The Passion of Joan of Arc
(1928)
Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer
82·
France·
Drama, History,·
NR
Cinemaths · Exhibition Catalogue
LEGAL/COURTROOM FILMS
Courtroom dramas, legal battles, and intense arguments in the halls of justice. This list features gripping cinematic stories where truth, morality, and the law collide in dramatic ways. From classic black-and-white trial masterpieces to modern legal thrillers, these films highlight the definitive landmarks of courtroom cinema. Every entry delves into the complexities of human nature, systemic biases, and the pursuit of justice under pressure, capturing both the intellectual duel of counsel and the emotional weight carried by defendants, jurors, and judges alike.
Order —
·
·
Paths of Glory
(1957)
Dir. Stanley Kubrick
88·
USA·
War, Drama,·
NR
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
Dir. Billy Wilder
116·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, Crime,·
NR
12 Angry Men
(1957)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
97·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
A Matter of Life and Death
(1946)
Dir. Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
104·
UK·
Romance, Fantasy, Drama, Comedy,·
PG
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943)
Dir. William A. Wellman
76·
USA·
Western, Drama,·
NR
Mangrove
(2020)
Dir. Steve McQueen
127·
UK·
Drama,·
NR
Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961)
Dir. Stanley Kramer
191·
USA·
Drama, History,·
NR
JFK
(1991)
Dir. Oliver Stone
189·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, History,·
R
The Verdict
(1982)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
129·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Philadelphia
(1993)
Dir. Jonathan Demme
126·
USA·
Drama,·
PG-13
Dark Waters
(2019)
Dir. Todd Haynes
127·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
PG-13
The Insider
(1999)
Dir. Michael Mann
158·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
R
My Cousin Vinny
(1992)
Dir. Jonathan Lynn
120·
USA·
Comedy, Drama,·
R
Court
(2015)
Dir. Chaitanya Tamhane
116·
India·
Drama,·
NR
The Trial of the Chicago 7
(2020)
Dir. Aaron Sorkin
130·
USA·
Drama, History,·
R
The Life of David Gale
(2003)
Dir. Alan Parker
130·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, Crime,·
R
10 Rillington Place
(1971)
Dir. Richard Fleischer
106·
UK·
Crime, Thriller,·
PG
The People vs. Larry Flynt
(1996)
Dir. Miloš Forman
130·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Bridge of Spies
(2015)
Dir. Steven Spielberg
141·
USA·
Thriller, Drama,·
PG-13
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
(1988)
Dir. Robert Altman
122·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie,·
NR
Young Mr. Lincoln
(1939)
Dir. John Ford
100·
USA·
Drama, History,·
NR
...And Justice for All
(1979)
Dir. Norman Jewison
119·
USA·
Drama,·
R
A Cry in the Dark
(1988)
Dir. Fred Schepisi
120·
Australia·
Drama,·
PG-13
A Soldier's Story
(1984)
Dir. Norman Jewison
101·
USA·
Mystery, Crime, Drama,·
PG
Argentina, 1985
(2022)
Dir. Santiago Mitre
141·
Argentina·
Drama, History, Crime,·
R
Kramer vs. Kramer
(1979)
Dir. Robert Benton
105·
USA·
Drama,·
PG
Inherit the Wind
(1960)
Dir. Stanley Kramer
128·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
A Civil Action
(1998)
Dir. Steven Zaillian
115·
USA·
Drama,·
PG-13
Music Box
(1989)
Dir. Costa-Gavras
124·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, Mystery,·
PG-13
You Don't Know Jack
(2010)
Dir. Barry Levinson
134·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie, History,·
PG-13
The Rainmaker
(1997)
Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
135·
USA·
Drama, Crime, Thriller,·
PG-13
A Few Good Men
(1992)
Dir. Rob Reiner
138·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Compulsion
(1959)
Dir. Richard Fleischer
103·
USA·
Crime, Drama, History, Thriller,·
NR
Find Me Guilty
(2006)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
125·
USA·
Comedy, Crime, Drama,·
R
Anatomy of a Murder
(1959)
Dir. Otto Preminger
161·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Mystery,·
NR
Anatomy of a Fall
(2023)
Dir. Justine Triet
151·
France·
Thriller, Mystery, Crime,·
R
Legally Blonde
(2001)
Dir. Robert Luketic
96·
USA·
Comedy, Romance,·
PG-13
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
Dir. Robert Mulligan
129·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
Changing Lanes
(2002)
Dir. Roger Michell
98·
USA·
Thriller, Drama,·
R
Miracle on 34th Street
(1947)
Dir. George Seaton
96·
USA·
Comedy, Drama, Family,·
G
The Judgement
(2021)
Dir. Sander Burger
130·
Netherlands·
Drama, Thriller,·
NR
Primal Fear
(1996)
Dir. Gregory Hoblit
129·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller,·
R
Guilty as Sin
(1993)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
107·
USA·
Thriller, Drama,·
R
Juror #2
(2024)
Dir. Clint Eastwood
114·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
PG-13
Erin Brockovich
(2000)
Dir. Steven Soderbergh
131·
USA·
Drama,·
R
American Violet
(2009)
Dir. Tim Disney
103·
USA·
Drama,·
PG-13
The Talk of the Town
(1942)
Dir. George Stevens
118·
USA·
Comedy, Drama, Romance,·
NR
I Want to Live!
(1958)
Dir. Robert Wise
120·
USA·
Drama, Crime,·
NR
Libel
(1959)
Dir. Anthony Asquith
100·
UK·
Drama, Mystery, Thriller,·
NR
Intolerable Cruelty
(2003)
Dir. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
100·
USA·
Comedy, Romance, Crime,·
PG-13
The Firm
(1993)
Dir. Sydney Pollack
154·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, Thriller,·
R
The Burial
(2023)
Dir. Margaret Betts
126·
USA·
Drama, History,·
R
Night Falls on Manhattan
(1997)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
113·
USA·
Drama, Crime, Thriller,·
R
Indictment: The McMartin Trial
(1995)
Dir. Mick Jackson
135·
USA·
TV Movie, Drama,·
R
Time Limit
(1957)
Dir. Karl Malden
97·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, War,·
NR
The Judge
(2014)
Dir. David Dobkin
141·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Reversal of Fortune
(1990)
Dir. Barbet Schroeder
111·
USA·
Drama,·
R
The Devil's Advocate
(1997)
Dir. Taylor Hackford
144·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, Horror,·
R
The Client
(1994)
Dir. Joel Schumacher
119·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery,·
PG-13
Denial
(2016)
Dir. Mick Jackson
109·
UK·
Drama, History,·
PG-13
Recount
(2008)
Dir. Jay Roach
116·
USA·
Drama, History, TV Movie,·
NR
Runaway Jury
(2003)
Dir. Gary Fleder
127·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
PG-13
True Believer
(1989)
Dir. Joseph Ruben
105·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
The Lincoln Lawyer
(2011)
Dir. Brad Furman
119·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
R
In the Name of the Father
(1993)
Dir. Jim Sheridan
133·
Ireland·
Drama,·
R
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
(2023)
Dir. William Friedkin
109·
USA·
Drama, War,·
PG-13
Boomerang!
(1947)
Dir. Elia Kazan
88·
USA·
Drama, Mystery,·
NR
The Pelican Brief
(1993)
Dir. Alan J. Pakula
141·
USA·
Thriller, Crime, Drama,·
PG-13
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
(1956)
Dir. Fritz Lang
80·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
NR
I Confess
(1953)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
95·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, Crime,·
NR
Nothing But the Truth
(2008)
Dir. Rod Lurie
108·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
R
Inherit the Wind
(1999)
Dir. Daniel Petrie
113·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie,·
PG
A Man for All Seasons
(1966)
Dir. Fred Zinnemann
120·
UK·
Drama, History,·
G
A Time to Kill
(1996)
Dir. Joel Schumacher
149·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
R
Presumed Innocent
(1990)
Dir. Alan J. Pakula
127·
USA·
Mystery, Crime, Thriller,·
R
12 Angry Men
(1997)
Dir. William Friedkin
117·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie,·
PG-13
Just Mercy
(2019)
Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
137·
USA·
Drama, Crime, History,·
PG-13
Class Action
(1991)
Dir. Michael Apted
105·
USA·
Drama, Crime, History,·
R
The Gingerbread Man
(1998)
Dir. Robert Altman
114·
USA·
Thriller,·
R
Murder in the First
(1995)
Dir. Marc Rocco
122·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
Worth
(2021)
Dir. Sara Colangelo
118·
USA·
History, Drama,·
PG-13
Fracture
(2007)
Dir. Gregory Hoblit
113·
USA·
Thriller,·
R
Conviction
(2010)
Dir. Tony Goldwyn
107·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
(1997)
Dir. Clint Eastwood
155·
USA·
Mystery, Crime, Drama,·
R
Hart's War
(2002)
Dir. Gregory Hoblit
125·
USA·
Drama, War,·
R
Call Northside 777
(1948)
Dir. Henry Hathaway
111·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
NR
The Onion Field
(1979)
Dir. Harold Becker
122·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
Blood Oath
(1990)
Dir. Stephen Wallace
108·
Australia·
Drama, War,·
R
Breaker Morant
(1980)
Dir. Bruce Beresford
107·
Australia·
Drama, History, War,·
PG
Law Abiding Citizen
(2009)
Dir. F. Gary Gray
109·
USA·
Drama, Crime, Thriller,·
R
The Caine Mutiny
(1954)
Dir. Edward Dmytryk
124·
USA·
Drama, War,·
NR
Legal Action
(2018)
Dir. Brent Christy
97·
USA·
Action, Western,·
NR
Phil Spector
(2013)
Dir. David Mamet
92·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie,·
R
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
(2019)
Dir. Joe Berlinger
111·
USA·
Drama, Crime,·
R
Amistad
(1997)
Dir. Steven Spielberg
155·
USA·
Drama, History, Mystery,·
R
The Accused
(1988)
Dir. Jonathan Kaplan
111·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
Vendetta
(1999)
Dir. Nicholas Meyer
117·
USA·
Drama, TV Movie, History,·
NR
The Mauritanian
(2021)
Dir. Kevin Macdonald
129·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
R
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
(2017)
Dir. Dan Gilroy
122·
USA·
Drama, Crime, Thriller,·
PG-13
Nuremberg
(2000)
Dir. Yves Simoneau
182·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
High Crimes
(2002)
Dir. Carl Franklin
115·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime,·
PG-13
The Young Philadelphians
(1959)
Dir. Vincent Sherman
136·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
(2003)
Dir. Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
95·
USA·
Comedy, Romance,·
PG-13
Jagged Edge
(1985)
Dir. Richard Marquand
108·
USA·
Thriller,·
R
On the Basis of Sex
(2018)
Dir. Mimi Leder
120·
USA·
Drama, History,·
PG-13
Let Him Have It
(1991)
Dir. Peter Medak
115·
UK·
Drama,·
R
The Client
(2011)
Dir. Sohn Young-sung
123·
South Korea·
Drama, Thriller,·
NR
The Crucible
(1996)
Dir. Nicholas Hytner
123·
USA·
Drama, History,·
PG-13
Madame X
(1966)
Dir. David Lowell Rich
100·
USA·
Drama, Crime,·
NR
Crown Heights
(2017)
Dir. Matt Ruskin
96·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Suspect
(1987)
Dir. Peter Yates
121·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
R
Trial by Fire
(2019)
Dir. Edward Zwick
127·
USA·
Drama, Crime,·
R
Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama
(2022)
Dir. Oonaugh Kearney
90·
UK·
Drama, TV Movie,·
NR
Custody
(2017)
Dir. James Lapine
104·
USA·
Drama,·
R
The Correspondent
(2025)
Dir. Kriv Stenders
119·
Australia·
Drama, Thriller,·
NR
The Paradine Case
(1947)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
114·
USA·
Drama, Mystery, Romance,·
NR
Adam's Rib
(1949)
Dir. George Cukor
100·
USA·
Comedy, Drama, Romance,·
NR
Saint Omer
(2022)
Dir. Alice Diop
123·
France·
Drama, Crime,·
PG-13
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
(1994)
Dir. Harry Moses
95·
USA·
TV Movie, Thriller, Drama,·
NR
Judge Priest
(1934)
Dir. John Ford
80·
USA·
Comedy, Drama, Romance,·
NR
Ghosts of Mississippi
(1996)
Dir. Rob Reiner
130·
USA·
Drama, History,·
PG-13
Sleepers
(1996)
Dir. Barry Levinson
147·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
R
McBride: Tune in for Murder
(2005)
Dir. Stephen Bridgewater
88·
USA·
Mystery, Crime, Drama,·
NR
Monster
(2021)
Dir. Anthony Mandler
98·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
The Chamber
(1996)
Dir. James Foley
113·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
R
Fury
(1936)
Dir. Fritz Lang
92·
USA·
Crime, Drama,·
NR
The Young Savages
(1961)
Dir. John Frankenheimer
103·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
NR
Hesitation Wound
(2024)
Dir. Selman Nacar
84·
Turkey·
Drama,·
NR
Devil's Knot
(2013)
Dir. Atom Egoyan
114·
USA·
Crime, Drama, Thriller,·
NR
Trial
(1955)
Dir. Mark Robson
105·
USA·
Drama,·
NR
I Am Sam
(2002)
Dir. Jessie Nelson
132·
USA·
Drama,·
PG-13
The Sweet Hereafter
(1997)
Dir. Atom Egoyan
112·
Canada·
Drama,·
R
Losing Isaiah
(1995)
Dir. Stephen Gyllenhaal
106·
USA·
Drama,·
R
Rules of Engagement
(2000)
Dir. William Friedkin
128·
USA·
War, Drama,·
R
The Whole Truth
(2016)
Dir. Courtney Hunt
93·
USA·
Drama, Thriller,·
R
American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
(2021)
Dir. Michael Polish
107·
USA·
History, Drama,·
R
Jury Duty
(1995)
Dir. John Fortenberry
88·
USA·
Comedy, Drama,·
PG-13
Defenseless
(1991)
Dir. Martin Campbell
104·
USA·
Thriller, Mystery,·
R
A Fall From Grace
(2020)
Dir. Tyler Perry
120·
USA·
Drama, Thriller, Mystery,·
NR
The Trial
(2010)
Dir. Gary Wheeler
100·
USA·
Comedy, Drama, Romance,·
PG-13
Mistrial
(1996)
Dir. Heywood Gould
89·
USA·
Thriller, Drama, Action, TV Movie,·
R
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
(2009)
Dir. Peter Hyams
105·
USA·
Thriller,·
PG-13