IMDb > The Pelican Brief (1993)
The Pelican Brief
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The Pelican Brief (1993) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3 NEW)
The Pelican Brief (1993) -- A law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger.
The Pelican Brief (1993) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
The Pelican Brief (1993) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   22,820 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 22% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alan J. Pakula
Writers (WGA):
John Grisham (book)
Alan J. Pakula (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Pelican Brief on IMDbPro.
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
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)

User Comments:
The Good & Bad Of The Pelican Brief more (63 total)

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
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for momentary language and some violence.
Runtime:
141 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
To research his role as reporter Gray Grantham, Denzel Washington spent time with Washington Post editors and reporters. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Darby and Gray are being chased through the parking garage, the manilla envelope and papers in her hand change position repeatedly between shots. 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
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The 24th Day (2004) more
Soundtrack:
Coach (Theme) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
22 out of 38 people found the following comment useful.
The Good & Bad Of The Pelican Brief, 18 March 2006
9/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Some of things I really appreciated from this political thriller was (1) no sappy romance taking away from the suspense and story; (2) very little profanity; (3) a number of interesting scenes that kept your attention for the full 141 minutes; (4) solid acting by the two leads, Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts; (5) nice visuals and nice sound.

What I didn't appreciate was the usual Hollywood screen versions of the John Grisham novels, which means a fair amount of Liberal agendas, some subtle, some not so subtle. The message anyone against saving wildlife like the penguins has to be either crooked or a violent thug is preposterous. Early on, we hear a TV broadcaster proclaiming that the killings of two Supreme Court justices might have been by some group that also bombed abortion clinics, ACLU offices, etc. Of course - villainous right wingers hurting good-guy left wingers - what else? Isn't that the way it's always portrayed in the movies??

Too bad that bias political propaganda is in here because most of this film is just a very good suspense film and well done at that. Washington and Roberts are both fun to watch and they are up against so many suspicious-looking characters that it's a paranoid viewer's delight. They keep you guessing who you can trust and who you can't, which is fun, and helps make the time on this movie fly past.

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The Great Flaw in this story.... psaxe-2
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The DVD sucks! bluejay8
Darby the Super Spy rspear61
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Where did Darby go to? teh-kotak
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