Best Murder Trial
Anatomy of a Murder is a 1959 film adapted from John D. Voelker’s novel, originally conceived as a fictional story inspired by a real 1952 murder case. The screenplay draws upon Voelker's experience as a defense attorney in that specific incident. It explores the legal proceedings surrounding an all...
Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American courtroom drama directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, adapted from Agatha Christie's stage play. Charles Laughton plays a barrister defending a man accused of murder, with Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich in central roles. The film combines legal pr...
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst is a six-part documentary miniseries directed by Andrew Jarecki that premiered on HBO in 2015. The series investigates the history of New York real estate heir Robert Durst, focusing on his suspected involvement in the 1982 disappearance of his wife, the...
The Staircase is a documentary series directed by French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade about the prosecution of North Carolina novelist Michael Peterson after the death of his wife, Kathleen. The original episodes appeared in 2004, with later installments following appeals, new legal proceedings...
Presumed Innocent is a 2024 American legal thriller series developed by David E. Kelley for Apple TV+, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich. Adapted from Scott Turow's 1987 novel, it follows Sabich after he becomes the principal suspect in the murder of a colleague with whom...
"Fracture" (2007) is a legal thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit, starring Anthony Hopkins as Ted Crawford, an engineer who shoots his unfaithful wife, and Ryan Gosling as Willy Beachum, the young prosecutor assigned to the case. The film centers on the cat-and-mouse game between Crawford, who repre...
UK drama series examining a murder trial primarily from the perspective of the jury as they deliberate, emphasizing lay decision-making over courtroom procedure and legal argument.
2014 drama starring Robert Downey Jr. as a Chicago lawyer who returns to his hometown to defend his estranged father, played by Robert Duvall, against a murder charge.
2022 HBO Max miniseries starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, dramatizing the real-life murder trial of Michael Peterson, who was accused of killing his wife.
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is a 2023 American Netflix true crime docuseries examining the criminal cases involving Richard Alexander Murdaugh and his prominent legal family.
