Presumed Innocent | | Cast : | Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Greta Scacchi | | Director : | Alan J. Pakula | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | July 27, 1990 | | DVD Released Date : | September 07, 2004 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 17, 2005 | | Summary | Still a high-water mark in crime drama movies | Content
 | This movie has *so* much to commend it. Where to start? First, it's based on a great book, a five-star in its own right. Second, great casting and acting, from top to bottom. Harrison Ford is at the top of his game, perfect in his range of emotions and fitting into the role so well you have to struggle to remember he's acting. Likewise, Bonnie Bedelia is a terrific actress. My generation mainly thinks of her as John McClane's wife in Die Hard I and II (bring her back for IV!) and my parents' generation thinks of her as Ruby in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" but we all need to see her in this role where she shines in her ability.
I also must commend the penultimate scene of the movie, Bonnie Bedelia's "The Destroyer is destroyed" monologue. Wow, what a speech! What a perfect reaction from Rusty Sabich! ((gasping) "Saved?") Sometimes one or two scenes make a movie. Think, for example, of the Walker/Hopper and the Gandolfini/Arquette scenes in "True Romance." Sometimes, however, a movie that is otherwise strong in all its parts -- acting-writing-directing -- is made even stronger by a certain scene. "Presumed Innocent" is such a movie, and Ms. Bedelia's monologue is just such a scene. This movie is definitely worth purchasing for your home collection. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 12, 2004 | | Summary | Docket Drama | Content
| Based on author Scott Turow's bestselling novel, which I have never read, Presumed Innocent is a good film that makes for an engaging mystery/thriller. Thanks to an all star cast and a surehanded director, the movie has a lot going for it. Prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich, (Harrisn Ford) is deeply shaken by the sudden rape and murder of a colleague and former love interest (Greta Sachi). The case takes a dramatic turn, when Rusty is soon charged with crime, by his boss, Raymond Horgon (Brian Dennehy). Lawyer Sandy Stern (Raul Julia), decides to defend Sabich, even though the odds are stacked against his client. Pakula, who made a name for himself with All The President's Men, creates another potbiler, that if you have never read the book, will keep you guessing till the end. The acting is superb. Bonnie Bedelia took a break from the Die Hard films to play Barbara Sabich, giving one of the best performances of her career. The film gets a boost of comic relief, from the late great Paul Winfield as no nonsense Judge Larren Lyttle. The DVD doesn't really have any susbtantial extras. The disc only has a few production notes and the theatrical trailer. Viewers can watch the film in either the full-screen or widescreen formats. Presumed Innocent is a worthwhile film and despite lackluster extras on the disc, it's still comes recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 23, 2004 | | Summary | Entertaining flick | Content
| I rented this because I just read and reviewed the book which was excellent, and perhaps that's why the three star rating. It's very hard to capture the "between the lines" and subtext going on in the movie, although I will say they got a lot of the lines just right, taken in some cases verbatim and as imagined from the book.
The problem, of course, is that Turow's writing is very indepth and that just can't be captured on film, and since the movie and story are not much of a "fast-paced" action thriller, I believe it fell short a bit.
It's still worth seeing, read the book if you can, but I'd hesitate to recommend this as a library item, only because it's not something you can really watch over and over, it's too slow and once you know the twists, what'd be the point? |
| Rating | | | Date | April 13, 2004 | | Summary | Ohboy, ohboy, ohboy! | Content
| Scott Turow is just simply an outstanding legal thriller author, and, IMO, this is still his best. It's ambiguous, sneaky, freaky, scary, and realy believable. A lovely and very seductive lawyer is murdered, and it becomes clear she's been having an affair. Then, much to his amazement, damning evidence points to the prosecuting attorney (played awfully well by Harrison Ford) as the prime suspect, esp when his superior (and a possible other suspect) sets him up for the fall.
And then there's Ford's odd possibly mentally ill wife...
Super good all the way through, and it'll keep you guessing as long as you don't read any reviews that give it away. |
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