AFI's 10 greatest courtroom dramas
The top 3 according to 413 votes from people: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) · 12 Angry Men (1957) · Witness for the Prosecution (1957). (Updated Oct 26, 2020.)
The courtroom drama category of the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 (2008).
Top 10
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1
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Number one: Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.
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2
12 Angry Men (1957)
One juror against eleven in a single room.
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3
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Billy Wilder adapts Agatha Christie's twist.
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4
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep fight for custody.
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5
The Verdict (1982)
Paul Newman as a washed-up lawyer with one last case.
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6
A Few Good Men (1992)
Tom Cruise against Jack Nicholson in a military court.
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7
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Stanley Kramer and the trials of Nazi judges.
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8
A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo case.
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9
In Cold Blood (1967)
Richard Brooks adapts Truman Capote's true crime book.
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10
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Otto Preminger and James Stewart, with a Duke Ellington score.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (30)
In Cold Blood isn't even really a courtroom movie.
Judgment at Nuremberg is long but essential viewing.
Witness for the Prosecution has the best twist ending of the 50s.
Inherit the Wind should be here, the Scopes trial!
Agreed, Spencer Tracy and Fredric March were incredible.
Anatomy of a Murder was shocking for 1959, the language they used in court.
A Cry in the Dark, the dingo case, Meryl's accent was perfect.
The Verdict, Paul Newman's best performance.
These ten are all worth watching, great list.
Anatomy of a Fall would make this list today.
To Kill a Mockingbird at #1, Atticus Finch is the moral compass of American film.
I'm a lawyer and Mockingbird is why I went to law school.
Same, but then real law turned out to be paperwork 😂
Primal Fear, Edward Norton's debut, is missing for me.
This is a list for lawyers' movie night ⚖️
AFI lists are always so old-fashioned, nothing after 1992.
The list was made in 2008, there just weren't many great ones in between.
Where is Philadelphia? Or Erin Brockovich? Or My Cousin Vinny?!
My Cousin Vinny is used in actual law schools to teach cross-examination 😂
That's true, real lawyers love it.
Kramer vs. Kramer as a courtroom drama? It's a family drama with one hearing.
The custody hearing is the emotional core of the whole film.
A Few Good Men is fun, but it's not top 5 material. Nicholson's speech carries it.
Strongly disagree, the dialogue is Sorkin at his sharpest.
Sharp, sure, but it's a crowd-pleaser, not a great film.
Gregory Peck won the Oscar for Atticus, deserved.
Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men, calm and unstoppable.
12 Angry Men should be #1, it's the purest courtroom drama ever made and it barely leaves one room.
Technically it's a jury room drama, there's almost no courtroom 😅
That's the genius of it, the trial happens in their arguments.