Additions to the Law in Film Collection

Pace Law Library maintains its own Law in Film Collection. It is located on the third level of the library; titles starting with A-L are located behind the reference desk and titles starting with M-Z are located in the cell phone lounge. Pace Law Library patrons with borrowing privileges may check these movies out for up to 5 days at no charge. Come over and find your pick.

The following are the most recent additions to our growing Law in Film Collection

Civil War Themed:

  • Shenandoah (War Film by Universal Pictures; written by James Lee Barrrett, directed by Andrew W. McLaglen, and produced by Robert Arthur) [PN1997.2 .S535 2003 DVD] – A Virginia farmer during the Civil War refuses to support either the Confederacy or the Union until his son is taken prisoner and, seeing the horrors of war first-hand, he is forced at last to take his stand.
  • The General (Joseph M. Schenck presents; written and directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman; adapted by Al Boasberg and Charles Smith) [PN1995.75 G46 2011 DVD] – Comedy based on the Civil War hijacking of the Confederate supply train The General by union spy, Captain Anderson and his men.
  • The Red Badge of Courage (screenplay by John Huston; adapted by Albert Band, directed by John Huston, and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt) [PN1997.2 .R43 2003 DVD] – Classic story from the American Civil War, about a raw farm boy who, in 1862, as a recruit in the Union Army, loses his courage in the heat of battle, then regains it in a bitter conflict the following day.
  • Gettysburg (produced by Robert Katz, Moctesuma Esparza; directed and screenplay by Ronald F. Maxwell) [PN1997 G477 2000 DVD] –  Depicts the famous Civil War battle which was the turning point of the war.
  • The Last Days of the Civil War (2 disc compilation; A & E Television Networks; the History Channel) [PN1997.2 .L37 2003 DVD] – Explores the dynamics, people and events that characterized the end of the Civil War era.
  • The Great Locomotive Chase (written and produced by Lawrence Edward Watkin; directed by Francis Lyon) [PN1997.2 .G6883 2004 DVD] – It is the story of the Andrews’ Raid, an incredible plot to cripple the railroad system of the Confederacy and break the back of the Civil War. 

Abraham Lincoln Inspired:

  • Abraham Lincoln (produced by Greystone Communications, Inc. for A & E Network; produced by Martin Gillam) [PN1992.77 .A27 2008 DVD] – Describes the life of the sixteenth president of the United States, from the rough and rustic childhood that forged his beliefs to the tough political campaign that won him the presidency.
  • The Conspirator (produced by Robert Redford et al.; written by James Solomon; directed by Robert Redford) [PN1997.2 .C6676 2011 DVD] –  In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President and others. Against the ominous backdrop of post-Civil War Washington, war hero Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) reluctantly agrees to defend the lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), before a military tribunal.
  • The Killing of Mary Surratt (directed, edited, produced and story by Chris King) [PN1997.2 .K552 2009 DVD] – Boardinghouse owner Mary Surratt was one of four Southern sympathizers who was tried, convicted and executed for conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln. Believed by many to have been innocent, she was nevertheless doomed to be the first woman executed by the federal government.
  • The Day Lincoln was Shot (teleplay by Tim Metcalfe and John Gray; produced by Thomas Kane; directed by John Gray) [PN1992.77 .D39 2011] – April 14, 1865. Minute by minute, killer and victim edge closer to the event at Ford’s Theatre that stopped Lincoln’s heart, and shattered the country’s soul.

New Documentaries and Docudramas:

  • Out of Ashes (2 discs; written, produced and directed by Marilyn Berger; co-director, Sarah Holt) [HV6432.7 .B47 2011 DVD] – A documentary featuring the inspiring story of seven 9/11 families and how they struggled to put back together the shattered American Dream.
  • Pursuit of Equality (a film by Geoff Callan & Mike Shaw; directed by Geoff Callan & Mike Shaw; produced by Geoff Callan) [HQ1034.U6 P87 2007 DVD] – A documentary about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s issuance of same-sex marriage licenses in 2001 and the social and legal ramifications that unfolded.
  • The Times of Harvey Milk (2 discs; a film by Robert Epstein and Richard Schmiechen; produced by Richard Schmiechen; directed by Robert Epstein) [F869.S353 M549 2011 DVD] – This documentary examines the political life of the self-proclaimed “Mayor Of Castro Street,” N.Y. stockbroker turned San Francisco activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to public office in California.
  • The Last Mountain (directed by Bill Haney; written by Bill Haney & Peter Rhodes; produced by Clara Bingham, Eric Grunebaum & Bill Haney) [TD195.C58 L37 2011 DVD] – The fight for the last great mountain in America’s Appalachian heartland pits the mining giant that wants to explode it to extract the coal within, against the community fighting to preserve the mountain and build a wind farm on its ridges instead.
  • Page One (produced & written by Kate Novack & Andrew Rossi; directed by Andrew Rossi) [PN4899.N42 N3765 2011 DVD] – Gain unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as the main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, see the media industry transform at its time of greatest turmoil.
  • Hot Coffee (HBO documentary; produced by Carly Hugo, Alan Oxman, Susan Saladoff; directed by Susan Saladoff) [KF1250 .H68 2011 DVD] – Analyzes and discuses so called “frivolous law suits” and the impact of tort reform on the United States judicial system. Discusses several cases and relates each to tort reform in the U.S.
  • Prohibition (written by Geoffrey C. Ward; produced by Sarah Botstein, Lynn Novick and Ken Burns; directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick) [HV5089 .P964 2011 DVD] – This videodisc explores the extraordinary story of what happens when a freedom-loving nation outlaws the sale of intoxicating liquor, and the disastrous unintended consequences that follow.
  • Salesman (a film by the Maysles Brothers and Charlotte Zwerin) [PN1997.2 .S25 2001 DVD] – A documentary that captures in detail the bygone era of the door-to-door salesman.

Fiction and Legal Dramas:

  • Crime after Crime (a film by Yoav Potash) [HV9475.C2 .P68 2011] – In 1983, Deborah Peagler, a woman brutally abused by her boyfriend, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for her connection to his murder. Twenty years later, California passed a law allowing incarcerated domestic violence survivors to reopen their cases. This documentary follows two attorneys who take Debbie’s case.
  • People Against O’Hara (screenplay by John Monks, Jr.; directed by John Sturges; produced by William H. Wright) [PN1997.2 .P467 2011 DVD] – James Curtayne was once a brilliant defense attorney, saving scores from prison-time and death row. He now practices civil law. But when John O’Hara, a kid from the neighborhood, gets hauled up on Murder One, he allows himself to get cajoled into returning to his former vocation. It’s a mistake. The DA runs circles around the alcohol addled attorney and O’Hara now faces execution.
  • The Good Wife (the first and second seasons) [PN1997.2 .G66 2010 DVD] – Follows a politician’s wife who pursues her own career as a defense attorney after her politician husband is sent to jail on charges of corruption.
  • A Passage to India (a David Lean film; producers, John Brabourne, Richard Goodwin; screenplay and directed by David Lean) [PN1997 .P365 2000 DVD] – While on a trip in 1928 to visit her son, Mrs. Moore, accompanied by her son’s fiancee, is appalled at the treatment of the Indians by the ruling British government. Later, they befriend a native Indian who, over-stepping the accepted norms of his culture, invites the two ladies on an excursion.
  • The Talk of the Town (produced and directed by George Stevens) [PN1997.2 .T35 2003 DVD] – A fugitive, falsely accused of murder, is aided by a schoolteacher and a Supreme Court nominee.
  • The Paradine Case (David O. Selznick; adaptation by Alma Reville; treatment in consultation with James Bridie; photographed by Lee Garmes; screenplay by the producer David O. Selznick; directed by Alfred Hitchcock) [PN1997.2 .P375 2008 DVD] – Beautiful Anna Paradine is accused of poisoning her older wealthy husband. Her barrister, the happily married Anthony Keane takes the case but also lets his heart rule his head when he falls hard for his client.
  • Witchfinder General (screenplay by Tom Baker and Michael Reeves; produced by Louis M. Heyward, Philip Waddilove, Arnold Miller; directed by Michael Reeves) [PN1997.2 W565 2007 DVD] – As the English Civil War rages, witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and his sadistic assistant John Stearne travel from town to town identifying, torturing and killing alleged witches and being paid well for their services.
  • Margin Call (produced by Robert Ogden Barnum and Corey Moosa; produced by Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson and Zachary Quinto; written and directed by J.C. Chandor) [PN1997.2 M365 2011 DVD] – Set in the high-stakes world of Wall Street, Margin Call is an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.

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