Product Description

A New Orleans law student finds herself embroiled in a terrifying web of intrigue extending to the highest levels of government after she writes a speculative legal brief exposing the activities of a powerful oil magnate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2688 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-06-25
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 141 minutes

Amazon.com
Another John Grisham legal thriller comes to the screen, pairing Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who is known for dark-hued suspense pictures such as Klute, The Parallax View, All the President's Men, and Presumed Innocent. The Pelican Brief isn't up to the level of those films, but it is a perfectly entertaining movie about a law student (Roberts) whose life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter (Washington) and the two become fugitives. The charisma and chemistry of the leads goes a long way toward compensating for the story's shortcomings, as does a truly impressive supporting cast that includes Sam Shepard, John Heard, James B. Sikking, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Tucci, Hume Cronyn, John Lithgow, William Atherton, and Robert Culp. --Jim Emerson

From The New Yorker
More like the Pelican Long-and-Drawn-Out: well over two hours of plots, subplots and super-subdialogue. The script is adapted from the novel by John Grisham, but not adapted enough. Two Supreme Court Justices are murdered, and Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts), a mere law student, decides that the trail leads all the way to the White House. She gets help from a journalist, played by Denzel Washington, who struggles manfully to keep her, and the movie, alive. (Only one of them survives.) The director is Alan J. Pakula, who shows his class in a couple of nervy murder sequences, but flounders through the rest of the story; it's a big comedown from the great days of "Klute" and "All the President's Men." Pale and overwrought, Julia Roberts looks worried that she may be in the wrong movie. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Yea Denzel!
Hey, I'm a big fan of Denzel's, alright? Anywho, the books are always better than the movies. This one's no difference. I can't really put a finger on Julia's character. She seemed to live in a state of perpetual fear for being killed, which is understandable. Still, there's nothing to grab onto with her. She just seemed flighty and you turned to Denzel to provide some info on what the hell was going on. He's a natural of course. I'm not being biased either. He handles his scenes with Julia wonderfully by not allowing this chick to confuse his role. The plot's not all too bad either considering it's by Grisham. It's weird that politicians would kill folks over pelicans in the swamps, but that's how it goes I guess. It's more original, I'll give it that. It ties together wonderfully.

excellent suspense intrigue film
Vey enjoyable mystery. Grabs you from the start. Excellent performances by Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. Each time you watch it you catch something you missed before. I recommend it highly.

One of the best
If you want to be entertained totally, this is the movie to watch. I loved it,