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The Pelican Brief (1993)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
17 December 1993 (USA) moreTagline:
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. morePlot:
A law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
1 win & 2 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(15 articles)
John Grisham Options ‘The Testament’ For Film (From MTV Movies Blog. 23 June 2009, 1:00 PM, PDT)
Celebrity Birthdays: 03/12/09
(From PopStar. 12 March 2009, 10:45 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Engrossing, exasperating, enjoyably silly... moreCast
(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:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
141 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
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:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
FBI Director Denton Voyles also appeared in the John Grisham adaptation The Firm (1993), in which he was played by Steven Hill. moreGoofs:
Errors in geography: Gavin Verheek tells Darby by phone that he is staying at the Westin, by the river. Darby later tells him to take the trolley to a place called the Riverwalk. In reality, the Westin was approximately 1 block from the Riverwalk. The nearest stop to the Westin where Gavin could have caught the riverside trolley (streetcar) was at the Riverwalk. moreQuotes:
[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.
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Soundtrack:
The Morning Theme moreFAQ
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John Grisham's bestseller becomes paranoia thriller directed capably by Alan J. Pakula. "Eager beaver" Louisiana law student Julia Roberts does some home research trying to connect the backgrounds of two Washington, D.C. Supreme Court Justices who were murdered; her theories regarding the two men--who wanted them dead and why--turns out to be scarily accurate. The brief manages to get into the hands of top Presidential aides, and soon a contract is put out on her life. Shady political business is mixed with detective yarn and a (semi) love story between Roberts and stalwart newspaper journalist Denzel Washington, who is excellent. Smoothly done commercial package, well-paced and entertaining, though exceptionally far-fetched (which parlays into the enjoyment factor). Roberts pouts too much, and her first meeting with Washington (talking in a weepy whisper) is awful, but there is chemistry between the two and they help gloss over the more nonsensical parts of the script (such as a chase through a parking garage--full of cars but no witnesses--and the ridiculous, fatuous way the writers explain Roberts' seemingly unending credit and cash flow--"I have the money my father left me"). The supporting cast is filled with recognizable character actors all playing two-faced sons-of-bitches, with the minor exception of John Lithgow doing a nicely benign turn as the editor at Washington's paper. *** from ****