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... And Justice for All. (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (4th August 2025). |
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The Film
 Al Pacino (The Godfather), Jack Warden (Shampoo), and John Forsythe (The Trouble with Harry) lead the ensemble cast of ... And Justice for All, a brutal indictment of the American legal system from director Norman Jewison (A Soldier’s Story). Firebrand defence attorney Arthur Kirkland (Pacino) finds that the demands of his job are at odds with his conscience. When he is forced to defend a judge (Forsythe) who is accused of a terrible crime, he plunges into a moral crisis. Written by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and Valerie Curtin, and with acting support from Lee Strasberg (The Godfather Part II) and Jeffrey Tambor (The Larry Sanders Show), ... And Justice for All is a riveting and powerful exploration of hypocrisy and injustice.
Video
Uneven legal drama wants to be both absurd and realistic with a pretty miserable, cynical centre at its core but there are moments where the writing is coming off as zany (cue most scenes involving Jack Warden, especially the helicopter bit). Americans were never too subtle with their satire and the fact this script was nominated for an Oscar is a bit of a joke really as in vacillates between these two extremes and uses a sledgehammer to make its points. I suppose that is the point, but it makes for a very bumpy, unsatisfying ride. It's all very watchable though even of the romance at the core (Pacino-Lahti) is utter bollocks; she's on a committee investigating corruption in the Baltimore legal system and she jumps into bed with Pacino, who she's just had in for the committee to interview. It's a weak script and a weak film, despite the nomination. From the booklet: ... And Justice for All was sourced from Sony’s HD remaster. The film’s original mono soundtrack was remastered at the same time.The seventies was the decade where everything really changed in American movies with, initially at least amore realistic, European approach being taken with such films as Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail (1973), Klute (1971) et all. This ment a more naturalistic, less glossy approach to cinematography. That said, at the same time Hollywood also continued the trend for glossy escapism with the likes of The Towering Inferno (1974), Jaws (1975), King Kong (1976) and Star Wars (1977). ... And Justice for All falls into the former camp in terms of its visual approach; a grittier, more naturalistic film even if it's script has a certain heightened, blackly comic edge. It's inner city, courthouse settings look lived it and the colour palette sticks generally to browns, grays, blacks etc. Flesh tones are ruddy but vary more according to the natural tones of each actor. Black levels also have some built in, low-light crush in some of the more dimly lit moments and contrast but detail is exceptional despite some natural grainy texture and softness in the 35mm sourced image, specially during opticals. It's exceptionally filmic and the opposite of glossy as a result, an approach I like about cinema at the time that would soon start to be ironed out through the '80s and by the '90s would be all but gone. The source used by Sony is flawless with no signs of damage and the restoration and encoding process has ensured no digital tools are evident, it looks like the film was shot yesterday only in 1979; as good a transfer of this kind of material as I can recall seeing ('A+'). 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 1.85:1 / 119:06
Audio
English LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) Subtitles: English HoH By the time ... And Justice for All was in production Dolby Stereo had been on the table for several years but it hadn't become ubiquitous yet, not even for big action / SPFX blockbusters (see Conan the Barbarian from 1981, released in 1982 for instance) and within a few years films like this would start to adopt it more frequently. But, a major, big budget blackly comic drama was still making do with mono. But, mono at this point was pretty refined. This is a dialogue heavy film and it's well served by this track, albeit with a limited range and depth. There's no distortion, no tinniness beyond the usual mild analogue hiss and it all sounds nicely balanced. Hard of hearing subtitles are very comprehensive, communicating all the nuance of the dialogue ('A-').
Extras
Audio commentary by director Normal Jewison (2001) Audio commentary by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson (2025) Two yaktraks, one vintage with the director who discuses the film in detail with plenty of firsthand trivia on the making of the film from it's conception, through production to release and from a reflective standpoint. There are brief moments of silence as he watches what's on screen but nothing too long. It might have been better to have a moderator to bounce stuff off Jewison but this track dates from early in the DVD format's existence. The second track is far more dense and academic in its approach as two experienced film historians and journalists take a more analytical approach to the film, it's tonal shifts, the cast, crew, themes, the treatment of the trans character in the script etc. Both are presented in lossy English Dolby Digital with the Jewison track in 2.0 mono and the newer one 1.0 bith being 48kHz, 192Kbps. Neither have any subtitle options. "The Guardian Interview with Barry Levinson: Conducted by Adrian Wootton at The National Film Theatre, London, on 7 September 2000" 2000 audio interview that plays as an alternate audio track over the film (65:58) One of the more recent Guardian screen talks which was done to accompany the a preview of his then latest film, Liberty Heights (1999). It covers his career from the beginning in standup, working with Craig T. nelson and Marty Feldman (in the UK) and how he became involved in television and then film - including with Mel Brooks - right up to Liberty Heights. He's an engaging interview subject and gives us plenty of detail and trivia. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 192Kbps "Norman Jewison: The Testimony of a Director" 2008 interview (12:13) "Barry Levinson: The Cross-Examining of the Screenwriter" 2008 interview (6:55) Both re vintage legacy extras. Jewison (1926-2024) discusses that he approached the film like a stage play, how he cast Lahti, Lee Strasberg, Pacino, the script by Levinson and actress Valerie Curtin, balancing the serious with the funny etc. I don't think he got the balance right personally. Levinson discusses how the script came to be based on lawyer friends anecdotes from his career and from the Baltimore legal system. Both are presented in upscaled 1080p 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 192kbps) with no subtitle options. Deleted Scenes (each is preceded by 15-20 seconds of someone loading each one up on a moviola) (Play All - 10:50): - Fleming's Office (2:48) - Jay Sharpens Pencil (2:06) - Thanksgiving Basketball Game (3:49) - Jeff in Hospital (2:22) A collection of deleted scenes all preceded by a weird gimmick framing device mentioned above. They're all in upscaled 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps) with no subtitle options. Each shows signs of age-related wear and tear, none are essential, all are interesting. Theatrical Trailer (2:27) "Trailers from Hell with David Zeiger: ... And Justice for All" 2025 featurette (2:43) The first is a vintage promo presented in 1080p24 1.85:1 with uncompressed English LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) with no subtitle options. The second is one of those wonderful little featurettes from Joe Dante's Trailers from Hell website in which luminaries from the industry champion films they find interesting or admire. Here we have writer-producer-director Zeiger. He champions the film stating that the film presents it's stories taken from reality and that it has aged well having not been terribly well received on first release. ... And Justice for All Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (102 images) A whopping HD still gallery with 102 images! 36-page liner notes booklet with a new essay by Sergio Angelini, archival interviews with Al Pacino, Barry Levinson, and Norman Jewison, and full film credits Another excellent hardcopy tone that proves to be - at least to me - more interesting that the uneven film it discusses.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
A very uneven American legal satire-cum-drama that vaccinates from deadly serious and grim to zany in its attempt to tell us how corrupt the American legal system is. It didn't really work for me despite excellent performances but your milage may vary. I age and sound are excellent and the extras are very good bringing together plenty of new and old material. Highly recommended for those who are interested ('A-').
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