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- Objectives:
- The objective of this endeavor is to assess our “movie”
collection in order to determine what we actually have and then
potentially recommend development of a collection of movies with
law related themes.
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- A Movie by any other name –
Definitions:
- The PCL has over 300 “movies” if we define “movie”
to be anything in VHS tape format. We could also include anything
we have in DVD format under that definition.
- For purposes of this endeavor I define “movie” to
be one which is a commercial narrative film, specifically films
about lawyers and the law. It is not one which has been created
here at Wake such as our “An Interview With…”
tapes made of visiting guests as they speak to students in the boardroom,
and it is not an educational video such as the Bob Berring Legal
Research tapes or any of the other tapes we have on subjects such
as trial practice.
- Examples of movies under this definition are “Gideon’s
Trumpet” or “Inherit The Wind” or “My Cousin
Vinny”.
- Based on my definition, the PCL has 21 movies out of some 318
videotapes as of December, 2004.
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- Major Collections:
- There are two outstanding law related movie collections in law
school libraries which serve as the gold standard for the rest of
us. These are the collections at Stetson’s Law Library and
the Univ. of Texas Tarlton Library collection. The collection at
Stetson has 473 movies and the Tarlton collection numbers over 600.
- Another collection of note is at Southwestern Law Library (in
Los Angeles) with over 360 films
- Southern Illinois Law Library also has over 500 law movies
- http://www.law.siu.edu/lawlib/
- Click to open their Law Library Catalog drop down box >
Click on Law Related Motion Pictures under Specialized Searches.
- It is interesting to note that UCLA’s Law Library has over
1500 films although not all are law, this is of course where Asimow
and Bergman teach (Reel Justice authors).
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- Lists:
- Reel Justice - Michael Asimow and Paul Bergman,
both of whom are professors at UCLA’s law school have written
a book specifically dealing with law related movies called Reel
Justice. We have the book.
- The book’s website is:
- The movies reviewed in the book can be found at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/bios/asimow/book/movlist.htm
- The book was published in 1996 and hasn’t been updated
per se although Michael Asimow is one of the editors and authors
of movie reviews for Picturing Justice – The On-Line Journal
of Law & Popular Culture found at
- One of the best features of the book is the series of indexes.
- The main index is by title.
- The authors provide an index by Number of Gavels where more
is always better.
- 4 gavel movies include, Anatomy of a Murder, Twelve Angry
Men and My Cousin Vinny.
- Adam’s Rib is listed with 3 gavels.
- The Accused gets 2 gavels.
- ....And Justice For All is among the 1 gavel movies.
- We might consider starting our collection based in part on
the number of gavels criteria.
- The last index is by subject such as:
- Attorney’s – Malpractice
- Constitutional Law – Freedom of Speech and libel
actions
- Evidence – Circumstantial Evidence
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- More Lists:
- Paul J. Mastrangelo’s Filmographies in Legal Reference
Services Quarterly
- http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/mastrangelo1.htm
(1983)
- Lawyers and the Law: A Television Filmography, Legal
Reference Services Quarterly, Winter 1983 (v. 3 no.4), at
31-72
- http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/mastrangelo2.htm
(1985)
- Lawyers and the Law: A Television Filmography II, Legal
Reference Services Quarterly, Winter 1985/86 (v.5 no.4),
at 5-42
- Lawyers and the Law: A Television Filmography, Legal Reference
Services Quarterly, v. 8, nos. 3/4 1988, at 135-78
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- Other Resources:
- Audiovisual Materials On Professional Responsibility, by Roger
C. Cramton reviews about 70 films. We have the book.
- Prof. James Elkins course on Lawyers and Film website (course
taught at West Virginia law school).
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- Initial Recommnedations for Purchase
- Based on Reel Justice Number of Gavels (4 gavels)
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Breaker Morant
- Caine Mutiny, The
- Fury
- Inherit the Wind
- Judgement at Nuremburg
- Libel
- Life of Emile Zola, The
- Man For All Seasons, A
- My Cousin Vinny (we have)
- To Kill A Mockingbird (we have)
- Twelve Angry Men
- Witness for the Prosecution
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- Initial Recommnedations for Purchase
- Based on Reel Justice Number of Gavels (3 gavels)
- Adam's Rib
- Advocate, The
- Bananas
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
- Billy Budd
- Boomerang
- Compulsion (we have)
- Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, The
- Cry in the Dark, A
- Devil and Daniel Webster, A
- Few Good Men, A
- I Want to Live
- In the Name of the Father
- Knock On Any Door
- Kramer v. Kramer
- Let Him Have It
- Letter, The
- Losing Isaiah
- M (we have)
- Miracle On 34th Street
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- Nuts
- Onion Field, The
- Ox-Bow Incident, The
- Paths of Glory
- Place In The Sun, A
- Presumed Innocent
- Prisoners of the Sun
- 10 Rillington Place
- Thin Blue Line, The (we have)
- They Won't Believe Me
- They Won't Forget
- Trial (MGM 1955)
- Trial By Jury (Morgan Creek 1994)
- Whose Life Is It anyway?
- Wrong Man, The
- Young Mr. Lincoln
- Young Philadelphians, The
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- PCL Movies as of 12/04
- Antigone
- Antigone Rites of Passion
- L'Argent
- Bach In Auschwitz
- Compulsion
- Das Boot
- David
- First Part of King Henry the fourth
- Gideon's Trumpet
- Jacob The Liar
- Jagged Edge
- M
- My Cousin Vinny
- Philadelphia
- Primal Fear
- Richard II
- Second part of King Henry the fourth
- Summertime
- Sweet Hereafter, The
- Thin Blue Line, The
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Verdict, The
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- Collection Status
- As of 12/10/04 we have purchased
- All the movies on the 3 and 4 gavel list plus:
- Body Heat
- Paper Chase
- Legally Blonde One
- Legally Blonde Two
- Desk Set
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