A Civil Action

Director: Steven Zaillian Steven Zaillian

Overview

"A Civil Action legislates onto single-layered DVD with a widescreen letterbox picture format (1.85:1) and the following audio options: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), with closed captioning also included. Special features include a ""making of"" documentary/featurette and the usual original theatrical trailers. The picture is extraordinarily clear and detailed, with natural flesh tones and precise shading. Sound is powerfully enhanced with 1.LFE but has a distracting bass hum throughout the film that muffles the dialog and the music."

Product Details

Release Date:	07/13/1999
UPC:	0717951001917
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	16,069

Special Features

Closed Caption;Widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio; Dolby Digital 5.1 audio; French-language track; Production featurette; Theatrical trailer; Chapter search

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Travolta	Jan Schlichtmann,Grace Attorney
Robert Duvall	Jerome Facher
Stephen Fry	Pinder,Waiter
James Gandolfini	Al Love
Dan Hedaya	John Riley
Zeljko Ivanek	Bill Crowley
John Lithgow	Judge Walter J. Skinner
William H. Macy	James Gordon
Kathleen Quinlan	Anne Anderson
Tony Shalhoub	Kevin Conway
Bruce Norris	William Cheeseman
Sydney Pollack	Al Eustis
Mary Mara	Kathy Boyer
David Thornton	Richard Aufiero
Ned Eisenberg	Uncle Pete
Peter Jacobson	Neil Jacobs
Margot Rose	Donna Robbins
Daniel Von Bargen	Mr. Granger
Caroline Carrigan	Evelyn Love
Paul Desmond	Shalline
Michael P. Byrne	Barbas,Actor
Tracy Miller	Grace Worker
Paul Hewitt	Grace Worker
Clayton Landey	Grace Worker
Paul Ben-Victor	Pasqueriella
Elizabeth Burnette	Lauren Aufiero
Alan Wilder	Insurance Lawyer
Gregg Joseph Monk	Insurance Lawyer
Harout Beshlian	Insurance Lawyer
Josh Pais	Law Clerk
Haskell Vaughn Anderson III	Courtroom No. 7 Clerk
Kaiulani Lee	Mrs. Granger
Howie Carr	Radio Talk Show Host
Denise Dowse	Judge,Actor
Pearline Fergerson	Court Clerk
Scott Weintraub	PI Lawyers
Robert Cicchini	PI Lawyers
Christopher Stevenson	Insurance Plaintiff
Brian Turk	Mover
Rikki Klieman	T.V. Reporter
David Barrett	Teenager on Property
Ryan Janis	Teenager on Property
Rob McElhenney	Teenager on Property
Mike Biase	Market Clerk
Richard Calnan	Woburn Traffic Cop
Gene Wolande	Hotel Clerk
Gregg Shawzin	Reporter
Juli Donald	Reporter,Actor
Sayda Alan	Reporter
Catherine Leahan	Reporter
Bruce Holman	Federal Marshall
Charles Levin	Geologist
Byron Jennings	Geologist
Jay Patterson	Geologist
Charlie Stavola	Detective
Taylor Bernard	Actor
John Lafayette	Actor
Kathy Bates	Judge (uncredited)
Haskell V. Anderson	Actor
Danny Elfman	Composer

Technical Credits

Steven Zaillian

Steven Zaillian	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Rachel Pfeffer	Producer
Robert Redford	Producer
Scott Rudin	Producer
Guy Clayton	Special Effects
Avy Kaufman	Casting
Mark Riccardi	Stunts
David Wisnievitz	Executive Producer
Mario Roberts	Stunts
David MacMillan	Sound/Sound Designer
Steve Zaillain	Director
Larry Kemp	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A respectable adaptation of a rather stuffy story, Steven Zaillian's account of a man who fought the law and the law won is never a bulls-eye, but has too many solid components to be written off as a misfire. Chief among them are John Travolta, sharp and nuanced as the head counsel, and especially Robert Duvall, who gives every scene he's in real bite. The storytelling is muddled at times, and the pacing is sometimes too lethargic, but Zaillian knows his way around the territory, and Conrad L. Hall's expert cinematography gives the film an elegant feel, especially for what is basically a highly-appointed courtroom drama. Perhaps its best attribute is that it is essentially a story about defeat rather than blind triumph, unusual for this genre to say the least. Even when it falls into legal clichés, the film has a ring of truth, and compared with the thematically similar Julia Roberts starrer Erin Brockovich, it succeeds as a real-life chronicle because it retains a core of integrity, instead of succumbing to the status of star vehicle like Steven Soderbergh's 2000 release.