(Norman Jewison, US 1979, 119 min., 35mm)
Al Pacino received his fifth Academy Award nomination of the decade for his performance as a Baltimore lawyer pushed to the edge in this topical drama. The film opens with Arthur Kirkland (Pacino) in jail for contempt of court after taking a swing at Judge Henry Fleming (John Forsythe) when new evidence is not admitted in a case. Arthur is juggling defense cases, his romance with fellow lawyer Gail Packer (Christine Lahti), his partner’s (Jeffrey Tambor) cracked conscience, and his ailing grandfather (Lee Strasberg), who he doesn’t visit often enough. So when Fleming is charged with a violent rape and Arthur is pressured into defending him, his life is stretched thin and he doesn’t have time for everything as his life devolves into chaos. Jewison’s systemic exposé sets a standard for many legal procedurals to come as well as the complex tapestry of David Simon’s Baltimore.