IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE VERDICT
The Verdict

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Verdict (1982)

96%
N/A
91%
N/A
N/A
N/A
96 %
Reviews Counted: 25 Fresh: 24  Rotten:1 Average Rating: 7.8/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins

Synopsis: Sidney Lumet directs Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer whose once-promising legal career is on the skids and who gets and one last chance to prove himself in this tense courtroom drama. Frank Galvin (Newman) can't even scare up clients anymore until a colleague Mickey Morrissey (Jack... Sidney Lumet directs Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer whose once-promising legal career is on the skids and who gets and one last chance to prove himself in this tense courtroom drama. Frank Galvin (Newman) can't even scare up clients anymore until a colleague Mickey Morrissey (Jack Warden) helps him out by passing a routine malpractice case his way. Frank is just going through the motions until he meets the victim, a woman who has suffered complications during childbirth and is now reduced to a permanently comatose state. Rejecting the Catholic hospital's offer of a financial settlement, Frank decides to take the case to court, battling both for his client's rights and for his own dignity. Newman gives the finest performance of his career. James Mason is perfect as Edward J. Concannon the slimy lawyer for the defense. David Mamet provides the face-paced, honest, and suspenseful screenplay. Shot sparsely in gray tones in the cold climate of a Boston winter, the film was deservedly nominated for five Academy Awards. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Paul Newman, Jack Warden, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason, Milo O'Shea

Director: Sidney Lumet
Screenwriter: David Mamet
Producer: David Brown

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 12, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital (unspecified) - English
  • Disc 1: THE VERDICT - Theatrical Presentation

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentaries - Paul Newman - Star; Sidney Lumet - Director

Interactive Features:

  • Interactive Menus
  • Scene Selection
  • Disc 2: THE VERDICT - Supplemental Material

Additional Release Material:

  • Behind the Scenes - Making of Featurette
  • Documentaries - 1. "Paul Newman: The Craft of Acting"
  • 2. "Sidney Lumet: The Craft of Directing"

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image
4/4

Sidney Lumet directs effectively, keeping the tension strong, and unfolding David Mamet's intelligent screenplay slowly but with maximum impact.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/30/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
N/A

There are many fine performances and sensitive moral issues contained in The Verdict but somehow that isn't enough to make it the compelling film it should be.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/30/08
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3.5/5

Paul Newman goes into court a drunken bum and comes out a better man in this superb legal drama about a man finding redemption.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/30/08
Channel 4 Film
Ratings Image
N/A

Sidney Lumet's direction, like David Mamet's patchy script, may not be quite good enough to justify the Rembrandt-like cinematography of Edward Pisoni and the brooding mood of self-importance, but it's good direction nonetheless.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/30/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/15/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image
3/5

Not an action flick by any means, The Verdict is a slow burn from frame one to the end.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/09/07
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures
Ratings Image
A

A cynical and gripping courtroom drama.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/02/07
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
A-

David Mamet's script is a bit theatrical for courtroom drama, but it's Paul Newman's nuanced performance, and the direction of Lumet, who uses silences and pauses as eloquently as dialogue, that distinguish the picture.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/21/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
10/10

Newman gives a brilliant performance in this powerful David and Goliath tale of a sad man's quest for redemption in the face of despair. Newman, director Lumet and the film itself all should have won an Academy Award, but sadly didn't.

comment Comment
02/16/06
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
Ratings Image
N/A

The first courtroom drama in years to recapture the brilliance of the form.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/30/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
4/4

The performances, the dialogue and the plot all work together like a rare machine.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/27/04
David Poland
Hot Button
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/05/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
02/09/04
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Ratings Image
3/5

O.K. courtroom drama, electrified by great Newman performance

comment Comment
01/23/04
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
Ratings Image
5/5

O roteirista David Mamet provou seu talento inquestionável já em seu segundo longa-metragem – e as magníficas atuações de Newman e Mason elevaram ainda mais seu trabalho.

comment Comment
11/25/03
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/21/03
John Esther
Pasadena Weekly
Ratings Image
3/5

Overrated potboiler with preposterously innacurate courtroom scenes. But Newman is great.

comment 1 Comment
06/20/03
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/09/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.
all

News

Total Recall: RT Celebrates the Bill of Rights
posted by Tim Ryan and Jeff Giles July 02, 2008
We the people of Rotten Tomatoes, in order to make this Independence Day more perfect, do ordain and establish this...


Trailer Bulletin: Find Me Guilty
posted by Scott Weinberg March 09, 2006
Wondering what Vin Diesel's been up to lately? Well, he's been off making a fact-based courtroom flick with ......

Around the Network

• The Verdict at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Verdict at IGN
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.