel by John Grisham - was a lot more exciting to watch and had a more interesting storyline.
This was undoubtedly because in the Pelican Brief the criminals are the
government and so everything happens in a more slow and predictable fashion - as though the public servants who feature in the film wrote the script! The Pelican Brief is worth watching once but if you have the choice watch "The Client" instead - it's a gem of a movie with Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones starring.
John Grisham's Second Best
Review date: 2007-07-10 Rating: 8 out of 10
Have watched this a numerous amount of time and enjoy it each time. However, I prefered A Time To Kill. I enjoy books that turn well into films and I definately thought that this was one occasion where it succeeded.
Fast paced movie fairly faithful to the best seller novel
Review date: 2007-04-17 Rating: 10 out of 10
Based on John Grisham's best-selling novel previously reviewed
Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) is a law student at Tulane who writes her own theory about who arranged for the assassination of two Supreme Court justices and why. The unfortunate thing is, her theory is right on the money, and once it starts circulating it results in a number of deaths. Investigative reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) turns out to be the one person she can trust and rely on.
"The Pelican Brief" is a solid and entertaining (if lengthy) political / newspaper / legal thriller from the director of "All The President's Men". It keeps its grip thanks to genuinely good film-making and an excellent cast. The climax is reasonably suspenseful.
To screenwriter / director Alan J. Pakula's credit, the villain of the movie - a stereotypically greedy and maniacal tycoon - is deliberately made mysterious and gets no actual screen time - except for an appearance in a key photograph.
Tense and thrilling
Review date: 2006-08-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is great. I'm not usually a fan of Julia Roberts, I've never read John Grisham and I didn't expect much. But it turned out to be a very good night in. The film winds itself up with a tranquil introduction before springing into nail-biting action for the next two hours. Dramatic irony keeps the adrenaline pumping as many of the characters know more than you do... and run the risk of being bumped off for the privilege.
The writers evidently had a ball, with Julia and Denzel running risks that make you want to shout "No, you fools! Run away! Flee to Alaska!"
I just wanted them to cling to the paternal rock of John Lithgow's newspaper editor, the only character who seems assured of making it through to the final credits...
If I had one niggling criticism, the fast-paced editing was occasionally a little too fast, with one or two time-skips in which Julia would have had to do a great deal and spend alot of time evading bad guys. But that's just a quibble. Sit back and, er... try to relax.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tony Goldwyn
Denzel Washington
Sam Shepard
Julia Roberts
John Heard
Creators:
Julia Roberts (Primary Contributor)
Denzel Washington (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900129893
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 1998-09-25
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 135 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1993-12-17
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)