| | | Justice has its price.
Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), French, Dubbed
A compelling legal thriller based on the best-selling book. John Travolta (Phenomenon) stars as Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious personal-injury attorney whose fierce determination entangles him in a case that threatens to destroy him. Oscar®-winner Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies) is Travolta's adversary in this real-life story of an epic courtroom showdown. Nominated for two Academy Awards®.
DVD Features:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
French Language Track
Production Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Chapter Search
1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
"The best film of the year!" CNN
"The best legal thriller ever!" USA Today
"A gripping film!" The New York Times
Editor's Note
Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have suffered the tragic losses of their children to the rare cancer known as leukemia. After having their claim rejected by most law firms in town, these citizens approach Schlichtmann with the possibility that the deaths of their children may have had to do with Woburn's drinking water supply being contaminated by a couple of local businesses. The rub lies in the fact that these businesses are offshoots of two of the most powerful national corporations in the country! Schlichtmann must push his skill and craftiness as a lawyer to the limit in order to oust his opponents, who are working with a limitless bankroll. Based on the great fact-based novel.
| Features | French Language Track | | Chapter Search | | Theatrical Trailer | | Interactive Menus | | English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital | | Widescreen Version | | Scene Access | | Production Featurette |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 3/4/2003 |
| Running Time: 115 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1998 | | Catalog ID: 16790 | | UPC: 00717951001917 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1999) | | | Conrad L. Hall, Nominee, Best Cinematography | | | Robert Duvall, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...A CIVIL ACTION is a whale of a tale about justice gone wrong..." 01/21/1999 p.84Sight and Sound
"...A CIVIL ACTION has a lightness of touch uncharacteristic of the genre..." 03/??/1999 p.39-40 USA Today
"...The case itself remains a grabber..." 12/24/1998 p.4D New York Times
"...[A] gripping, expertly acted film....It tells a finely nuanced tale of right, wrong and the gray area in between..." 12/25/1998 p.E1 Box Office
"...Elegantly stylized and crisply edited, the film also features a host of fine performances....[With] excellent work from composer Danny Elfman..." 02/01/1999 p.58 Chicago Sun-Times
"...A CIVIL ACTION is like John Grisham for grownups....[The film is] about the gulf between skill and justice..." 01/18/1999 p.28 San Francisco Chronicle 0 of 10
A Civil Action is about a case involving a leukemia cluster in a small town. Kids are getting sick and dying, and the residents hire a hotshot lawyer to represent them against a pair of giant corporations that have turned the town's drinking water into a carcinogenic punch bowl. That might sound like the premise for a tight legal thriller, but A Civil Action is based on a real-life case, and real-life cases aren't tidy. In place of the tension, climax and easy resolution of the old Perry Mason show, A Civil Action offers murkiness, bitter successes and frustration. Earnest documentaries on PBS specialize in those kinds of tales, but somehow writer-director Steven Zaillian finds a pulse here. He makes A Civil Action into a character study. It becomes a moral journey that happens to be set against a legal background. - Mick LaSalle
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| Customer Reviews | ![]() | | Cinematography |  5 | | Plot | 5 | | Acting |  4.5 | | Overall Satisfaction | 5 |
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5 of 5 RAVE REVIEWS FROM A COOL GUY Saturday, October 02, 1999
jake_sheppard from MN
this movie was super Was this review helpful?  
5 of 5 Great Movie Sunday, August 15, 1999
Marek_JM from Putnam, CT
Unlike mister detroit, i find that this movie has great acting, and a very strong plot. Was this review helpful?
5 of 5 Well done Wednesday, July 21, 1999
U2Hanks from Fullerton, CA
This movie is terrific. It is so engrossing, real(because it is), and grimy that it makes taking a shower after viewing it a necessity. The acting is as good as John Travolta gets (your own opinion here) but William H. Macy (where's his Academy Award) Robert Duvall...really, what do need to say? Both terrific. It's a great movie that you should watch for the editing and very interesting way this story is told. I wish it had more extras. Enjoy. Was this review helpful?
5 of 5 A Civil Action gets and A Thursday, July 15, 1999
scottdenny from Runnemede,New Jersey
When I first went to see A Civil Action,I thought I would be sitting through another courtroom drama,but this movie moves along well and has a great plot,and keeps the real story(which this is a real story) intact.John Travolta does a fine job,while keeping himself away from Dancing,Talking Babies, and Action Adventure. Was this review helpful?
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