This two disc set from Warner Brothers includes a couple of box office smash-hits, each based on a novel by writer John Grisham and featuring an incredible cast. These are the same blu-ray discs that are available for sale individually. Here they are securely packaged in a two-hubbed case, and offered at a discounted price. Each film offers a stunning blu-ray transfer, and includes its original theatrical trailer as an "extra" feature."The Pelican Brief" (1993) stars Julia Roberts as a law student whose research pertaining to the motive behind the assassination of two Supreme Court justices gets her in big, big trouble with some very powerful and very mercenary white collar villains. Denzel Washington plays the newspaper reporter she enlists to assist her in exposing the cover-up, and the film brilliantly shifts back and forth between their growing friendship, and the mounting danger that surrounds their investigation. Adapted and directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film co-stars Sam Shepherd, John Heard, Tony Goldwyn, James B. Sikking, William Atherton, Hume Cronyn and John Lithgow, all of whom turn in effective performances. Stanley Tucci is a standout as an assassin with many disguises, and Robert Culp makes the most of his scenes as bland and compromised POTUS who soon finds out he is not untouchable. Look fast for Cynthia Nixon (Miranda on "Sex and the City") as Roberts' "plain Jane" college friend.
"A Time to Kill" (1996) made a star out of Matthew McConaughey, here playing a struggling young lawyer in the South who is called on to defend a poor black man who has shot in cold blood the two trashy white men who raped and tortured his 10 year old daughter. Samuel L. Jackson is brilliant as the defendant, and Sandra Bullock turns in a strong supporting performance as the sexy, confident, and sometimes flippant, young law student who convinces McConaughey to let her join the defense team. Kevin Spacey gives a deliciously smarmy performance as the lead prosecutor, and Donald Sutherland shines as McConaughey's former mentor, a dissipated, alcoholic former lawyer. Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Brenda Fricker, and Patrick McGoohan also contribute excellent work. Joel Schumacher directs.
Both films are taut, well-crafted, slick and enjoyable legal thrillers that hold up well after repeated viewings. Each has star power to spare. This is a highly recommended double feature.
(Trivia note: Anthony Heald, who played the pompous administrator that Anthony Hopkins decided to have for dinner at the end of "The Silence of the Lambs", has a smaller but comparable role in each of these two films. What a great character actor!)
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