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The Pelican Brief

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6.6/10 • 1.7K

1993-09-172h 21m

Thriller

Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Directors
Alan J. Pakula
Editors
Trudy Ship

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Julia Roberts

    Julia Roberts

    Darby Shaw

  2. Denzel Washington

    Denzel Washington

    Gray Grantham

  3. Sam Shepard

    Sam Shepard

    Thomas Callahan

  4. John Heard

    John Heard

    Gavin Vereek

  5. Tony Goldwyn

    Tony Goldwyn

    Fletcher Coal

  6. James B. Sikking

    James B. Sikking

    Denton Voyles

  7. William Atherton

    William Atherton

    Bob Gminski

  8. Robert Culp

    Robert Culp

    The President

  9. Stanley Tucci

    Stanley Tucci

    Khamel

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

May 25, 2018

6/10

Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington team-up in this crime thriller RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Alan J. Pakula from John Grisham’s novel, "The Pelican Brief” is a political drama/thriller about a law student (Julia Roberts) who researches the murders of two supreme court justices and shares her theory with her college professor (Sam Shepard) who, in turn, gives it to an FBI friend on a lark. The brief hits a nerve because people start dying one-by-one. Denzel Washington plays a DC reporter who teams-up with the student while Robert Culp appears as the president. While I prefer “The Firm” (1993), which was also written by Grisham, this one is along the same lines, albeit with a totally different story (naturally). “Pelican” has more action, but the plot/characters aren’t quite as interesting IMHO. Still, if you liked one, you’ll probably appreciate the other. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 21 minutes and was shot in New Orleans and Washington DC/Maryland. ADDITIONAL CAST: John Heard plays an FBI agent, Stanley Tucci a hitman and John Lithgow an editor. GRADE: B/B-

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$45,000,000.00
Revenue
$195,268,056.00
Keywords
judgeprofessormission of murdersupreme courtlegal thrillerdramaticsuspenseful