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Movies / On DVD / A Civil Action
A Civil Action

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A Civil Action (1998)

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79 %
Tomatometer

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Reviews Counted: 48

Fresh: 38

Rotten:10

Average Rating: 7/10

Consensus: Intelligent and unconventional.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have... Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have suffered the tragic losses of their children to the rare cancer known as leukemia. After having their claim rejected by most law firms in town, these citizens approach Schlichtmann with the possibility that the deaths of their children may have had to do with Woburn's drinking water supply being contaminated by a couple of local businesses. The rub lies in the fact that these businesses are offshoots of two of the most powerful national corporations in the country! Schlichtmann must push his skill and craftiness as a lawyer to the limit in order to oust his opponents, who are working with a limitless bankroll. Based on the great fact-based novel. [More]

Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Stephen Fry, James Gandolfini

Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Stephen Fry, James Gandolfini, Dan Hedaya, Zeljko Ivanek, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, Tony Shalhoub, Sydney Pollack, Mary Mara, David Thornton, Ned Eisenberg, Paul Ben-Victor, Daniel Von Bargen, Margot Rose, Michael Byrne, Tracy Miller, Paul Hewitt, Clayton Landey, Alan Wilder, Josh Pais, Haskell V. Anderson, Kaiulani Lee, Denise Y. Dowse, Robert Cicchini, Kevin Fry, Brian Turk, David Barrett, Ryan Janis, Gene Wolande, Juli Donald, John Lafayette, Charles Levin, Jay Patterson

Director: Steven Zaillian

Director: Steven Zaillian
Story: Jonathan Harr
Producer: Robert Redford, Rachel Pfeffer, Scott Rudin
Composer: Danny Elfman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 13, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Single Side - Single Layer
  • Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Surround - French

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurette
  • Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer

Interactive Features:

  • Scene Access
  • Interactive Menus

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Reviews for A Civil Action

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

The movie becomes one more David-and-Goliath morality play.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/30/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Based on a true story, this is an intelligent legal thriller, very much in the mode of 1970s issue-oriented films, that may be too subtle and complex for the damands of today's market.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/01/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Ratings Image

the film is slightly overlong and the ending is anti-cathartic.

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/28/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

... hints at the complex moral issues that vein the story.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
02/05/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

A legal drama that doesn't follow the usual Hollywood-John Grisham formula.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
07/06/04
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Ratings Image

neatly avoids slipping into melodrama, and despite plenty of niggling minor faults along the way the movie finally succeeds. With a more comfortably cast lead actor it could have been even more powerful.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
07/31/03
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
N/R

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Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
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Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
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Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
Netflix
N/R

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Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/21/02
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit
Ratings Image

Just when it seemed the courtroom drama was suffering a fatal case of John Grisham, A Civil Action" rescues the genre.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
07/02/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
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Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Globe and Mail
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