A Civil Action

Dec 25, 1998

1h 55m

★ 6.5

Justice has its price.

Overview

Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

Touchstone Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Wildwood Enterprises

Scott Rudin Productions

A Civil Action Trailers

Cast

Jan Schlichtmann

John Travolta

Jerome Facher

Robert Duvall

Kevin Conway

Tony Shalhoub

James Gordon

William H. Macy

Bill Crowley

Željko Ivanek

William Cheeseman

Bruce Norris

Judge Walter J. Skinner

John Lithgow

Anne Anderson

Kathleen Quinlan

Neil Jacobs

Peter Jacobson

Kathy Boyer

Mary Mara

Al Love

James Gandolfini

Pinder

Stephen Fry

A rush-hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive, under most circumstances, wouldn't set off a chain reaction that could decimate two people's lives. But on this day, at this time, a minor collision will turn two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. Their means of destroying each other might be different, but their goals, ultimately, will be the same: Each will systematically try to dismantle the other's life in a reckless effort to reclaim something he has lost.

4.9

Griffin and Phoenix

Feb 27, 1976

Griffin has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Instead of quietly facing his death, he decides to have fun in the time remaining. At a college class on death, he meets Phoenix, who has terminal leukemia.

7.2

We Shall Overcome

Mar 24, 2006

A drama about a boy who's inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and challenges repressive school authority in 1969 Denmark.

7.3

Moral

Dec 25, 1982

The episodically connected lives of four college friends unfold throughout the incipient martial law years, as they struggle to define their sexual and professional desires and how best to attain them.

10.0

O Grande Golpe

Nov 17, 2022

Rafael Yasin, a trendy bon vivant from São Paulo lives his life as an uncompromised heir and party animal since the day he was born. With the death of his father, a company to manage and bankruptcy on his feet, Rafael needs to chase maturity and get his company back.

6.2

New York Stories

Mar 10, 1989

Three tales of love, ambition, and neurosis unfold in the city that never sleeps. In "Life Lessons" (Martin Scorsese), a tormented painter channels heartbreak into his art. In "Life Without Zoë" (Francis Ford Coppola), a precocious 12-year-old navigates privilege and loneliness in a Manhattan hotel. And in "Oedipus Wrecks" (Woody Allen), a man’s domineering mother literally becomes a looming presence over New York.

6.7

Marvin's Room

Dec 18, 1996

A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow.

7.7

Philadelphia

Dec 22, 1993

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

6.6

The Skeleton Key

Jul 29, 2005

A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.

6.0

Antitrust

Jan 11, 2001

A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems.

7.4

The Strategy of the Snail

Dec 25, 1993

A group of tenants facing eviction due to a city renovation unite to fight back, but as they clash with the landlord and his ruthless attorney, they each transform into the opposite of who they once were.

0.0

A Dickens of a Christmas

Sep 25, 2025

Zara, a lawyer haunted by Christmas memories, attends a Victorian dinner where she meets Rafe, a renovator. His ghostly ancestor plays matchmaker by giving Zara a book of love stories, challenging her skepticism about romance.

7.7

12 Angry Men

Aug 17, 1997

During the trial of a man accused of his father's murder, a lone juror takes a stand against the guilty verdict handed down by the others as a result of their preconceptions and prejudices.

6.6

The Paper

Mar 18, 1994

Henry Hackett is the workaholic editor of a New York City tabloid. He loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White faces financial straits, and has hatchet-man Alicia Clark—Henry's nemesis—impose unpopular cutbacks.

5.0

Breakfast of Champions

Feb 18, 1999

A millionaire car salesman who runs the biggest dealership in Midland City, Dwayne Hoover is a celebrity, loved and trusted by everyone. Then one day, he wakes up and realizes that his life is a total mess! But between the headaches posed by his pill-popping wife, a mistress who won't leave him alone, and a cross-dressing sales manager, Dwayne has picked a bad week for a midlife crisis.

6.7

One Thing at a Time

Nov 9, 2016

A lawyer defends his childhood friend accused of killing his wife.

6.7

Rock Star

Sep 4, 2001

A wannabe rock star who fronts a Pennsylvania-based tribute band is devastated when his bandmates kick him out of the group he founded. Things begin to look up for Izzy when he is asked to join Steel Dragon, the heavy metal rockers he had been imitating for so long. This film is loosely based on the true story of the band Judas Priest.

6.7

Pollock

Sep 6, 2000

In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.

6.6

Suspect

Oct 23, 1987

When a Supreme Court judge commits suicide and his secretary is found murdered, all fingers point to Carl Anderson, a homeless veteran who's deaf and mute. But when public defender Kathleen Riley is assigned to his case, she begins to believe that Anderson may actually be innocent. Juror Eddie Sanger, a Washington lobbyist, agrees, and together the pair begins their own investigation of events.

6.0

The Star Chamber

Aug 5, 1983

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.