Thriller

Crime

Drama

The Pelican Brief

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

English

Julia Roberts

Denzel Washington

Sam Shepard

John Heard

Tony Goldwyn

James B. Sikking

William Atherton

Robert Culp

Stanley Tucci

Hume Cronyn

John Lithgow

Anthony Heald

Nicholas Woodeson

Stanley Anderson

John Finn

Cynthia Nixon

Jake Weber

Casey Biggs

Christopher Murray

Sonny Jim Gaines

Kevin Geer

Joe Chrest

Richard Bauer

Michelle O'Neill

Peter Carlin

Ralph Cosham

Terrence Currier

Edwin Newman

Helen Carey

Howard Shalwitz

Kyle Prue

Jewell Robinson

Kim Peter Kovac

Norman Aronovic

Carl Palmer

Carol Sutton

Scott M. Jefferson

Danny Kamin

Mark McLaughlin

Robert Pavlovich

Magee Hickey

Constance Yelverton

Kim Kettle

Ellie K. Wang

Franchelle Stewart Dorn

Karen Bralove

Teagle F. Bougere

Carey Varner

Sandra Quarterman

Cynthia Hood

Alan Wade

Harold Surratt

Paul Morella

Ed Johnson

Jurian Hughes

Dick Stilwell

Tom Quinn

Beverly Brigham

Eliza Coleman

Doug Coleman

Michael Port

Shanna Connell

Gene Babb

Kyle Duvall

Karl Warren

Carrie Boren

James Earl Reed

Marianne Hettinger

Shane LeCocq

Kimberley Roper

Codie Scott

William Shipman

Joe James

Saundra Quarterman

Alan J. Pakula

Pieter Jan Brugge

Stephen Goldblatt

Tom Rolf

Trudy Ship

John Grisham

Ron Bochar

Albert Wolsky

Louis Sabat

Rick Simpson

Alixe Gordin

James Sabat

Robert Guerra

Lisa Fischer

Philip Rosenberg

Celia D. Costas

Dick Mingalone

James Horner

Dianne Dreyer

Ted Churchill

Michael J. Cerone

Rick Dior

Ken Regan

John Shoemaker

Richard Portman

Donald Laventhall

Kelly Irvine

Trey Batchelor

Magdaline Volaitis

Robert Hein

Thomas Saccio

Marissa Littlefield

David M. Bernstein

John Rusk

Cheryl A. Stone

Charles Lum

Michael Wallace

Kimberly Skyrme

Shinique Smith

Patricia Serafina Madiedo

Michael R. Kern

Peter Kohn

Allison Sherman

Michael Proscia Jr.

Edward Allen

Rick Landry

Jeanmarie Murphy-Burke

Gary Huckabay

Elizabeth Sherry

Ramsay King

Foongy Lee

Michele Ortlip

Benita Hofstetter

Sallie Jones Arata

Kerry Orent

Tabby Hanson

Richard L. Blackwell

David Efron

Roy Farfel

Eric Chambers

Linda Perlin

Mick O'Rourke

Jerome Chen

Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington team-up in this crime thriller

RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Alan J. Pakula from John Grisham’s novel, "The Pelican Brief” is a political drama/thriller about a law student (Julia Roberts) who researches the murders of two supreme court justices and shares her theory with her college professor (Sam Shepard) who, in turn, gives it to an FBI friend on a lark. The brief hits a nerve because people start dying one-by-one. Denzel Washington plays a DC reporter who teams-up with the student while Robert Culp appears as the president. 

While I prefer “The Firm” (1993), which was also written by Grisham, this one is along the same lines, albeit with a totally different story (naturally). “Pelican” has more action, but the plot/characters aren’t quite as interesting IMHO. Still, if you liked one, you’ll probably appreciate the other.    

THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 21 minutes and was shot in New Orleans and Washington DC/Maryland. ADDITIONAL CAST: John Heard plays an FBI agent, Stanley Tucci a hitman and John Lithgow an editor.

GRADE: B/B-

The Pelican Brief (1993) [4K] [FTD-1426]

The Pelican Brief (1993) ORIGINAL TRAILER

The Pelican Brief - Original Theatrical Trailer

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The Pelican Brief

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

Julia Roberts

Denzel Washington

Sam Shepard

John Heard

Tony Goldwyn

James B. Sikking

William Atherton

Robert Culp

Stanley Tucci

Hume Cronyn

Box office

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