True Believer (1989 film)
| True Believer | |
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| File:TrueBelieverPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joseph Ruben |
| Produced by | Lawrence Lasker Walter F. Parkes |
| Written by | Wesley Strick |
| Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
| Music by | Brad Fiedel |
| Cinematography | John W. Lindley |
| Edited by | George Bowers |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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108 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $8.7 million[2] |
True Believer (also released as 'Fighting Justice') is a 1989 American courtroom drama written by Wesley Strick, directed by Joseph Ruben, and starring James Woods, Robert Downey, Jr., Margaret Colin, Yuji Okumoto, Kurtwood Smith, Tom Bower, and Charles Hallahan.
The film is loosely based on an investigative series of articles written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist K. W. Lee on the conviction of immigrant Chol Soo Lee for a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gangland murder. The news coverage led to a new trial, eventual acquittal and release of the prisoner from San Quentin's Death Row. Screenwriter Wesley Strick based the character of Eddie Dodd on real-life Bay Area defense attorney Tony Serra.
Contents
Plot
Eddie Dodd is a burnt-out attorney who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Roger Baron is an idealistic young legal clerk, fresh out of law school, who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man who was imprisoned for a gang-related murder. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused. Dodd and Baron's investigation leads to a conspiracy among the district attorney, a police informant, and several police officers.[3]
Cast
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- James Woods as Eddie Dodd
- Robert Downey Jr. as Roger Baron
- Margaret Colin as Kitty Greer
- Yuji Okumoto as Shu Kai Kim
- Kurtwood Smith as Robert Reynard
- Tom Bower as Cecil Skell
- Charles Hallahan as Vincent Dennehy
- Miguel Fernandes as Art Esparza
- Sully Diaz as Maraquilla Esparza
- Luis Guzman as Ortega
- Joel Polis as Dean Rabin
- Kurt Fuller as George Ballistics
- Graham Beckel as Sklaroff
- John Snyder as Chuckie Loeder
- Woody Harrelson (uncredited) as Man in Dodd's office
Reception
Strick's screenplay was nominated for a 1990 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Motion Picture. Film critic Roger Ebert commended Woods's performance for being "hypnotically watchable."[3]
At the time of True Believer's release, K.W. Lee told the Charleston Gazette he enjoyed the film “as fiction...but it was not a true picture. They have completely preempted the struggle of Asians.”[4]
True Believer was popular enough to inspire a spin-off television series, Eddie Dodd, starring Treat Williams in the title role.[5]
References
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- ↑ True Believer at Box Office Mojo Retrieved July 19, 2012
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External links
- Use mdy dates from May 2013
- Pages with broken file links
- 1989 films
- English-language films
- 1980s crime drama films
- American films
- American crime drama films
- American legal films
- Films directed by Joseph Ruben
- Courtroom films
- Films about race and ethnicity
- Films set in San Quentin State Prison
- Films shot in California
- Films shot in New York City
- Films shot in San Francisco, California
- Prison films
- Columbia Pictures films
