A Time to Kill (1996)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (novel)
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

A lawyer and his assistant fighting to save a father on trial for murder. A time to question what they believe. A time to doubt what they trust. And no time for mistakes.

Plot:

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Plot Keywords:

Mississippi | Trial | African American | Law | Revenge

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Jake Tyler Brigance
Sandra Bullock	...	Ellen Roark
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Carl Lee Hailey
Kevin Spacey	...	D.A. Rufus Buckley
Oliver Platt	...	Harry Rex Vonner
Charles S. Dutton	...	Sheriff Ozzie Walls (as Charles Dutton)
Brenda Fricker	...	Ethel Twitty
Donald Sutherland	...	Lucien Wilbanks
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Freddie Lee Cobb
Patrick McGoohan	...	Judge Omar Noose
Ashley Judd	...	Carla Brigance
Tonea Stewart	...	Gwen Hailey
Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly	...	Tonya Hailey (as RaéVen Larrymore Kelly)
Darrin Mitchell	...	Skip Hailey
LaConte McGrew	...	Slim Hailey

Also Known As:

Die Jury (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Juryn (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Tempo de Matar (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Tiempo de matar (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Время убивать (Russia) [ru]
Öldürme zamani (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
A Time to Kill (Denmark) [da]
Czas zabijania (Poland) [pl]
Ha ölni kell (Hungary) [hu]
Il momento di uccidere (Italy) [it]
Le droit de tuer? (France) [fr]
Non coupable (Canada: French title) [fr]
On aika tappaa (Finland) [fi]
Tiempo de matar (A Time to Kill) (Spain) [es]
Tiempo para matar (Venezuela) [es]
Un temps pour tuer (Canada: French title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some graphic language.

Runtime:

149 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Italy:T | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Canton, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Regency Enterprises

Trivia:

Woody Harrelson wanted to play Jake Brigance, but author John Grisham objected to his casting.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the picnic at the end of the movie, we see a black youth (with a dark scarf on his head) standing in the yard gathered with other people. Immediately afterward, there's an aerial shot looking down at the picnic, and we see the same youth coming down the front porch steps.

Quotes:

Jake Tyler Brigance: I need a drink.
Lucien Wilbanks: At three o'clock in the afternoon? What would your wife think?
Jake Tyler Brigance: I'm my own man, Lucien. I drink when I want to.
Lucien Wilbanks: When did she leave town?
Jake Tyler Brigance: This morning.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Take My Hand Precious Lord

Very well done

I'm not sure why I didn't see this film when it came out, but I watched it for the first time last week and was blown away. "A time to kill" is not only very well done, but it shows the way racism is dealt with in an intertesting way. Every character is not only well developed, but the actors playing them make it totally believable.

Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson, who remain two of the finest American actors are definetly one of the best parts of the film. I'm not really sure how this film was received when it was released, but I consider it to be one of the most well done films I've seen recently.