Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt Directed By: Joel Schumacher Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 26, 1997 Running Time: 150 minutes Theatrical Release Date: July 24, 1996
Amazon.com: You wouldn't know it by watching the Batman movies they collaborated on, but this smart adaptation of John Grisham's novel proves that director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have some talent when the right project comes along. Schumacher had previously directed Grisham's The Client, and brought equal craft and intelligence to this story about a young Southern attorney (Matthew McConaughey, in his breakthrough role) who defends a black father (Samuel L. Jackson) after he kills two men who raped his young daughter. Sandra Bullock plays the passionate law student who serves as McConaughey's legal aide and voice of conscience in the racially charged drama. Added to the star power of the lead roles is a fine supporting cast, including Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, and Oliver Platt. --Jeff Shannon
Description: John Grisham's bestseller A Time to Kill hits the screen with incendiary force, directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, The Client). Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Spacey portray the principals in a murder trial that brings a small Mississippi town's racial tensions to the flashpoint. Amid a frenzy of activist marches, Klan terror, media clamor and brutal riots, an unseasoned but idealistic young attorney mounts a stirring courtroom battle for justice. The superb ensemble also includes Brenda Fricker, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Patrick McGoohan, Chris Cooper and both Donald and Keifer Sutherland. These and other talents make A Time to Kill "one of the year's most powerful films" (Jeffrey Lyons, SNEAK PREVIEW/ABC WORLD NEWS NOW).
A Time To Kill This is a great movie. The plot, the actors and the message are very well portrayed. Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey should have won an oscar for their performance. Donald Sutherland is also terrific in this movie. I will watch this movie again and again,
FAVORITE MOVIE This is my favorite movie and the price was right at auction. Came speedily and in brand new condition!
Makes a statement. A Time to Kill is a wonderful and deeply moving film. Based on John Grishman's novel, this film has a violent but profound subject matter and the star-studded cast is excellent especially Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. I highly recommend purchasing this intelligent court room drama, enjoy!
Should have been better Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) is a poor black man in a racially-divided Southern town. When two white men brutally rape his daughter, he decides to kill them and he does - in front of witnesses. The hot-shot DA (Kevin Spacey) is almost guaranteed a murder conviction, and novice attorney Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) decides to defend Carl Lee.
This movie is so full of top-notch actors I expected to be swept up in the story and moved by it, but I wasn't; many of the actors are wasted and I kept wondering if it would ever end. Although Sandra Bullock gets top billing, she doesn't become involved in the film until an hour and fifteen minutes in, and then she's in and out and has nothing to do but look good. McConaughey is the star; he's perfect as a young Atticus Finch-type and definitely the best part of the movie. Spacey is mesmerizing as always in his off-beat way, but he plays a one-dimensional bad guy. The wonderful Chris Cooper is wasted in a small part, as are Donald and Keifer Sutherland and Ashley Judd. Oliver Platt is just annoying as Jake's buffoonish buddy.
It's way too slow-moving as every nuance of courtroom protocol is tediously explored, while the rampant racial hatred of the town could have been an exciting movie all by itself. The trial's outcome is never really in doubt, but still it's a surprising verdict. The movie should have had fewer characters and subplots and let us connect more with Carl Lee and his family, instead of focusing on the handsome lawyer. I imagine this Grisham story worked better as a novel than a film.
A Time to Kill Excellent movie, we enjoyed it very much, loved the cast and probably can't add anything useful to the other positive reviews. One significant and entirely inexplicable feature stands out re this film and another Grisham, the "Pelican Brief:" Why on earth is the movie separated into two parts, with half on each side of a DVD???? DVD's are supposed to be an improvement in medium over videotape, but it's far more convenient and much more pleasurable to watch the videos of these two films, given that there is no need to scrutinize the movie beforehand to see which side to play first, and no necessity to get up mid-movie and flip the ?!@!! thing over. Who's nutty idea was this? I truly hope he/she has moved on to honest work outside the entertainment industry.
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