Barry Newman goes from the driver to The Lawyer in Sidney J. Furie’s underseen courtroom thriller. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
I still remember in the 90s you could count on at least three to four really well-made courtroom thrillers to come out every year. Primal Fear, A Time to Kill, A Few Good Men, Just Cause, The People vs. Larry Flint, and on and on and on… So, when I began to watch Sidney J. Furie’s The Lawyer imagine my delight in discovering that it’s the kind of courtroom melodrama/potboiler. Though the film was made in the 1970s, it fits so snuggly within the 90s era of the genre and more modern courtroom melodramas (see recent Academy Award Winning Sensation Anatomy of a Fall).
What Furie gets right is the setup before the case even begins. By Barry Newman’s Harvard Educated Italian American Tony Petrocelli battling against so much and so many – you can’t help but love the guy. Armed with smarts, a want to defend the little guy, and an acidic tongue Petrocelli is a working-class guy with an Ivy League education. One that runs around in his beat-to-crap truck looking for that next case.
So, when Petrocelli says he’ll defend Dr. Jack Harrison (Robert Colbert) who’s been accused of murdering his wife we know that he’s on the right side. The odds are always stacked against the defense attorney but somehow manages to find a way to beat them. Here is where Furie’s script shines as it’s not some deus ex machina but smarts that accomplish this. At every turn as a director and writer Furie is making smart choices. Even when he changes to flashbacks there isn’t some watery dissolve but rather just a simple cut. He understands an audience is as smart as he is and doesn’t need these kinds of indicators.
It helps the cast is uniformly excellent here led by Barry Newman’s stellar star-making performance at Tony Petrocelli. The work is so good that Newman would star in a TV series as the lawyer called simply Petrocelli (which Kino Lorber ABSOLUTELY needs to release now). Though Newman’s work would mean nothing unless his co-stars were up to the task. They are and then some. Diana Muldaur, Robert Colbert, Booth Colman, Mary Wilcox, and Ken Swofford all do uniformly excellent work as does the rest of the supporting cast. Both Muldaur and Wilcox as the two primary female leads are especially good. Wilcox having to shift her persona in multiple flashback scenes is great which should have led to more work.
The Lawyer manages to surprise in the best way possible with twists and turns even if someone knows the details of the real-life case it was based on. That winning combination of an excellent twisty potboiler narrative and crackling good character work melds this film into a truly wonderful entertaining experience. One that could end up being a new favorite discovery as it did for this review.
The Transfer
This 2021 HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another winner from KL and Paramount. The image is sharp, crisp, and colorful in a way that many 1970s aren’t. The subtle contrast levels and black detail – which thankfully doesn’t crush the blacks in any way. One will be shocked at how great it looks on Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer and Film Director Paul Lynch, with Archival Excerpts from Director Sidney J. Furie
Newman’s Law: Interview with Star Barry Newman
Lawyers’ Wives and Lost Loves: Interview with Actress Diana Muldaur
Theatrical Trailers
The Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer and Film Director Paul Lynch, with Archival Excerpts from Director Sidney J. Furie. The track opens with Kremer introducing Lynch and their relationship with Furie – and Kremer’s book about Furie. Some of the other details include how Furie is/was extremely private; how Lynch after much todo was able to meet Furie – which is a truly great lively story; setting the context for where this comes in Furie’s career – and why he cast Barry Newman; Lynch discussion about directing one of the television episodes of Petrocelli; the story behind the reasons why actor Brad Dexter turned into Sinatra’s producer – including a bigger story of Furie directing Sinatra; Furie’s own comments on how he approaches writing the script and using the script during the production; a larger discussion of Furie’s much varied work leading up to The Lawyer – including his work in Musicals; a larger discussion about the directorial and visual style of Furie and how he creates it for each film – including some great anecdotes from various productions including a Marlon Brando story; Furie discussing his own self-reflection of his career, reviewers, and reviews upon release and how he dealt with criticism; Furie discussing why he makes films – which isn’t fame or fortune; how this film is very different because this was shot flat (1.85) and not true widescreen (2.39) – and how this effected the style of the film; a side discussion about the techniscope process which Furie used for many of his films; the influence of William Wyler on Furie as a director; the casting of Barry Newman; casting what if’s including Al Pacino; the difficulty in shooting a court room and how Furie approached it, including the way that the director did single takes without notice – and a side discussion of other directors that took on the challenge; and much more. Kremer and Kino have created a fascinating commentary track that is both archival and new with the editing in Furie in excerpt interview segments. Though the Furie comments are edited together artfully giving us a truly informative track.
Newman’s Law: An Anthony J. Petrocelli Deposition with Star Barry Newman (21:35) – in this archival interview the star discusses his meeting with Furie and how he was eventually cast in the lead role. Some of the details include working with Furie and producer Brad Dexter – who was known for leaving Frank Sinatra to work with Furie and his production company; Paramount at the time and the war between Robert Evans and Stanley Jaffe – how that affected the film; Furie being inspired by F. Lee Bailey for Petrocelli – and his first and only time meeting Bailey; working with Furie and how they built the character together; working on the production itself and how easy it was to work with Furie as a director – including some great personal anecdotes; the release of the film; the work on the TV series; and much more.
Lawyers’ Wives and Lost Loves: Interview with Actress Diana Muldaur (10:57) – this is actually two interviews with the actress. One from 2013 where she discusses working with director Furie for Daniel Kremmer’s book Sidney J. Furie done via phone. The second is an on-set interview with the actress on Furie’s feature Finding Hannah. Some of the details include how she was working on a Star Trek episode when she was asked to read for Furie on the same lot; how working with Furie during The Lawyer; how she hadn’t seen the film but did so in 2013; and much more. The second portion does add a trailer for the film Finding Hannah and adds some context to the film and the years between The Lawyer.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Lawyer (0:41); The Seduction of Joe Tynan (2:11); Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1:51); Hardcore (1:22); The Ipcress File (3:07); The Appaloosa (2:44)
The Final Thought
The Lawyer is a great courtroom thriller waiting to be discovered by a new audience. Kino Lorber has furnished the film with wonderful extras along with excellent picture and sound. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
Barry Newman goes from the driver to The Lawyer in Sidney J. Furie’s underseen courtroom thriller. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
I still remember in the 90s you could count on at least three to four really well-made courtroom thrillers to come out every year. Primal Fear, A Time to Kill, A Few Good Men, Just Cause, The People vs. Larry Flint, and on and on and on… So, when I began to watch Sidney J. Furie’s The Lawyer imagine my delight in discovering that it’s the kind of courtroom melodrama/potboiler. Though the film was made in the 1970s, it fits so snuggly within the 90s era of the genre and more modern courtroom melodramas (see recent Academy Award Winning Sensation Anatomy of a Fall).
What Furie gets right is the setup before the case even begins. By Barry Newman’s Harvard Educated Italian American Tony Petrocelli battling against so much and so many – you can’t help but love the guy. Armed with smarts, a want to defend the little guy, and an acidic tongue Petrocelli is a working-class guy with an Ivy League education. One that runs around in his beat-to-crap truck looking for that next case.
So, when Petrocelli says he’ll defend Dr. Jack Harrison (Robert Colbert) who’s been accused of murdering his wife we know that he’s on the right side. The odds are always stacked against the defense attorney but somehow manages to find a way to beat them. Here is where Furie’s script shines as it’s not some deus ex machina but smarts that accomplish this. At every turn as a director and writer Furie is making smart choices. Even when he changes to flashbacks there isn’t some watery dissolve but rather just a simple cut. He understands an audience is as smart as he is and doesn’t need these kinds of indicators.
It helps the cast is uniformly excellent here led by Barry Newman’s stellar star-making performance at Tony Petrocelli. The work is so good that Newman would star in a TV series as the lawyer called simply Petrocelli (which Kino Lorber ABSOLUTELY needs to release now). Though Newman’s work would mean nothing unless his co-stars were up to the task. They are and then some. Diana Muldaur, Robert Colbert, Booth Colman, Mary Wilcox, and Ken Swofford all do uniformly excellent work as does the rest of the supporting cast. Both Muldaur and Wilcox as the two primary female leads are especially good. Wilcox having to shift her persona in multiple flashback scenes is great which should have led to more work.
The Lawyer manages to surprise in the best way possible with twists and turns even if someone knows the details of the real-life case it was based on. That winning combination of an excellent twisty potboiler narrative and crackling good character work melds this film into a truly wonderful entertaining experience. One that could end up being a new favorite discovery as it did for this review.
The Transfer
This 2021 HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another winner from KL and Paramount. The image is sharp, crisp, and colorful in a way that many 1970s aren’t. The subtle contrast levels and black detail – which thankfully doesn’t crush the blacks in any way. One will be shocked at how great it looks on Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
The Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer and Film Director Paul Lynch, with Archival Excerpts from Director Sidney J. Furie. The track opens with Kremer introducing Lynch and their relationship with Furie – and Kremer’s book about Furie. Some of the other details include how Furie is/was extremely private; how Lynch after much todo was able to meet Furie – which is a truly great lively story; setting the context for where this comes in Furie’s career – and why he cast Barry Newman; Lynch discussion about directing one of the television episodes of Petrocelli; the story behind the reasons why actor Brad Dexter turned into Sinatra’s producer – including a bigger story of Furie directing Sinatra; Furie’s own comments on how he approaches writing the script and using the script during the production; a larger discussion of Furie’s much varied work leading up to The Lawyer – including his work in Musicals; a larger discussion about the directorial and visual style of Furie and how he creates it for each film – including some great anecdotes from various productions including a Marlon Brando story; Furie discussing his own self-reflection of his career, reviewers, and reviews upon release and how he dealt with criticism; Furie discussing why he makes films – which isn’t fame or fortune; how this film is very different because this was shot flat (1.85) and not true widescreen (2.39) – and how this effected the style of the film; a side discussion about the techniscope process which Furie used for many of his films; the influence of William Wyler on Furie as a director; the casting of Barry Newman; casting what if’s including Al Pacino; the difficulty in shooting a court room and how Furie approached it, including the way that the director did single takes without notice – and a side discussion of other directors that took on the challenge; and much more. Kremer and Kino have created a fascinating commentary track that is both archival and new with the editing in Furie in excerpt interview segments. Though the Furie comments are edited together artfully giving us a truly informative track.
Newman’s Law: An Anthony J. Petrocelli Deposition with Star Barry Newman (21:35) – in this archival interview the star discusses his meeting with Furie and how he was eventually cast in the lead role. Some of the details include working with Furie and producer Brad Dexter – who was known for leaving Frank Sinatra to work with Furie and his production company; Paramount at the time and the war between Robert Evans and Stanley Jaffe – how that affected the film; Furie being inspired by F. Lee Bailey for Petrocelli – and his first and only time meeting Bailey; working with Furie and how they built the character together; working on the production itself and how easy it was to work with Furie as a director – including some great personal anecdotes; the release of the film; the work on the TV series; and much more.
Lawyers’ Wives and Lost Loves: Interview with Actress Diana Muldaur (10:57) – this is actually two interviews with the actress. One from 2013 where she discusses working with director Furie for Daniel Kremmer’s book Sidney J. Furie done via phone. The second is an on-set interview with the actress on Furie’s feature Finding Hannah. Some of the details include how she was working on a Star Trek episode when she was asked to read for Furie on the same lot; how working with Furie during The Lawyer; how she hadn’t seen the film but did so in 2013; and much more. The second portion does add a trailer for the film Finding Hannah and adds some context to the film and the years between The Lawyer.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Lawyer (0:41); The Seduction of Joe Tynan (2:11); Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1:51); Hardcore (1:22); The Ipcress File (3:07); The Appaloosa (2:44)
The Final Thought
The Lawyer is a great courtroom thriller waiting to be discovered by a new audience. Kino Lorber has furnished the film with wonderful extras along with excellent picture and sound. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of The Lawyer is out now.
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