The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Murder in the First
Crime · Drama · 1995
A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend an inmate accused of committing murder while behind bars.
Movie details
Murder in the First
“The trial that brought down Alcatraz.”
1995 Crime · Drama 2h 2m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend an inmate accused of committing murder while behind bars.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Murder in the First?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Cool Hand Luke
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When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
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A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Birdman of Alcatraz
Drama · 1962
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.
Marshall
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Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, battles through one of his career-defining cases.
The Life of David Gale
Drama · 2003
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Sleepers
Crime · 1996
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
A Time to Kill
Crime · 1996
A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
Point Blank
Crime · 1967
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
Sleeping Dogs
Mystery · 2024
Roy Freeman, an ex-homicide detective with a fractured memory, is forced to revisit a case he can't remember. As a man's life hangs in the balance on death row, Freeman must piece together the brutal evidence from a decade-old murder investigation, uncovering a sinister web of buried secrets and betrayals linking to his past. With only instincts to trust, he faces a chilling truth - sometimes, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Marc Rocco
Written by
Dan Gordon
Christian Slater
James Stamphill
Kevin Bacon
Henri Young
Gary Oldman
Associate Milton Glenn
Embeth Davidtz
Mary McCasslin
William H. Macy
Bill McNeill
Stephen Tobolowsky
Mr. Henkin
Brad Dourif
Byron Stamphill
Court is in session
Put Murder in the First on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.