Originally released in 1982, Sidney Lumet's "The Verdict" continues to be a powerful drama and not just because of Lumet's top notch direction-this is an example of having a group of collaborators that are up to the task. David Mamet's intelligent script and Paul Newman's rich performance (aided and abetted by the marvelous Jack Warden, Charolette Rampling and James Mason) gives this underdog story much of its power making it much more the usual courtroom drama. ***

Newman plays an emotionally damaged alcoholic lawyer named Frank Galvin who actually has the chance to win a case and represent someone who deserves justice for a change. He's hired by a family to represent them in a suit against a hospital run by the Catholic Church. It seems that when delivering the baby of a woman at the hospital the doctors gave her the wrong anesthetic and the woman suffocated in her own vomit causing irreparable brain damage. When Mickey (Warden) his old associate hands him the case, Galvin believes at first that it will be a simple matter of settling with the Church. Instead, he discovers that he can regain his esteem by representing someone who has been victimized and that he might actually make a difference in this poor person's life. His adversary in court Edward Concannon (the marvelous James Mason) has a parade of lawyers working for him and always wins so Galvin's work is cut out for him. ---

Image & Sound:

My verdict on Lumet's film is that Fox has done justice to this powerful drama. The colors aren't bold but they never were and the grainy look of the film was characteristic of the way the film looked when Lumet shot it. Instead, Fox has captured the gritty look and feel of Lumet's film translating it well to the DVD medium. Audio sounds solid as well with dialogue clear and up front in the 2.0 mix. ---

What separates this edition from the previous one released in 2002 is the second disc of extras and Paul Newman's participation. The most important extra on disc one is Lumet's and Paul Newman's insightful, colorful and trivia filled commentary track. ***

On disc two we get two marvelous featurettes; the first is Paul Newman discussing the acting craft focusing on his performance, motivations as the character and approach to playing Galvin in the film. Likewise Lumet gives a terrific interview focusing on the craft of directing. "Milestones in Hollywood Cinema: The Verdict" features Newman Lumet, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Zanack, David Brown and others discussing Mamet's marvelous screenplay from Barry Reed's marvelous novel. Mamet is sadly missing during the featurette. "Hollywood Backstories" was produced for Cable TV originally that covers the difficulty in getting the film produced. We find out, for example, that Redford and Hoffman both wanted to do the film. We also find out that Lumet wasn't the original first choice to direct the project but he brought to it his usual gritty sensibility. Featuring Leonard Maltin and others discussing the difficult birth of the film, the short documentary is glossy and superficial but also filled with trivia about the history of the film. ***

Rounding things out are a series of trailers for other Newman films, a still gallery and the original theatrical trailer. ---

Final Words: