The Star Chamber (1983)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Roderick Taylor (story)
Roderick Taylor (writer) ...

Release Date:

5 August 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

THEY HAVE COMMITED EVERY CRIME IN THE BOOK. Yet the law cannot touch them. They are free to walk the streets. UNTIL TONIGHT'S MEETING OF... [THE STAR CHAMBER] [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

Disgusted with criminals escaping the judicial system via technicalities, an idealistic young judge...

Plot Keywords:

Hitman | Drugs | Conspiracy | Child Murder | Courtroom

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin
Hal Holbrook	...	Judge Benjamin Caulfield
Yaphet Kotto	...	Det. Harry Lowes
Sharon Gless	...	Emily Hardin
James Sikking	...	Dr. Harold Lewin (as James B. Sikking)
Joe Regalbuto	...	Arthur Cooms
Don Calfa	...	Lawrence Monk
John DiSanti	...	Det. James Wickman
Otis Day	...	Stanley Flowers
Jack Kehoe	...	Hingle
Larry Hankin	...	Det. Kenneth Wiggan
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Det. Paul Mackey
Margie Impert	...	Louise Pacinni
Dana Gladstone	...	Dept. Dist. Atty. Martin Hyatt
David Proval	...	Officer Nelson

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Germany:12 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Frank Yablans Presentations

Trivia:

Director Peter Hyams created lighting innovations to create the eerie atmosphere of the movie, including a daylight lamp, and utilizing light beams for the exterior shots.

Quotes:

Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin: The law. Nothing is right or wrong! It’s either the law or its not the law. Well, we got a problem here, because it’s not working anymore. It turns out that right and wrong count.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Star Chamber (2011)

Top class legal drama/suspense

The Star Chamber will remain one of my favourite films of all time.

For years, we have been debating whether the legal system is just and worth defending, despite the fact that it occasionally sets free criminals on technicalities. This film certainly explores this issue sufficiently and gives an insight into the judges who are forced to set them free on vague technicalities; and how their conscience is severely effected when the rights of the worst criminals imaginable comes before the dispensation of justice.

Through the Star Chamber, a group of frustrated judges that have their own way of seeing that justice is served on criminals who escape the weight of the law. But what seems like a reasonable and just solution to the flaws in the legal system turns out to be a nightmare for their newly elected member (Michael Douglas) as this powerful legal drama builds to a rather suspenseful and engaging conclusion. Excellent movie with magnificent performances, but (thankfully) without the over-dramatic Hollywood hogwash. Performances by the cast are as solid as they come.

I hear that they are remaking the film. I'd be surprised if it even came close to this one.