The Celluloid Courtroom : A History of Legal Cinema
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The author looks at American courtroom films and categorizes them according to "parties to the action": client, judge, jury, lawyer. He argues that these films reveal that, despite Americans' recognition that corruption is possible within the legal system, as a population they also tend to (want to) believe that justice triumphs....[a] useful compendium of a particular film genre over the past 30 years. Extensive film collections.”–
Book Description
The genre of legal cinema is an extensive and revealing one: it is a body of films that depicts lawyers, clients, criminals, judges, and juries, often not as they actually are, but as we would like them to be. The idealized courtroom of many legal movies tells us a great deal about what we think of our justice system and what we want it to reflect about America, but the films in the genre vary widely in how they do this. From To Kill a Mockingbird to Liar, Liar, from A Time to Kill to Twelve Angry Men, we see certain stereotypes repeating themselves again and again: the judge as stern referee, the jury as an ultimately fair body of decisionmakers, the lawyer as hardworking and passionate fighter for the underdog. In this new and comprehensive study of this understudied category of film, author Ross D. Levi argues that, contrary to popular belief, legal movies show us a system that is far more fair than our actual one, with corruption downplayed and greed made subordinate to compassion and compromise. With a comprehensive filmography, penetrating analysis--both cinematic and legal--and engaging discussion of a wide array of movies, The Celluloid Courtroom is an indispensable guide to a key aspect of American movies and American justice.
The Celluloid Courtroom : A History of Legal Cinema
The Celluloid Courtroom : A History of Legal Cinema,Ross D. Levi,Praeger Publishers,0275982335,Film & Video - History & Criticism,Health & Fitness,Health/Fitness,Justice, Administration of, in,Justice, Administration of, in motion pictures,Lawyers in motion pictures,Pop Arts / Pop Culture,Reference,Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication
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