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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 10459
Released: February 1, 2005 |
| Our Price: $4.41 |
| Used Price: $3.84 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Taut and emotionally powerful, Michael Apted's compelling showdown courtroom drama is driven by characters as intriguing as its predicament. The only thing Jedediah Tucker Ward and his daughter have in common is law. Equally brilliant, equally driven, t
Class Action Reviews:
Class Action 
2009-12-19 - If you like trial movies you will like this. Gene Hackman plays the part well.
Excellent movie 
2009-12-13 - This is a really well done movie - not great perhaps, but very good. The plot is realistic, actors are top notch and the story moves at a nice pace. It is one of those movies that you catch something new and different every time you watch it. Highly recommend.
Well-acted but sappy unrealistic ending
2009-09-27 - This is a very good film, but it is fatally flawed from a realism standpoint. The gimmick of this film, of course, is the notion that opposing lead counsel on two sides of a huge civil litigation case would ever pit father against daughter. No client would stand for it, and this film shows why they should not. The ending is unrealistic, and while it may comport with Hollywood's notion of justice and doing the right thing, any lawyer has to be aghast as to this conclusion.
The sappy family angle in this film detracted from what could have been a better film. What saves this one from a three-star rating is the first rate portrayal of courtroom tactics and the discovery battles between the law firms. Both are startlingly accurate (in total contrast with the ending--no spoilers here) and I enjoyed this part of the film immensely. RJB.
A great movie to watch over and over and over
2009-05-01 - I had this movie on tape and wore it out. I was so happy to see that it was available on DVD.
It has some really GREAT acting, has some funny and sad moments and a really great ending.
Superb Courtroom Thriller
2009-02-28 - There are no murders or car chases in CLASS ACTION (1991), directed by Michael Apted, but this is certainly one of the best courtroom dramas that I've ever seen.
The key characters, played by Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, are not only father and daughter, but they are also opposing counsel in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against an automobile manufacturer. Gene has a small law firm that has a sterling reputation for winning "David and Goliath" litigations, and Mary Elizabeth works for a major San Francisco law firm that doesn't always play by the rules.
Father and daughter don't really get along, primarily because she resents that fact that he used to cheat on her mother. Mom has long ago forgiven her husband, but when she dies suddenly, there is no longer anybody to intercede between the two. Then, Mary Elizabeth's bosses start cheating during the trial, destroying documents to which Hackman's side is entitled, and she must decide which side she is really on.
Hackman and Mastrantonio are superb.
© Michael B. Druxman
