IMDb >
The Pelican Brief (1993)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsThe Pelican Brief (1993) More at IMDbPro »
| Videos (see all 3) |
|
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
17 December 1993 (USA)
more
Tagline:
Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead. more
Plot:
A law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win
&
2 nominations
more
NewsDesk:
(18 articles)
2009 Gotham Awards Announce Career Tributes
(From MovieWeb. 23 September 2009, 11:40 AM, PDT)
Joel McHale and Dan Harmon Join the Community
(From MovieWeb. 15 September 2009, 11:40 AM, PDT)
(From MovieWeb. 23 September 2009, 11:40 AM, PDT)
Joel McHale and Dan Harmon Join the Community
(From MovieWeb. 15 September 2009, 11:40 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Hitchcock would have been pleased
more (63 total)
US TV Schedule:
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Julia Roberts | ... | Darby Shaw |
 | Denzel Washington | ... | Gray Grantham |
 | Sam Shepard | ... | Thomas Callahan |
 | John Heard | ... | Gavin Vereek |
 | Tony Goldwyn | ... | Fletcher Coal |
 | James Sikking | ... | FBI Director Denton Voyles (as James B. Sikking) |
 | William Atherton | ... | Bob Gminski |
| Robert Culp | ... | President |
 | Stanley Tucci | ... | Khamel |
 | Hume Cronyn | ... | Justice Rosenberg |
 | John Lithgow | ... | Smith Keen |
 | Anthony Heald | ... | Marty Velmano |
| Nicholas Woodeson | ... | Stump |
 | Stanley Anderson | ... | Edwin Sneller |
 | John Finn | ... | Matthew Barr |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for momentary language and some violence.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
141 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
New Zealand:PG (DVD rating) |
Canada:AA (Ontario) |
South Korea:12 (DVD rating) |
South Korea:15 |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (Manitoba) |
France:U |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:M |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-12 |
Germany:12 |
Iceland:12 |
Ireland:PG (DVD rating) |
Netherlands:12 |
Norway:15 |
Spain:13 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:12 |
USA:PG-13 (certificate #32829) |
Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
FBI Director Denton Voyles also appeared in the John Grisham adaptation The Firm (1993), in which he was played by Steven Hill.
more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the movie Jake Weber played a character named "Curtis Morgan". In the rolling credits at the end of the movie they show him playing "Charles Morgan". While Darby Shaw was interviewing Edward Linney in the hospital, Linney said his name was: "Morgan, yep Morgan, his first name is something like Charles, but that's not it." About sixty seconds later Shaw approaches the information desk at White & Blazevich and announces a five o'clock appointment with Curtis Morgan. The attorney that responds to the appointment calls him Curtis Morgan twice before explaining that he died from a mugging. When Shaw requests to have the lock box at Riggs Bank opened she is asked "Who rented this box?" And she replies "My husband, Curtis D. Morgan." The movie has complete continuity with the name Curtis instead of Charles.
more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Justice Rosenberg: Any of those signs got my name on 'em?
Gray Grantham: Quite a few.
Justice Rosenberg: What do they say?
Gray Grantham: The usual: Death to Rosenberg, Retire Rosenberg, Cut off the oxygen.
Justice Rosenberg: [laughs] That's my favorite. Of course you, Mr Grantham, did pretty good by me your last time out: Rosenberg equals the government over business, the individual over government, the environment over everything. And the Indians? Oh, give 'em whatever they want.
Gray Grantham: Well with all due respects sir, that wasn't my line, that was a quote.
Justice Rosenberg: From one of your unnamed senior White House officials; senior White House son of a bitch I should have said, who got in there by stirring up these people, one against the other. It never fails to amaze me what a man will do to get into the Oval Office.
more
Justice Rosenberg: Any of those signs got my name on 'em?
Gray Grantham: Quite a few.
Justice Rosenberg: What do they say?
Gray Grantham: The usual: Death to Rosenberg, Retire Rosenberg, Cut off the oxygen.
Justice Rosenberg: [laughs] That's my favorite. Of course you, Mr Grantham, did pretty good by me your last time out: Rosenberg equals the government over business, the individual over government, the environment over everything. And the Indians? Oh, give 'em whatever they want.
Gray Grantham: Well with all due respects sir, that wasn't my line, that was a quote.
Justice Rosenberg: From one of your unnamed senior White House officials; senior White House son of a bitch I should have said, who got in there by stirring up these people, one against the other. It never fails to amaze me what a man will do to get into the Oval Office.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "30 Rock: Cutbacks (#3.17)" (2009)
more
Soundtrack:
Coach (Theme)
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (63 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Pelican Brief (1993) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Strangers on a Train | Fury | The Fugitive | JFK | The Client |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
You gotta love Alan Pakula. His Pelican Brief is true to the source material but manages to complement it with artfulness learned from Hitchcock and the events portrayed in All The President's Men (also directed by Pakula).
The result is a thriller which never has to resort to the hackneyed or the obvious. Even the chase scene in a car park manages to be a little different.
He has casted brilliantly (perhaps Fletcher Coal should have been older?) but his masterstroke is commisioning James Horner to provide the score. At times sparse and at others boldly chromatic it jangles the nerves as Julia and Denzel duck and weave their way through a maze of unease.
A great way to spend two hours.