Trailer

The Pelican Brief (1993)

PG-13   |    |  Crime, Drama, Mystery

The Pelican Brief (1993) Poster

A law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger.

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6.6/10
69,878
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50 Metascore

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  • Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • Sam Shepard in The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • Alan J. Pakula and Stephen Goldblatt in The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington in The Pelican Brief (1993)

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Awards

1 win & 2 nominations.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
10 January 2007 | Doylenf
7
| Scary political thriller works due to good script, fine performances...
JULIA ROBERTS is a damsel in distress when she writes a brief, theorizing what and who was behind the murder of two Supreme Court justices. DENZEL WASHINGTON is the investigative reporter who sees some merit in her theory and reluctantly decides to offer his help in tracking down the bad guys.

It's based on a terrific John Grisham thriller and given a well crafted script, good performances and taut direction from Alan J. Pakula. I'm not a fan of either Roherts or Washington, so for me to praise this movie shows you how suspenseful and entertaining it is as a thriller.

The overrated Julia Roberts is a huge box-office star who never once appealed to me despite her enormous popularity and Denzel Washington is a competent actor who sometimes does extra fine work--but neither one would win a popularity poll with me.

So, with that personal bias showing, I still give THE PELICAN BRIEF a respectable rating because it does what it sets out to do--it keeps you hooked until the ending after a few unexpected plot twists totally in keeping with this kind of story where the heroine is in peril because she knows too much.

Well worth a view.

Metacritic Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Did You Know?

Trivia

One of two John Grisham adaptations released in 1993. The other was, of course, The Firm, directed by Sydney Pollack. Pollack was an executive producer for Alan Pakula's previous film, Presumed Innocent.

Quotes

Justice Rosenberg: Any of those signs got my name on 'em?
Gray Grantham: Quite a few.
Justice Rosenberg: What do they say?
Gray Grantham: The usual: Death to Rosenberg, Retire Rosenberg, Cut off the oxygen.
Justice Rosenberg: That's my favorite. Of course you, Mr Grantham, did pretty good by me your last time out: Rosenberg equals the...

Goofs

When Darby flees from the scene of Thomas's murder and first enters the hotel room where she's going to hide, you can see the imprint of someone who has been sitting on the foot of the bed (presumably Julia Roberts from the previous shoot of the scene).

Soundtracks

The Creole Song
Written and Performed by Lynn August
Courtesy of Black Top Records

Storyline

Plot Summary

Genres

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Details

Release Date:

17 December 1993

Language

English

Country of Origin

USA

Filming Locations

Spanish Plaza, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$100,768,056 (USA)

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