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The Pelican Brief

1993

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

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Julia Roberts Denzel Washington Sam Shepard John Heard Tony Goldwyn James B. Sikking William Atherton Robert Culp Stanley Tucci Hume Cronyn John Lithgow Anthony Heald Nicholas Woodeson Stanley Anderson John Finn Cynthia Nixon Jake Weber Casey Biggs Christopher Murray Sonny Jim Gaines Kevin Geer Joe Chrest Richard Bauer Ralph Cosham Tom Quinn Michelle O'Neill Edwin Newman Helen Carey Howard Shalwitz Show All…

Alternative Titles

El Informe Pelícano [The Pelican Brief], Die Akte - The Pelican Brief, El informe Pelícano, Die Akte, Pelikan-notatet, Pelikani memorandum, Dossier Pelicano, Pelikan Dosyasi, El informe pelícano, Die Akte - Der Pelican Brief, L'Affaire Pélican, Pelikan notatet, Il rapporto Pelican, A Pelikán ügyirat, Pelikaanimuistio, 塘鹅暗杀令, Дело о пеликанах, Pelikanfallet, Raport Pelikana, תיק שקנאי, 펠리칸 브리프, Případ Pelikán, Pelikan Dosyası, O Dossiê Pelicano, 絕對機密, Досьє Пелікан, Prípad Pelikán, Pelikano byla, Версия пеликан, ペリカン文書, Dosarul Pelican, L'affaire Pélican, L’informe pelicà, Slučaj Pelikan, El Informe Pelícano, Pelikanrapporten, Dosije Pelikan, Pelikanovo porocilo, პელიკანის საქმე, ผู้หญิงเสี้ยวมรณะ

Genre

Thriller

Themes

Thrillers and murder mysteries High speed and special ops Suspenseful crime thrillers Intriguing and suspenseful murder mysteries Intense political and terrorist thrillers Exciting spy thrillers with tense intrigue Explosive and action-packed heroes vs. villains Show All…

Premiere

13 Dec 1993

USA Westwood, California

Theatrical

17 Sep 1993

Canada

16 Dec 1993

USAPG-13

16 Feb 1994

Philippines

19 Feb 1994

South Korea15

25 Feb 1994

IrelandPG
Sweden15
UK12

09 Mar 1994

AustraliaM
Germany12

10 Mar 1994

Argentina

11 Mar 1994

Italy
Switzerland

16 Mar 1994

France12
Greece

18 Mar 1994

Switzerland12

19 Mar 1994

Switzerland

24 Mar 1994

Spain12

25 Mar 1994

Brazil16
FinlandK-12

04 Apr 1994

Denmark15

14 Apr 1994

Czechia15+
Netherlands12

15 Apr 1994

PortugalM/12
Turkey

28 Apr 1994

Hungary12

29 Apr 1994

Japan

13 May 1994

Poland16

03 Jun 1994

Uruguay

01 Jul 1994

Estonia

Physical

25 Jun 1997

Mexico

28 Sep 2001

Russia

01 Apr 2009

Netherlands12

TV

01 Nov 1997

Slovakia12

04 Dec 2003

Netherlands12

Argentina

10 Mar 1994

Theatrical

Australia

09 Mar 1994

TheatricalM

Brazil

25 Mar 1994

Theatrical16 IMDB

Canada

17 Sep 1993

Theatrical

Czechia

14 Apr 1994

Theatrical15+

Denmark

04 Apr 1994

Theatrical15

Estonia

01 Jul 1994

Theatrical

Finland

25 Mar 1994

TheatricalK-12

France

16 Mar 1994

Theatrical12

Germany

09 Mar 1994

Theatrical12

Greece

16 Mar 1994

Theatrical

Hungary

28 Apr 1994

Theatrical12

Ireland

25 Feb 1994

TheatricalPG

Italy

11 Mar 1994

Theatrical

Japan

29 Apr 1994

Theatrical

Mexico

25 Jun 1997

Physical DVD

Netherlands

14 Apr 1994

Theatrical12

04 Dec 2003

TV12 Net 5

01 Apr 2009

Physical12 Blu ray

Philippines

16 Feb 1994

Theatrical

Poland

13 May 1994

Theatrical16

Portugal

15 Apr 1994

TheatricalM/12

Russia

28 Sep 2001

Physical DVD

Slovakia

01 Nov 1997

TV12 Markíza

South Korea

19 Feb 1994

Theatrical15

Spain

24 Mar 1994

Theatrical12

Sweden

25 Feb 1994

Theatrical15

Switzerland

11 Mar 1994

Theatrical

18 Mar 1994

Theatrical12

19 Mar 1994

Theatrical

Turkey

15 Apr 1994

Theatrical

UK

25 Feb 1994

Theatrical12

USA

13 Dec 1993

Premiere Westwood, California

16 Dec 1993

TheatricalPG-13

Uruguay

03 Jun 1994

Theatrical

141 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Olivia Craighead ★★★★ 1

we need to bring back movies where something goes all the way to the top
Review by sarah squirm 5

i was shocked to find out the pelican brief actually was about pelicans
Review by Chad Hartigan 2

Not brief enough
Review by blythe roberson ★★★½ 4

LOL at a president not running for re-election just because he obstructed justice one time
Review by Patrick Willems ★★★½

This used to be a real country with actual god damn movie stars
Review by beamish13 ★★ 5

Are you a connoisseur of lobbies and reception desks? This is the film for you
Review by Colin Burgess ★★★

you will not believe what our government is trying to do to pelicans
Review by joereid ★★★★★

"Does Darby Shaw even exist?" Idiot, that girl was ENROLLED AT TULANE. Do your research.
Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★

inject every legal paranoid thriller into my veins, including this one.
Review by Bobby ★★★½ 1

there's something so soothing about a 90s thriller.
Review by SilentDawn ★½ 4

30
Deeply boring and unexciting. Lacks the pulp novelty of 90s trash, and is somehow not able to tackle the sweep of a major conspiracy epic. It has all the integral pieces in theory, and a stacked cast of character actors, but it never succeeds in practice. Kinda wild how Alan J. Pakula made Klute, All The President's Men, and The Parallax View, only to turn in this snoozer, which at 2 hours and 20 minutes feels like some sort of punishment.
Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★½ 5

Starring: King Kong Ain’t Got Sh!t On Denzel
One of those movies that I've watched the third act endlessly by randomly stumbling upon it by switching channel.
And, as many have pointed out, this one is a huge letdown. You've got Roberts and Washington, both at the height of their power, in a popular John Grisham novel directed by a man who built his name in the industry by producing these iconic thrillers. However, the overall result is a picture that is over long, redundant, and, worst of all, for the most part, incredibly dull.
However, Pakula and his crew do a fantastic job injecting energy into the film by employing these zooms and very fluid camera work. Roberts and…

Mentioned by

Story by Letterboxd

Where to watch

The Pelican Brief

Synopsis

Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.

Cast

Director Director

Producers Producers

Writer Writer

Original Writer Original Writer

Casting Casting

Editors Editors

Cinematography Cinematography

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Production Design Production Design

Art Direction Art Direction

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Stunts Stunts

Composer Composer

Sound Sound

Costume Design Costume Design

Studio

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genre

Themes

Premiere

13 Dec 1993

Theatrical

17 Sep 1993

16 Dec 1993

16 Feb 1994

19 Feb 1994

25 Feb 1994

09 Mar 1994

10 Mar 1994

11 Mar 1994

16 Mar 1994

18 Mar 1994

19 Mar 1994

24 Mar 1994

25 Mar 1994

04 Apr 1994

14 Apr 1994

15 Apr 1994

28 Apr 1994

29 Apr 1994

13 May 1994

03 Jun 1994

01 Jul 1994

Physical

25 Jun 1997

28 Sep 2001

01 Apr 2009

TV

01 Nov 1997

04 Dec 2003

Argentina

10 Mar 1994

Australia

09 Mar 1994

Brazil

25 Mar 1994

Canada

17 Sep 1993

Czechia

14 Apr 1994

Denmark

04 Apr 1994

Estonia

01 Jul 1994

Finland

25 Mar 1994

France

16 Mar 1994

Germany

09 Mar 1994

Greece

16 Mar 1994

Director

Producers

Writer

Original Writer

Casting

Editors

Cinematography

Assistant Directors

Camera Operators

Production Design

Art Direction

Set Decoration

Stunts

Composer

Sound

Costume Design