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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 80666
Released: August 1, 2000 |
| Our Price: $1.85 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
He's guilty of murder. The feds have him dead to rights. At last there's no escape for this mob boss, a "Teflon Don" who has slipped free of murder raps so many times before. But something goes wrong in the jury room. Eleven jurors vote guilty. One woman, her life and family threatened by the mob, votes to let the killer walk. And to set things right, that woman will have to fight back with a vengeance.
In Trial by Jury, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer (Scarlett) plays Valerie Alston, a dutiful juror thrust into a nightmare...and forced by her plight to discover hidden resources she never suspected she had. Armand Assante (The Mambo Kings) is the gangster who vows death to Valerie and her son if she votes "guilty." William Hurt (Body Heat) as a cop turned mob lowlife and Gabriel Byrne (Point of No Return) as a zealous prosecutor add to the excitement of this fast-paced action thriller.
Trial by Jury Reviews:
Underrated Crime-Courtroom Story 
2009-06-06 - More often that not, I'll call a movie overrated, but this one, I think, is underrated. It features solid acting and a very involving story. I'm sorry there are less than 10 reviews here by 2009. I guess most people don't share my high opinion of this film.
There isn't as much violence as most modern-day crime movies and that's fine because this story doesn't need it. The profanity is also lower-than-normal. All that's missing is better cinematography.
Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Armand Assante, Gabriel Byrne and William Hurt all make this interesting and provide good performances. This is a good "date movie," too. It's tense, yet without a ton of the usual overdone violence and profanity.
"Too Much Tampering Going On!" 
2008-08-09 - Better than average performances by all the players. Kathleen Quinlin does a great job playing a part that is very far-afield from most of the parts I have seen her play. The gorefest in the park is a little unbelievable, but played well. Stuart Whitman was a sight for sore eyes as the father. Gabriel Byrne is believable and stellar as the prosecutor, very good, prosecutorial charisma, etc. I should have seen the movie when it was first released to get the full enjoyment of what were then, very elegant women's costuming. These outfits are slightly humorous in retrospect. It is still a very entertaining movie.
Life is full of surprises
2008-07-01 - Amazing what a human being can be capable of doing when driven to desperate situations. How innocense can be lost when forced to extremes. Man's inner survival and killer instinct can be tapped into when cornered in inescapable situations. The movie showed me that at a driven situation I can do things that may have never crossed my mind. I can bring forth power from within though I may be a weakling. The movie was much better than I expected, am glad I bought it. Great performances.
Horrible 
2005-07-29 - My wife and I had to shut this one off after the first 20 minutes. The characters were uninteresting, the plot slow and whew!!
Boring and badly written, no DVD extras
2004-05-01 - I should have followed my instinct to turn the movie off halfway through. The film was surprising only for its bad writing and lack of suspense (think "Movie of the Week" production of a so-so novel). Joanne Whalley, Armand Assante and Gabriel Byrne are all excellent actors who are completely wasted in these roles. The characters are throroughly uninteresting stereotypes and the finale is simply absurd.
The only redeeming quality in this mess of a film was the role played by John Hurt. He turns in a solid performance as the drunken, ex-cop on the mob payroll who can't bring himself to be the evil thug he's paid to be. However, that role alone doesn't even come close to redeeming the movie as a whole.
The DVD itself has no extras except for the movie's trailer so you're not missing anything special there. Frankly, I'd recommend 'The Juror' instead. That movie has a similar plot, and flaws of its own, but at least I didn't feel cheated when it ended.
