Anatomy of a Murder (Blu-ray) Blu-Ray DVD

Editor's Note

Director Preminger thrives in tense legal showdowns and this is perhaps his best, mostly for Stewart's cagey performance as a deceptively wily small-town lawyer. The sensationalist trial revolves around an army lieutenant who shoots a bar owner for allegedly raping his wife, an ugly crime in which no one is wholly guilty or innocent. Based on Robert Travers' novel. Score (and onscreen appearance) by Duke Ellington. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor--James Stewart, Best (Adapted) Screenplay.

Features

Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1

Technical Info

Release Information
	Studio: Criterion Collection
	Release Date: 2/21/2012
	Running Time: 161 minutes
	Original Release Date: 1959
	UPC: 00715515091411
	Number of Discs: 1
Audio & Video
	Available Audio Tracks:
	Video: B&W

Entertainment Reviews

Anatomy of a Murder - The Criterion Collection - Blu-Ray DVD Review

By: The Other Chad Blogcritics.org Reviews

Published on: 3/2/2012 4:38 PM

Watching Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder for the first time, I was struck by how fresh and relevant the film feels more than fifty years after its 1959 release. Significant cultural changes and the advent of DNA profiling have not dulled the edges of what is essentially a pitch-black comedy set primarily in a courtroom. The Criterion Collection’s new Blu-ray treatment of the film definitely provides an ideal opportunity to discover – or rediscover – this classic....read the full review

Cast & Crew

	Murray Hamilton
	James Stewart
	Ben Gazzara
	Lee Remick
	Eve Arden
	George C. Scott
	Arthur O'Connell
	Orson Bean
	Duke Ellington - Composer
	Boris Leven - Production Designer
	Wendell Mayes - Writer
	Howard Bristol - Set Designer
	Otto Preminger - Producer
	Sam Leavitt - Director of Photography
	Louis Loeffler - Editor
	Robert Traver - Source Writer
	Otto Preminger - Director

Plot Summary

Director Preminger thrives in tense legal showdowns and this is perhaps his best, mostly for Stewart's cagey performance as a deceptively wily small-town lawyer. An army lieutenant shoots a bar owner for allegedly raping his wife. A trial ensues, in which his attempts to convince the jury that the lieutenant is innocent of first degree murder because of he was the victim of an "irresistible impulse." The plot is complicated by the nature of the criminal and defendants, none of whom is purely good or evil, but who all have a complex relationship to the law and to society.

Professional Reviews

USA Today
"...One of the most enduring courtroom dramas ever....Lee Remick enjoyed a career breakthrough..." 06/30/2000 p.11E

Sight and Sound
"...[An] immaculate courtroom drama....The performances of James Stewart and George C. Scott as opposing attorneys remain a benchmark in the genre..." 03/01/2002 p.62

Uncut
"ANATOMY OF A MURDER from 1959, arguably Preminger's finest film, is also his most brazenly ambiguous." 05/01/2005 p.135

Entertainment Weekly
"It's a daring, cynical gem." -- Grade: A- 02/24/2012