To Kill a Mockingbird is the Top Courtroom Drama movie of all time, according to the American Film Institute. The AFI focuses on movie depictions of the justice system.
The American Film Institute has named the "Top 100 Films of All Time." The AFI has designated ten genres with ten movies in each. The Top Ten of the Courtroom Drama genre is led by "The Kill a Mockingbird." AFI defines a "courtyard drama; as a genre in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative. The Top 10 Courtroom Drama are: To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men, Kramer vs Kramer, The Verdict, A Few Good Men, Witness for the Prosecution, Anatomy of a Murder, In Cold Blood, A Cry in the Dark and Judgment at Nuremberg.
Courtroom dramas are intense form of entertainment, which often address moral issues of right and wrong. '12 Angry Men' is the oldest movie on the list The most recent release is 'A Few Good Men.'
Director Sidney Lumet has two films on the top ten, including '12 Angry Men' and 'The Verdict.' Actress Meryl Streep stars in two of the top ten, including 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and 'A Cry in the Dark.' Actress Marlene Dietrich also stars in two of the top ten, including: 'Witness for the Prosecution' and 'Judgment at Nuremberg.'
To Kill a Mockingbird. Courtroom drama set in a small Alabama town in 1932. Stars: Gregory Peck, Frank Overton, John Megna, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White. Director Robert Mulligan. 1963.
12 Angry Men. A New York courtroom drama, in which twelve jurors deliberate in what seems like an open an shut case. Stars Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Jack Klugman, Ed Binns, Joseph Sweeney, George Voskovec, Robert Webber. Martin Balsam, John Fiedler. Director Sidney Lumet. 1957
Kramer vs. Kramer . Divorce and child custody drama. Stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry, Howard Duff. Director Robert Benton. 1979
The Verdict . An alcoholic lawyer attempts to redeem his reputation by taking on a difficult medical malpractice case. Stars: Paul Newman, Charlotte Ramplaing, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea. Director: Sidney Lumet. 1982
A Few Good Men. Legal drama with a military theme. A Navy lawyer defends two Marines accused of murdering a fellow leatherneck. Stars: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland. Director: Rob Reiner. 1992
Witness for the Prosecution. A famous London barrister returns home after a near fatal heart attack. Against the order of his doctor, the barrister is drawing into a murder case. Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester. Director, Billy Wilder. 1958
Anatomy of a Murder. After losing his bid for reelection to the office of district attorney on Iron City, Michigan. an attorney seeks solace in playing the piano and fishing. He is urged to take a case by an alcoholic lawyer. Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C. Scott, Orson Bean. Director: Otto Preminger. 1959.
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote story about the trial of the accused killers of a family brutally killed in cold blood. Stars Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsysthe, Paul Stewart, Gerald S. O'Loughlin Director: Richard Brooks. . 1967.
Cry in the Dark. A woman insists that a dingo stole her baby in the Australian outback. The public and the press crucify the parents on a daily basis. 1Stars: Meryl Streep, Sam Neill. Director Fred Schepisi. 1988
Judgment at Nuremberg. Stanley Kramer's film about a former American judge who arrives in Nuremberg to preside over the trial of several German judges accused of supporting Hitler. Stars Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schnell. Director Stanley Kramer. 1961
Resources: American Film Institute and IMDb.
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