Zivilprozeß (1998)

Zivilprozeß: Directed by Steven Zaillian. With John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy. A tenacious lawyer takes on a case involving a major company responsible for causing several people to be diagnosed with leukemia due to the town’s water supply being contaminated, at the risk of bankrupting his firm and career.

“On my first viewing of this, on VHS, I thought it okay but nothing special. I caught a break, being able to obtain the DVD for almost no cost, so I looked at it again. Wow, am I glad. I loved it the second time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe DVD brings out the cinematography which is very, very good and the picture is razor-sharp. One of Hollywoodu0026#39;u0026#39;s Hall Of Fame photographers, Conrad Hall, shot this film. Story-wise, the courtroom scenes were the most dramatic of the film but this story dealt more with the behind-the-scenes digging of information to expose thoughtless businessmen who had dumped poison in an area and people were suffering because of it. It is supposedly-based on a true story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother big highlight of this movie is great performance by John Travolta, perhaps his best work ever. Just the pauses and looks on his face alone greatly enhanced his performance. He was just fascinating. Language-wise, this is pretty tame except for William H. Macy, who loses his cool a few times as the assistant lawyer/financial man for the law firm battling the polluters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s easy to get involved with the story, but donu0026#39;t overlook the great photography in here.”