Real-life legal battles and court cases that made memorable films

Francis Ford Coppola has made several iconic movies, winning Best Picture twice with The Godfather and its sequel. Forgotten in the mix is Tucker: The Man and His Dream , a retro movie in terms of tone and the fact it is set in the 1940s. Jeff Bridges stars as Preston Tucker, an automaker who runs afoul of Detroit’s Big 3 and ends up on trial over accusations of fraud.

Tim Burton…directing a legal drama? He did it! The movie is part-domestic drama, part-court case, and it focuses on Margaret Keane, painter of famed paintings of children with, well, big eyes. However, her husband, Walter, took the credit for the artwork, and eventually, Margaret would come to sue her eccentric, possibly dangerous, now ex-husband.

In 1993, Steven Spielberg pulled off an incredible coup. He had two films come out. Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing film of all time, and Schindler’s List won Best Picture. In 1997, he tried it again, but this time, it didn’t work quite as well. The Lost World proved a lukewarm sequel, and Amistad, a legal drama based on an 1841 Supreme Court case, was also met tepidly.

As you likely know, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer before he was President of the United States. This Lincoln biopic, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda, focused on his early life. That included heavily focusing on Honest Abe’s law career. The film was well received, but it was not easy for Fonda, who allegedly went as far as to destroy the footage of certain takes to make sure they weren’t used.

Maybe you don’t like what Larry Flynt does, but is it his right to do it? This is the crux of Milos Forman’s film The People vs. Larry Flynt. Flynt is an infamous pornography magnet who said it was his First Amendment right to be as tasteless as he wanted, and he was willing to go to court to fight for that right.

Aaron Sorkin wrote A Few Good Men, an iconic courtroom drama. It’s also not eligible for this list. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is, though. Maybe it isn’t quite as good, but it is an enjoyable movie. This time, Sorkin didn’t just write the film, but he also directed it.

The “Scopes Monkey Trial” is one of American history's most famous court cases. In short, a teacher taught evolution, which was against the law in Tennessee, leading to a court case that was effectively seen as “science vs. religion.” Notably, the 1960 version, considered the best of many adaptations, was also influenced by McCarthyism, which was fresh on people’s minds.

America is not the only country with significant court cases in its history. Argentina, 1985 is a recent film that dramatizes the 1985 trial of the Juntas in the wake of years of dictatorship in the South American country. The film was received well enough it was nominated for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

Speaking of the Academy Awards, Bridge of Spies is an Oscar winner. While Tom Hanks is in the cast, Mark Rylance won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Another Spielberg legal drama, Bridge of Spies focuses on Hanks as a lawyer charged with negotiating the release of American pilot Francis Gary Powers after he is captured in the Soviet Union.

Some dramas are smaller. Flash of Genius manages to make compelling material out of an esoteric court case. Robert Kearns sued the Ford Motor Company over…intermittent windshield wipers. Yes, really. Yes, it works somehow.

When you think of Vin Diesel, you probably think of Dominic Toretto or perhaps Riddick. Before his entire career was dedicated to being fast and/or furious, he starred in this dramedy from the legendary Sidney Lumet. Diesel plays mobster Jackie DiNorscio who decided to represent himself in court for what would become the longest-running mob trial in American history.

After World War II, there was work left to do. A United States military tribunal took part in that, and in this film, four German judges and prosecutors are placed on trial for crimes against humanity for their alleged activity during the Holocaust. Grim, to be sure, but this is a classic courtroom film, and it won three Oscars while featuring four acting performances that got nominated.

As we indicated in the introduction, just because a movie is based on a real-life court case doesn’t mean it is realistic. Oliver Stone’s JFK is bonkers. It’s packed to the gills with conspiracy theories and frenetic filmmaking. That said, it is based on Jim Garrison’s actual attempts to uncover the “truth” about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Just don’t come to this movie for a history lesson.

There are films more specifically about the Dreyfus affair, but none of them are quite on par with The Life of Emile Zola. The movie covers more of Zola’s life than just his time on trial for libel, but that is the defining thing for which the writer is remembered. While the movie did skirt around anti-Semitic elements of the Dreyfus affair, the movie won Best Picture, making it one of the most successful movies about a legal battle.

Here is another film that won Best Picture that also features a legal battle and a court case. Although it does not involve the legal system as we know it. The film is about Thomas More, and it takes place in the early 1500s. A Man for All Seasons focuses on More refusing to support Henry VIII’s divorce or being named the head of the Church of England, which did not turn out well for him.

Stanley Kubrick made several significant films, including multiple movies about war. Paths of Glory isn’t discussed as much, but it is a strong outing and one of the most searingly anti-war films ever. Kirk Douglas stars as a colonel who defends his men during a court-martial and refuses to continue an attack they saw as a suicıde mission. The plot is loosely based on the real Souain corporals affair. Apparently, “affair” was a popular euphemism for thorny circumstances.

Richard Linklater is a filmmaker who likes to experiment. Just look at his filmography and check out movies like Slacker, A Scanner Darkly, and Boyhood. Does Bernie qualify? Well, Linklater made a film about a real murder case…and made it a comedy. If you are going to do that and make it work (and Bernie got good reviews), it helps to have Jack Black as your lead.

Scott Derrickson works in the realm of horror, and even his Marvel movie Doctor Strange dips its toe in that realm. The Exorcism of Emily Rose has some horror film trappings as well, but it is also a courtroom drama in many ways. Influenced by real events, Laura Linney plays a non-religious lawyer who defends a priest charged with negligent homicide after a girl died during an exorcism he was performing.

We talked about Spielberg’s massive 1993, but Steven Soderbergh flexed on us in 2000 himself. Erin Brockovich got him a nomination for Best Director, but he lost…to himself for directing Traffic . Julia Roberts won Best Actress for playing Brockovich, an environmental activist who led a class-action lawsuit over groundwater contamination.

Legal battles don’t always take place in court. The Social Network chronicles the creation, and the rise, of Facebook, specifically Mark Zuckerberg. Something like that is bound to involve legal complications, but The Social Network positions itself around depositions as instead of a big court case. David Fincher’s movie was a huge hit, a critical darling — considered a defining movie of the 2010s and perhaps the new millennium on the whole.