Rewind, Review, and Re-rate: ‘… And Justice For All’: Al Pacino at His Career Peak

In the 1970s, from purely a box office perspective, four leading men dominated the movie landscape: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood. While all of them cranked out a bunch of hits, they also had multiple artistic clunkers and box office bombs. During this same period, Al Pacino starred in far fewer films (eight) and just one of them (“Bobby Deerfield”) was a stinker and lost money. That’s a pretty impressive batting average.

Written by then married couple Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson and directed by Norman Jewison, “… And Justice For All” (AJFA) is a blistering satirical commentary on the American judicial system in general and specifically the correctly perceived “two sets of rules” for society’s haves and the have-nots.

John Forsythe stars in "... And Justice for All." Columbia Pictures

Set and shot in Levinson’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, “AJFA” stars Pacino as Arthur Kirkland, a defense attorney whose clientele are (with one notable exception) those who can’t afford high-priced lawyers. Kirkland is a man of high moral and ethical fiber operating within a legal system that not only lacks morals and ethics but actually frowns upon them. Judging by his lifestyle, Kirkland probably nets less than a first-year public defender’s secretary.

Attorney Versus Judge

“AJFA” opens with Kirkland being released from jail after being found in contempt by Henry T. Fleming (John Forsythe), a rigid, by-the-book type judge who is thoroughly lacking in compassion and regularly butts heads with Kirkland. Fleming refuses to consider Kirkland’s multiple pleas regarding a man being held in custody simply because he shares the same name as a wanted murderer.

Kirkland’s business partner is Jay Porter (Jeffrey Tambor), a lawyer who initially has no problem defending actual dangerous criminals yet reaches an epiphany halfway through that provides the narrative with one of its many high points. In only his second feature, Tambor displays phenomenal range, going from light and breezy to extremely dark and unhinged, often within the same scene.

Not Quite Needed Sub-Plots

Not faring quite as well are subplots involving Kirkland’s diminished-capacity grandfather Sam (Pacino’s “Actor’s Studio” mentor and co-star from “The Godfather, Part II” Lee Strasberg) and Gail (Christine Lahti), yet another attorney-turned-possible-love-interest. Had these threads been left on the cutting room floor, few would have noticed and the story as a whole would have been a lot tighter.

Al Pacino and Christine Lahti star in "... And Justice for All." Columbia Pictures

Showing up as Judge Francis Rayford is Jack Warden, one of the finest character actors of all time and a mainstay during the American New Wave period. More out of necessity than desire, Kirkland gets along well with the borderline suicidal Rayford who packs heat in the courtroom, eats his lunch on the fourth-story ledge of the courthouse, and thinks nothing of possibly crashing a helicopter into the Baltimore harbor while testing its fuel efficiency.

Blackmail and Public Perception

The filmmakers wait as long as possible to introduce the main plot point and it is a doozy. After Fleming is charged with a most lascivious and heinous crime, he skillfully blackmails Kirkland into representing him. Fleming (rightfully) figures that if Kirkland chooses to defend him, it will all appear to be on the up-and-up and the ice-cold, calculating Fleming is spot-on. From a public perception point of view, Fleming could not have hired anyone more suitable to his cause than Kirkland.

Showing up briefly initially for the purpose of foreshadowing and, later on, to deliver some huge plot twists are Dominic Chianese as Carl Travers and Craig T. Nelson as Frank Bowers. Also one of Pacino’s cast mates from “The Godfather, Part II,” Chianese’s Travers bears more than a passing resemblance to his iconic Uncle Junior character from “The Sopranos.” Bowers is the slippery attorney prosecuting Fleming, and he is more than aware of how much of a coup it will be for his career to nail a judge.

Jack Warden stars in "... And Justice for All." Columbia Pictures

A director who never really got the kind of attention he deserved while he was working, Jewison received many honorary awards towards the end of his career including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Academy Award. One of the premier filmmakers of the ‘60s and ’70s, his tastes were varied and he rarely worked within the same genre twice. Some of his other major triumphs include “In the Heat of the Night,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “The Cincinnati Kid,” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

The End of An Era

“AJFA” somewhat sadly marked the end of Pacino’s “Golden Era.” Although his output increased in volume over the next 40 years, the quality of the projects he picked proved to be highly uneven. For every “Heat,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Donnie Brasco,” or “The Irishman,” he appeared in, there were two “Jack and Jill,” “Gigli,” “88 Minutes,” or “Hangman.”

For eight glorious years, Pacino was the actor every director wanted and the actor every other actor wished they could be. “Panic in Needle Park,” “The Godfather,” “Serpico,” “Scarecrow,” “The Godfather, Part II,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” and “… And Justice For All” were classics each and every one of them. It was also during this stretch where Pacino received five of his eight total (to date) Academy Award nominations.

Pacino has delivered many iconic lines:

“It’s not personal Sonny, it’s strictly business.” “I know it was you Fredo, and you broke my heart.” “Attica!” “Say hello to my little friend!” “I’m reloaded!” “Whoo-Ah!”

Pacino ended the ‘70s with what is arguably one of his memorable quotes: “You’re out of order! They’re out of order! That man is out of order! This whole trial is out of order!” It is the pinpoint punctuation mark for one of the greatest closing monologues in movie history.

‘… And Justice For All’ Director: Norman Jewison Stars: Al Pacino, John Forsythe, Jack Warden, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, Lee Strasberg Running Time: 1 hour 59 minutes MPAA Rating: R Release Date: Oct. 19, 1979 Rating: 4 out of 5