Law on Film (Jonathan Hafetz)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Law on Film
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Apr 2023 | Breaker Morant (Guest: Michel Paradis) (episode 1) | 01:01:25 | |
This episode examines Breaker Morant, the 1980 Australian New Wave film depicting the military trial of Harry ("Breaker") Morant and two other Australian soldiers for war crimes committed during the Second Boer War in South Africa. The film, directed by Bruce Beresford, offers a gripping account of the trial and raises a host of questions about law and justice during wartime--questions that are as relevant today as they were when the trial took place more than a century ago. I am joined on this episode by veteran attorney Michel Paradis, who has served as military defense counsel in landmark war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay and who has written widely about issues of international law and military justice. Michel is a lecturer at Columbia Law School in New York and a partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP. 0:00 Introduction 6:15 An age-old question: Can you deny justice to the guilty? 8:04 Breaker Morant as both courtroom drama and western 9:14 Who was Harry "Breaker" Morant? 9:54 A new kind of war? 12:08 People who commit atrocities don’t usually think they're the bad guys 15:10 The superior orders defense 20:22 The politics of war crimes trial 28:28 The defense lawyer as hero in legal dramas 37:36 Did the defendants get a fair trial? 40:00 The law of reprisals 46:20 Echoes of the My Lai massacre case 49:17 Defense counsel’s closing: War changes men’s nature 50:44 The Australian New Wave 51:49 The trial’s aftermath 57:24 Why should everyone see this film?
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 02 May 2023 | Anatomy of a Murder (Guest: Joshua Dratel) (episode 2) | 01:04:35 | |
This episode explores Anatomy of a Murder (1959), the legendary courtroom drama produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The film features an outstanding cast, including Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, George C. Scott, and Eve Arden. It also includes the real-life Joseph N. Welch, who played a key role in finally taking down Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954. The film is widely regarded as one of the best courtroom dramas in the history of cinema. Joshua Dratel, a leading criminal defense attorney, joins as my guest expert to help examine this memorable film and to break down its timeless insights into the American criminal trial. 0:00 Introduction 4:30 What makes a great courtroom drama? 8:50 Paul Biegler (Jimmy Stewart) interviews his client (Ben Gazzara) 16:04 Coming up with the defense of “irresistible impulse” 19:00 The role of cross-examination 26:22 Biegler (Jimmy Stewart) gets his defense in through cross-examination 29:08 The motive and the act in criminal law 33:43 Managing a defendant’s family 38:58 Dressing your client for court 40:57 Attacking the victim: who’s on trial here? 43:18 Claude Dancer (George C. Scott) grills Laura Manion (Lee Remick) 45:48 Impeaching the jailhouse informant 48:52 Grappling with questions of rape and consent circa 1959 51:13 Asking a witness one question too many 54:36 A classic reasonable doubt case 58:06 Poetic justice: Biegler is retained on a new case and his practice survives 1:01:41 Legal realism in fiction: None of it happened, but it’s all true Christley, Jamie N., “Otto Preminger’s ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ on the Criterion Collection” Slant Magazine (Feb. 24, 2012), https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/anatomy-of-a-murder/ Fidler, John, “‘Anatomy of a Murder,’” Sense of Cinema (Mar. 2013), https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2013/cteq/anatomy-of-a-murder/ Huff, Timothy, “Anatomy of a Murder,” Legal Studies Forum vol. 24, issues 3 & 4, p. 661 (2000) Nerdwriter1, “Anatomy of ‘Anatomy of a Murder’” (video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Tm-7DvR2c Tarr, Nina W., “A Different Ethical Issue in ‘Anatomy of a Murder’: Friendly Fire from the Cowboy-Lawyer,” Journal of the Legal Profession vol. 32, pp. 137-60 (2008) Tobias, Scott, “‘Anatomy of a Murder,’” A.V. Club (Mar. 14, 2012), https://www.avclub.com/anatomy-of-a-murder-1798171960
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 16 May 2023 | Zero Dark Thirty & The Report (Guest: Karen Greenberg) (episode 3) | 00:50:22 | |
This episode looks at two films from the “War on Terrorism”: Zero Dark Thirty (2012), directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written Mark Boal; and The Report (2019), written and directed by Scott Z. Burns. Zero Dark Thirty, which stars Jessica Chastain as a CIA agent, depicts the nearly decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden. The Report, which stars Adam Driver, examines the investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Senator Dianne Feinstein, into the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. The films are often in dialogue with each other, and offer competing accounts of the U.S. government’s embrace of torture after 9/11. Coll, Steve, “’Disturbing’ and ‘Misleading’: Judging Zero Dark Thirty’s claims to journalism,” New York Review of Books (Feb. 7, 2013), nybooks.com/articles/2013/02/07/disturbing-misleading-zero-dark-thirty/ Mayer, Jane, “Zero Conscience in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’,” New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/zero-conscience-in-zero-dark-thirty “Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program (Executive Summary) (Dec. 2014), https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf Seibold, Witney, “The Zero Dark Thirty Controversy: Explained,” Slashfilm, (updated Nov. 28, 2021), https://www.slashfilm.com/671508/the-zero-dark-thirty-controversy-explained/ Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Knopf, 2007)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 28 May 2023 | The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Guest: Gerald Lefcourt) (episode 4) | 01:10:47 | |
This episode examines The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, with an all-star cast, including Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance, and Frank Langella. The film is based on the 1969 trial of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, and other anti-Vietnam War protestors prosecuted for conspiracy in connection with the mass protests —and brutal crackdown by police—at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (The eighth defendant, Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, was severed from the case after being bound and gagged in the courtroom on the judge’s order). Our guest is Gerald Lefcourt, who not only is a leading criminal defense attorney, but also was part of the original defense team at the trial and represented Abbie Hoffman for over two decades. Further Reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 13 Jun 2023 | Kramer v. Kramer & Marriage Story (Guest: Solangel Maldonado) (episode 5) | 00:47:06 | |
Kramer v. Kramer (1979) and Marriage Story (2019) reflect major shifts in the legal and social landscape around marriage, divorce, and child custody over the last four decades. Kramer v. Kramer, written and directed by Robert Benton, and starring Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Jane Alexander, captured the zeitgeist of its era, becoming the top grossing film of 1979 and sweeping the Oscars; Marriage Story, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, and starring Adam Driver, Scarlet Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta, offers a gripping depiction of the disintegration of a marriage in America today. We are joined by Solangel Maldonado, a professor at Seton Hall Law School and leading expert on family law in the United States. Breihan, Tom, “Four decades before ‘Marriage Story,’ a quintessential divorce drama swept the Oscars,” A.V. Club (Feb 7, 2020) Eggert, Brian, “Kramer v. Kramer,” Deep Focus Review (Sept. 12, 2019) Maldonado, Solangel, Cultivating Forgiveness: Reducing Hostility and Conflict After Divorce, 43 Wake Forest L. Rev. 441 (2008), http://wakeforestlawreview.com/wp content/uploads/2014/10/Maldonado_LawReview_4.08.pdf Gordinier, Jeff, “Noah Baumbach Had to Live and Love Before He Made ‘Marriage Story,’” Esquire (Dec. 6. 2019) Rebouché, Rachel, A Case Against Collaboration, 76 Md. L. Rev. 547 (2017), https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/mlr/vol76/iss3/2/ Searles, Jourdain, “‘Kramer v. Kramer’ v. ‘Marriage Story,’” N.Y. Times (Nov. 12, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/opinion/marriage-story-kramer-vs-kramer.html Tobias, Scott, “’Kramer vs Kramer’ at 40: a flawed film that remains a deserving classic,” The Guardian (Dec. 11, 2019) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 27 Jun 2023 | 12 Angry Men (Guest: Elkan Abramowitz) (episode 6) | 00:47:51 | |
12 Angry Men (1957) remains one of the greatest courtroom dramas. Directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by Reginald Rose, the film stars Henry Fonda as the hold-out juror among his peers who are ready to quickly convict a teenager charged with murder in a New York court. Through a series of dramatic moments, Fonda eventually persuades his fellow jurors that there remains a reasonable doubt about the defendant’s innocence, forcing them to address their own preconceptions and prejudices in the process. Fonda (who coproduced the film), teams up with a sensational ensemble cast that includes Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall, and Jack Klugman. I’m joined by Elkan Abramowitz, one of America’s leading criminal defense attorneys, whose many notable clients include Woody Allen, to explore why 12 Angry Men remains essential viewing even as much has changed about the American jury system since it was made. Asimow, Michael, “'12 Angry Men’: A Revisionist View,” 82 Chicago-Kent L. Rev. 711 (2007), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1095488 Ellsworth, Phoebe C., “One Inspiring Jury,” 101 Mich. L. Rev. 1387 (2003), https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=reviews Hans, Valerie P., “Deliberation and Dissent: ‘12 Angry Men’ vs. The Empirical Reality of Juries,” 82 Chicago-Kent L. Rev., 579 (2007), https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1381&context=facpub Martin, Adrian, “Review: ‘12 Angry Men,’” https://www.filmcritic.com.au/reviews/t/12_angry_men.html
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 11 Jul 2023 | Judgment at Nuremberg (Guest: Kevin Jon Heller) (episode 7) | 00:56:01 | |
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) depicts the trial of Nazi judges before the U.S. military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, following World War II. The film was directed by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Abbie Mann; it features a sensational cast that includes Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar for best actor), Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, and William Shatner. The film provides a gripping account of the “Judges’ Trial” or "Justice Case" (as it has become known), exploring issues around individual and collective guilt, the challenges facing tribunals seeking to punish mass atrocities, and the quest for peace and justice after the horrors of World War II. In many respects, the film remains as relevant today as it was when it was first released. I’m joined by Professor Kevin Jon Heller, a renowned scholar of international criminal law and leading expert on the Nuremberg tribunals. 0:00 Introduction 4:25 Tribute to Ben Ferencz 6:31 A gutsy movie for its time 9:03 The historical context for the Justice Case 13:18 The charges against the defendants 16:21 Individual and collective responsibility 21:05 The concentration camp footage 26:15 Defendants were not neutral officials just following the law 32:36 The judges should have known better 35:14 The political pressures on the tribunal 39:40 Germany’s slow reckoning with its Nazi past 44:20 How the film speaks to us today 51:26 Telford Taylor: Ahead of his time 53:04 An enlightened portrayal of defense attorneys 54:41 The U.S. gave Nazis fair trials but can’t provide fair trials at Guantanamo Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 25 Jul 2023 | Argentina, 1985 & Granito: How to Nail a Dictator (Guest: Rachel López) (episode 8) | 01:01:28 | |
This episode examines Argentina, 1985 (2022) (directed by Santiago Mitre) and the documentary, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator (2011) (directed by Pamela Yates). Both works engage with questions of transitional justice, or how societies confront mass atrocities committed by a prior repressive regime. Argentina, 1985 depicts the Trial of the Juntas in Argentina, where a prosecution team led by Julio César Strassera (Ricardo Darín) and future-ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani), sought to bring leaders of Argentina’s former military dictatorship to justice for human rights abuses committed during the so-called Dirty War. Granito: How to Nail a Dictator depicts long-running efforts to hold accountable Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos Montt for genocide and other atrocities committed during Guatemala’s brutal civil war. Our guest is Rachel López, Associate Professor of Law at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. Professor López is a widely recognized expert on transitional justice and has studied efforts to hold former leaders responsible for mass abuses in Guatemala and elsewhere. Engle, Karen, Anti-Impunity and the Human Rights Agenda (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2016) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 08 Aug 2023 | Fruitvale Station (Guest: Michael Pinard) (episode 9) | 00:41:05 | |
Fruitvale Station (2013) is based on the real-life events leading to the death of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old black man who was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer on New Year’s Day 2009 at the Fruitvale district station in Oakland, California. The film depicts the final day in Oscar Grant’s life, interspersed with flashbacks from his past, which together provide a richly layered picture a young man whose life was tragically cut short. The film was written and directed by Ryan Coogler (in his first feature film), and stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant, Melonia Diaz as his girlfriend, and Octavia Spencer as Oscar’s mother. Fruitvale Station not only provides a moving account of Oscar Grant’s final day, but also presents a chilling indictment of police violence and the role that race still plays in perpetuating it. I am joined by Professor Michael Pinard of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Professor Pinard is a nationally recognized expert on criminal law, race and the criminal justice system, and the challenges faced by individuals with criminal convictions when reintegrating into society. Cummings, André Douglas Pond, “Reforming Police,” 10 Drexel L. Rev. 573 (2018)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 22 Aug 2023 | Short Summer Break | 00:00:49 | |
We'll be taking a short break, but will be back in September with exciting new episodes. Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 12 Sep 2023 | My Cousin Vinny (Guest: Judge Jed S. Rakoff) (episode 10) | 00:50:07 | |
My Cousin Vinny (1992) tells the story of two college students from New York (played by Ralph Maccio and Mitchell Whitfield) who are mistakenly arrested and charged with the murder of a store clerk in Alabama. They turn to one of their cousins, Vincent (“Vinny”) LaGuardia Gambini, played by Joe Pesci, for help. Vinny is a personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn who is newly admitted to the bar and has virtually no experience. But somehow Vinny, with the assistance of his savvy fiancé Mona Lisa Vito, played by Marisa Tomei in an Oscar-winning role, turns in a brilliant courtroom performance and gets the case dismissed. The script is by Dale Launer and direction by Jonathan Lynn. Lane Smith plays the prosecutor and Fred Gwynne plays the judge whom Vinny spars with throughout the film. Our guest to discuss this classic American comedy about the law and lawyers is the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, one of the country's most prominent and influential jurists. 0:00 Introduction 5:39 A fantastic—and funny—law movie 7:45 Vinny crossing the witness on the southern delicacy of grits 11:12 The problem of wrongful eyewitness identification 14:17 Vinny crossing the witness on her need for better glasses 20:07 Judge Rakoff reflects on one his favorite cross-examinations 21:47 Mona Lisa Vito’s expert testimony 25:16 Unpacking the Daubert standard 29:09 One questionable ruling in the movie 32:33 The local community in jury trials 35:47 A comedy about wrongful convictions 40:00 A great trial movie but trials are vanishing 43:11 No substitute for trial experience Anderson, Judge Joseph F. Jr., “Ten Things Every Trial Court Lawyer Could Learn from Vincent La Guardia Gambini,” South Carolina Lawyer (Jan. 2017) Bailey, Jason, “‘My Cousin Vinny’ at 30: An Unlikely Oscar Winner,” N.Y. Times (Mar. 11, 2022) Bergman, Paul, “Teaching Evidence the ‘Reel’ Way,” 21 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 973 (2003) Farr, Nick, “Abnormal Interviews: My Cousin Vinny Screenwriter/Co-Producer Dale Launer,” Abnormal Use: An Unreasonably Dangerous Products Liability Blog (Mar. 14, 2012) Greene, Andy, “‘What is a Yute?’: An Oral History of ‘My Cousin Vinny,’” Rolling Stone (Mar. 7, 2022) Welk, Brian, “‘My Cousin Vinny’ 25th Anniversary: Behind the Scene that Won Marisa Tomei Her Oscar,” The Wrap (Mar. 13, 2017)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 26 Sep 2023 | The Mauritanian (Guests: Nancy Hollander & Mohamedou Ould Slahi) (episode 11) | 01:16:30 | |
The Mauritanian (2021) recounts Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s nightmare journey of secret rendition, torture, and detention at Guantanamo Bay—an odyssey that lasted 15 years, until Mr. Slahi was finally released in 2016, never having been charged with a crime. The film is based on the book, Guantanamo Diary, which Mr. Slahi wrote and had published while still a prisoner at Guantanamo. The book became a critically acclaimed international bestseller. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald and features Tahar Rahim as Mohamedou Slahi, Jodie Foster as Nancy Hollander, Mr. Slahi’s lead lawyer, Shailene Woodley as Teri Duncan, her co-counsel, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Ltn. Col. Stuart Couch, the military officer assigned to prosecute Mr. Slahi. The film was nominated for and won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe for Jodi Foster’s portrayal of Nancy Hollander. Our guests are Mohamedou Slahi, the former Guantanamo prisoner and now world-famous author, and Nancy Hollander, Mohamedou’s attorney and a leading criminal defense attorney. 0:00. Introduction Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 10 Oct 2023 | Michael Clayton (Guest: Peggy McGuinness) (episode 12) | 01:07:50 | |
The title character in Michael Clayton is a “fixer” for a prominent New York City law firm. Michael Clayton (George Clooney) helps the firm’s managing partner Marty Bach (Sidney Pollack) and his colleagues navigate tricky situations for the firm’s wealthy clients, while seeking to manage challenges in his own personal and family life. The firm’s top litigator, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) discovers that one of the firm’s major clients, U-North, knew that its weed killer was carcinogenic and caused hundreds of deaths. When Arthur threatens to blow the whistle, U-North's General Counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) tries to silence him, with deadly consequences. Michael is forced to make a tough moral choice and decide who he really is. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton provides a gripping account of the shadowy intersection of law and power in America. Our guest to talk about this acclaimed film is Professor Margaret (“Peggy”) McGuinness of Saint John’s University School of Law. Denby, David, “Lost Men,” New Yorker (2007)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 24 Oct 2023 | The Rack (1956) & The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (Guest: Lisa Hajjar) (episode 13) | 00:58:36 | |
The Rack (1956), directed by Arnold Laven and written by Rod Serling (originally for television) tells the story of a decorated war hero Captain Edward W. Hall, Jr. (played by Paul Newman), who returns home after being captured and held prisoner in the Korean War. While a POW, Hall was subjected to mental torture and collaborated with his captors. Hall is court-martialed; his attorney (Lt Col. Frank Wasnick, played by Edmond O’Brien) tries to justify his conduct by showing the pressure he was under. Hall, however, is found guilty because he concedes could have resisted more, as soldiers who experienced physical torture did. The Manchurian Candidate (1962), was directed and produced by John Frankenheimer from a screenplay by George Axelrod, based on Richard Condon’s 1959 novel. The film centers on a decorated soldier, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (played by Laurence Harvey) who was captured during the Korean War. During captivity, Shaw and other members of his army platoon, including Maj. Bennett Marco (played by Frank Sinatra) were psychologically manipulated or “brainwashed” by their Chinese Communist captors. Shaw was programmed to serve as a sleeper agent and a pawn in a communist plot to take over the U.S. and impose martial law by exploiting a wave of anti-communist hysteria. The twist is that his handler in the U.S. is none other than his mother, Eleanor Shaw (played by Angela Lansbury), who schemes to have her alcoholic and McCarthyite husband, Sen. John Iselin (played by James Gregory) become Vice President and then President, courtesy of a well-timed assassination by Raymond (acting under her spell). Our guest is Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 0:00 Introduction Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 07 Nov 2023 | Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Guest: Alexa Kolbi-Molinas) (episode 14) | 01:00:29 | |
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) centers on the struggles faced by 17-year-old Autumn Callahan (Sidney Flanigan) to obtain an abortion after learning that she’s pregnant. Autumn travels from her small town in central Pennsylvania to New York City, where she seeks to obtain the abortion, accompanied by her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder). Autumn and Skylar must overcome a series of obstacles and persevere in what is ultimately a traumatizing experience. Written and directed by Eliza Hittman, the film was released in the twilight of the Roe/Casey era, the nearly 50-year period when abortion was recognized as a constitutional right in the United States before the Supreme Court eliminated the right in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The film not only offers a window into this critical period but also highlights the real-world obstacles many women continue to face in obtaining abortions even in states where it remains legal. Our guest to talk about the film and the current state of reproductive freedom in America is Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Deputy Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Timestamps: Further reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 21 Nov 2023 | Courted (L'Hermine) (France) (Guests: Fred Davis & Sam Bettwy) (episode 15) | 00:56:18 | |
Courted (French: L'Hermine), a 2015 French drama directed by Christian Vincent, is centered around a criminal trial in France. The accused, Martial Beclin (Victor Pontecorvo), is charged with manslaughter, which carries a possible twenty-year prison sentence, for allegedly kicking his seven-month-old daughter to death. The trial is conducted in France’s cour d’assises, which hears more serious crimes. The president and senior judge, Michel Racine (Fabrice Luchini), runs a tight ship. Courted offers valuable insights into judges, jurors, and criminal procedure in France, and provides a vehicle to compare criminal trials there to those in the United States. The film also contains a romantic sub-plot that traces Judge Racine’s relationship with one of the jurors and an old friend, Ditte Lorensen-Coteret (played by the Danish actress, Sidse Babett Knudsen). My guests to discuss Courted and comparative criminal justice in films are Fred Davis, an international lawyer and Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, and Sam Bettwy, an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego Law School and the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 05 Dec 2023 | Indiana Jones Trilogy (Guest: Lucas Lixinski) (episode 16) | 00:51:09 | |
This episode explores the iconic Indiana Jones trilogy, some of the most popular and well-known movies of all time. The trilogy consists of the first three movies in the series: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). The films are based on a story by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. They feature archaeologist (and adventurer) Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) as he travels across the world in the years before World War II to obtain valuable historical, cultural, and religious artifacts. The trilogy (and especially the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark) is the cornerstone of the Indiana Jones franchise, which includes two additional films (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Dial of Destiny (2023)) as well as a TV series, video game, comic books, novels, theme parks, and toys. The films have inspired countless filmmakers and had a significant effect on cinema and popular culture. They also have important, if less discussed, legal dimensions. This episode examines the trilogy from the perspective of international heritage law (or cultural property law), the body of law centered around the preservation of property with historical, cultural, and/or religious significance. My guest is Lucas Lixinski, Professor at the Faculty of Law & Justice at the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 19 Dec 2023 | Season One Wrap Up & Season Two Preview | 00:02:29 | |
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 16 Jan 2024 | A Civil Action (Guest: Jennifer Corinis) (episode 17) | 01:10:46 | |
A Civil Action (1998) is based on Jonathan Harr’s critically acclaimed book of the same name. Written and directed by Steve Zaillian, the film starts John Travolta, and features supporting performances by Robert Duvall (who was nominated for an Oscar), William H. Macy, James Gandolfini, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, and Tony Shalhoub. The film tells the true the story of the court battle over environmental pollution in Woburn, MA, in the 1970s and 1980s, where trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent used in industrial operations, contaminated the local water supply, leading to numerous fatal cases of leukemia (including in small children) and other health problem for Woburn residents. Personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann, brought suit on behalf of a group of victim families against two large corporations, Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace, to hold them responsible for the pollution (a third company previously settled). But the suit ran into dogged resistance from large and powerful law firms on the other side, including WilmerHale (then Hale and Dorr) and one of its star litigators, Jerome ("Jerry") Facher (Robert Duvall). The film offers a dark view of the U.S. legal system's ability to uncover the truth and provide justice to victims. I'm joined by Jennifer (Jen) Corinis, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig, who has extensive experience litigating cases in the private sector and as an attorney for the U.S. government.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 31 Jan 2024 | Norma Rae (Guest: Fred B. Jacob) (episode 18) | 01:11:15 | |
Norma Rae (1979) describes the struggle of Norma Rae Webster (Sally Field), a factory worker with limited education, to unionize a textile mill in North Carolina. The film was directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., and is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton (as told in the 1975 book Crystal Lee, A Woman of Inheritance by New York Times reporter Henry P. Leifermann). Reuben Warshowsky (Ron Leibman), a union organizer from New York City, persuades Norma to help him organize a union. But Norma and Reuben must overcome a series of obstacles, including pressure and harassment from management as well as internal divisions among the textile workers. Norma, moreover, must navigate issues in her personal life, including with her new husband Sonny (Beau Bridges), who resents Norma’s growing commitment to the union. Ultimately, Norma succeeds as the workers vote to unionize. The film offers a snapshot of the labor movement on the cusp of the Reagan era in American and features a memorable, Oscar-winning performance by Sally Field in the title role. My guest is Fred B. Jacob, Solicitor of the National Labor Relations Board and labor law professor at George Washington University Law School. Fred’s views on this podcast are solely his own and not those of the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Government. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 07 Feb 2024 | Eye in the Sky (Guest: Craig Martin) (episode 19) | 01:06:52 | |
Eye in the Sky (2015), directed by Gavin Hood from a script by Guy Hibbert, depicts the operation of a multinational team aimed at high-level operatives from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in Nairobi, Kenya. When the British army learns of the location of the suspects, it plans to capture them. But surveillance reveals the suspects are preparing two new recruits to carry out a suicide bombing. British military officials, with their U.S. partner, seek to shift the operation from capture to kill. Officials must decide whether to authorize a lethal drone strike to avoid a possible terrorist attack, despite the possibility of civilian casualties, including of a young girl who is nearby. Eye in the Sky, which stars Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi, and Alan Rickman (in his last screen role), depicts the new reality of drone warfare and the complex legal and moral issues it raises. I’m joined by Craig Martin, Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law and the creator and host of the JIB/JAB: The Laws of War Podcast (https://jibjabpodcast.com), which features top and upcoming experts in different aspects of the laws of war. Timestamps: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 21 Feb 2024 | Oppenheimer (Guest: Audra Wolfe) (episode 20) | 01:07:26 | |
Oppenheimer (2023) stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II . The film was written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the book, American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. The film traces Oppenheimer’s early life, his rise to world prominence through the Manhattan Project, and his subsequent downfall after being stripped of his security clearance in 1954 due to his alleged past communist sympathies and outspoken criticism of the nuclear arms race. The cast includes Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife “Kitty”; Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, the Manhattan Project's director; Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and rival of Oppenheimer; and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s lover and former Communist party member, Jean Tatlock. The film provides a window not only into one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures, but also into the political and social forces that surrounded the birth of the Atomic Age and America’s transition from World War II to the Red Scare and Cold War. My guest is Audra Wolfe, a writer and historian who focuses on the role of science during the Cold War.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 29 Feb 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon (Guest: Wilson Pipestem) (episode 21) | 01:01:17 | |
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) describes the series of murders of members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. Because tribal members retained mineral rights on their reservation, they became extraordinarily wealthy after oil was discovered on tribal land. This leads a corrupt local boss, William K. Hale (Robert De Niro), to conspire with others in the community to deprive the Osage of their wealth by murdering them. Directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the 2017 book by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon focuses on the plot by Hale and his two nephews, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Byron Burkhart (Scott Shepherd), to take the oil rights of one Osage family. Hale's scheme is for Ernest to marry one of the sisters in the family, Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and then kill her other family members before finishing off Mollie herself so that Ernest can inherit Mollie's headrights. Eventually, federal agents come to Oklahoma to investigate the murders and uncover Hale’s plot, saving Molly and uncovering evidence to prosecute Hale and Ernest. But this is only after many Osage are murdered and their wealth stolen in a chilling story of violence, greed, and the racially motivated devastation of the Osage Tribe. I’m joined by Wilson Pipestem, a partner at Pipestem Law and citizen of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and an Osage headright holder, who has dedicated his career to protecting the rights of tribal governments and American Indians. 0:00 Introduction 4:26 The historical context and Osage tribal rights 14:35 The stereotype of rich Osages 15:25 Legal trusts and exploitation of the guardianship system 22:17 How limits on federal and tribal jurisdiction led to violence and impunity 26:30 Fear and terror in the Osage community 29:48 The federal investigation 32:06 The level of local complicity in the Osage murders 33:55 The treatment of the Osage as “incompetent” under the law 38:33 Capturing Osage tradition and belief on screen 41:27 Mollie and Ernest’s complex relationship 45:50 How the Osage overcame a legacy of violence and impunity 48:50 The role of law and lawyers 51:58 How Martin Scorsese listened to and engaged the Osage people Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 07 Mar 2024 | Anatomy of a Fall (France) (Guests: Fred Davis and Sam Bettwy) (episode 22) | 00:54:55 | |
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) is an acclaimed French drama directed by Justine Triet, from a screenplay she co-wrote with her real-life partner, Arthur Harari. The movie centers on the criminal trial of a writer (Sandra Hüeller) who is accused of killing her husband (Samuel Maleski) in a small town in the French Alps. The film operates on multiple levels. On one level, it dissects the circumstances surrounding Samuel’s death. What caused him to fall from the window of their chalet? Was he pushed? Or did he jump? On another level, the film dissects the deteriorating marriage between Sandra and Samuel and the complex family dynamics surrounding their 11-year-old-son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner). The film offers a close look at a French criminal investigation and trial. More broadly, it raises questions about the reliability of human memory, the elusive nature of truth, and the complex relationship between law and justice. My guests to discuss Anatomy of a Fall are Fred Davis and Samuel Bettwy. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:59 Coming up with a defense strategy 9:17 A case about doubt 11:36 Pretrial investigations in France 15:56 Victims’ counsel (partie civile) in France 18:50 The role of the investigating magistrate 22:03 The presiding judge and the other participants at trial 26:39 Unpacking the seeming “chaos” in the courtroom 29:07 Why defendants testify at trial in France 34:06 Liberté de la preuve and the treatment of evidence 39:17 The treatment of juveniles under French law 43:39 Daniel’s pivotal testimony 46:13 Appeals of acquittals by the prosecution 47:15 Influences on the director 50:37 Expert testimony 52:51 The justice system as metaphor
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 28 Mar 2024 | Eight Men Out (1988) (Guests: Robert Boland and Brett Kaufman) (episode 23) | 00:57:55 | |
Eight Men Out (1988) is a dramatization of professional baseball’s infamous Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. The film, which was directed by John Sayles, is based on Eliot Asinof’s 1963 book, Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. It recounts how a group of White Sox players conspired with an array of gamblers, including notorious underworld financier Arnold Rothstein (a/k/a “The Big Bankroll”), to throw the series in return for cash. After the Sox, who some consider one of the greatest baseball teams of all time, lose the series, suspicions grow that there had been a fix based on rumors and the nature of some players’ poor performances. Eight players are charged with conspiracy and tried in Chicago in 1921. Although the players are all acquitted, baseball’s new commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banishes them all for life from baseball, a bold move that some believe saved the game of baseball, which was still in its relative infancy, and enabled it to become “America’s pastime.” Debates around the events continue to this day, including over the level of involvement of some players and the draconian nature of the punishment. With me to discuss this movie are Robert Boland and Brett Max Kaufman.
Further reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 16 Apr 2024 | Miracle on 34th Street and Top Law Movies List (Guest: Ashley Merryman) (episode 24) | 00:58:10 | |
This episode looks at “Law Films You Won't Want to Miss,” a recent list of "the most captivating legal themed movies," published in U.S. News and World Report. Which movies are on the list? Which didn't make the cut? And what does the list tell us about “law movies”—and of great law movies? One film on the list may be something of a surprise: Miracle on 34th Street (1947) written and directed by George Seaton, from a story by Valentine Davies. In this Christmas holiday classic, the events director of Macy’s Department Store in NYC, Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) hires an old man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn, who won an Oscar as best supporting actor) to serve as Macy’s Santa Clause after the prior Santa is fired for being a drunk. Kringle not only closely resembles Santa Clause but believes he is Santa. Kringle is welcomed into Doris’s home and makes a favorable impression on Doris’s daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). Kringle also makes an impression at work. He advises one customer to go to another store when Macy’s can’t fulfill her son’s request for a particular toy instead of trying to sell her something else. This turns out to be a public relations stroke of genius, demonstrating Macy’s concern for and loyalty to its customers. But Kringle’s success at Macy’s doesn’t last. He gets into a dispute with another employee who insists Kringle be fired and put into a mental hospital. A civil commitment hearing takes place, where the question centers on whether Kringle’s belief that he is Santa Clause shows he is insane. Miracle on 34th Street raises timeless questions how law should treat beliefs. I’m joined by Ashley Merryman, the author of the list, “Law Films You Won't Want to Miss.”
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 01 May 2024 | The Caine Mutiny (1954) & The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023) (Guest: Gene Fidell) (episode 25) | 00:54:50 | |
The Caine Mutiny (1954) is based on Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. The film, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer, portrays the fictitious events on board the U.S.S. Caine, a Navy destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific during World War II. Lt. Stephen Maryk (Van Johnson) relieves the seemingly unstable Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg, Captain of the USS Caine, of his command after Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) endangers the ship and its crew . The ship returns to the U.S. and Maryk is court-martialed for mutiny. He is represented by Navy lawyer, Lt. Barney Greenwald (José Ferrer), who despite disapproving of Maryk’s actions, believes Maryk was misled by the ship’s communications officer, Lt. Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray), into believing Queeg was mentally unfit for command. Maryk is acquitted after Greenwald exposes Queeg’s erratic and paranoid behavior. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023), directed by the late William Friedkin, is based on Wouk’s adaption of his own 1951 novel for the stage. The cast includes Jake Lacy as Maryk, Jason Clarke as defense attorney Greenwald, Monica Raymund as prosecutor Lt. Commander Katherine Challee, the late Lance Reddick as the presiding judge Captain Luther Blakley, and Kiefer Sutherland in a phenomenal performance as Queeg. The films are not only gripping courtroom dramas, but also explore larger themes around military justice, ethics, and morality. With me to discuss these films is Eugene (Gene) Fidell, a visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and co-founder of the National Institute of Military Justice.
Further reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 14 May 2024 | Inherit the Wind (1960) (Guest Nell Minow) (episode 26) | 00:40:13 | |
Inherit the Wind (1960) is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial," where a local teacher is prosecuted for teaching about human evolution in public school in violation of state law. The film was directed by Stanley Kramer and is based on a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. It stars Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond (patterned after celebrated defense attorney Clarence Darrow), Frederic March as the prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady (patterned after famous three-time presidential candidate and renowned fundamentalist Christian spokesperson, William Jennings Bryan); Dick York as Bertram T. Cates (patterned after high school science teacher John Scopes), and Gene Kelly as reporter E. K. Hornbeck (patterned after H.L. Mencken). Fans of the TV series M*A*S*H will also enjoy seeing Harry Morgan as the trial judge. The film not only provides a glimpse into the role of religion in public life in American in the 1920s; it also contains important messages about conformism and freedom of thought directed at the McCarthyism of its own era—messages that continue to reverberate today. My guest to talk about Inherit the Wind is film critic Nell Minow (bio here). Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 28 May 2024 | Absence of Malice (1981) (Guest: Brian Hauss) (episode 27) | 00:56:58 | |
This episode examines Absence of Malice, a 1981 drama directed by Sidney Pollack. After Miami-based newspaper reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field) is tipped off by Justice Department organized crime strike force chief Elliot Rosen (Bob Balaban) about a criminal investigation into the disappearance and likely murder of a local union official, her paper runs a sensational front-page story. But the supposed target of the investigation, Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman), the son of an infamous bootlegger, is innocent; Rosen, the strike force chief, has leaked his name to the press to try to squeeze Gallagher for information. Gallagher is incensed and tries to pressure Megan to reveal her source. Megan initially refuses but later relents after her story unexpectedly leads to the tragic death of a friend of Gallagher's. Gallagher and Megan also become romantically involved. Gallagher hatches a plot to get even and get the government off his back. He causes an unsuspecting Megan to write another sensational story, this time implicating the District Attorney in a bribery scheme that Gallagher has invented. When the truth is revealed, both the prosecutors and the newspaper are humiliated, the victims of their own game of leaking information and reporting about it. Absence of Malice provides an insightful, if unflattering, picture of how newspapers operate and some of the ethical and moral complications that can result from the robust protections afforded the press under the First Amendment. I’m joined by Brian Hauss, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who has litigated numerous landmark First Amendment cases.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 18 Jun 2024 | The Sweet Hereafter (1997) (Guest: Seán Patrick Donlan) (episode 28) | 00:53:10 | |
This episode explores Atom Egoyan's 1997 film, The Sweet Hereafter, which describes the impact of a tragic school bus accident that caused the death of 14 children on a small Canadian town. The film is based on Russell Banks’ 1991 novel of the same name (which in turn was based on a real-life bus crash in Texas). The film centers on personal injury lawyer Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm), who travels to the town after the accident in an attempt to persuade the parents of the children to bring a negligence lawsuit. The controversy generated by the lawsuit ripples through the community and is explored through several characters in the town, including Nicole (Sarah Polley), a teenage girl who is left paralyzed from the waist down by the accident; Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose), the bus driver on the fateful, day; and various parents who have sharply conflicting views on the lawsuit. The Sweet Hereafter, however, is much more than a story about tort litigation; it explores larger philosophical questions around justice, community norms, and the role of law in addressing life’s most painful tragedies. I am joined by Seán Patrick Donlan, a Professor of Law at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 17 Jul 2024 | Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) (Guest: Alka Pradhan) (episode 29) | 00:51:04 | |
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) centers on the plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England, the arrest and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (Elizabeth’s cousin), and King Phillip II of Spain’s attempt to topple Elizabeth and install a Catholic monarch on the English throne, which culminates in England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The film also portrays the complex emotional triangle involving Elizabeth, the English statemen, soldier, and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting, Beth Throckmorton, whom Raleigh marries and has a child with. (The film depicts Elizabeth as enamored with Raleigh). Directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a script by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, the film is a sequel to Kapur’s Elizabeth (1998). The cast includes Cate Blanchett (Queen Elizabeth I), Clive Owen (Walter Raleigh), Geoffrey Rush (Elizabeth’s spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham), Samantha Morton (Mary, Queen of Scots); Abbie Cornish (Beth Throckmorton); and Jordi Mollà (Phillip II of Spain). In addition to dramatizing this critical and memorable period of English history (albeit with some notable historical inaccuracies), the film provides a window into important and timely legal issues around torture, trial for matters of state, and piracy in Tudor England. I’m joined by Alka Pradhan, a leading human rights attorney, adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and Tudor history buff. (Alka's full bio is here) Timestamps: 3:38 Queen Elizabeth I and the film’s historical context 9:14 The Babington assassination plot 15:38 Mary’s letters and the evidence of guilt 16:53 Torture and torture warrants during Elizabeth I’s reign 22:51 Walsingham, the spy master 24:08 The trial of Mary Queen of Scots 32:38 The Defeat of the Spanish Armada 36:18 The law of piracy 38:24 Elizabeth, Walter Raleigh, and Beth Throckmorton 44:56 More on depicting torture and trials on film 48:44 What the movie and Tudor history can tell us about contemporary society Lewis, Jayne E., The Trial of Mary Queen of Scots: A Brief History with Documents (1999) Martin, Colin & Parker, Geoffrey, The Spanish Enterprise and England’s Deliverance in 1588 (2023) Webb, Simon, A History of Torture in England (2018) Williams, Kate, Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary Queen of Scots (2021) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 06 Aug 2024 | The Verdict (1982) (Guest: John "Rusty" Wing) (episode 30) | 01:11:47 | |
The Verdict (1982) tells the story of down-on-his-luck Boston lawyer, Frank Galvin (Paul Newman). Galvin had been a rising star until he was framed for jury tampering by a partner at his elite Boston law firm because he planned to expose the firm's illegalities. Galvin left the firm and his marriage and career fell apart. After Galvin hits rock bottom, his former partner and friend Mickey Morrisey (Jack Warden) sends him a medical malpractice case as a favor; the case involves a botched delivery and is expected to settle out of court for a significant sum. But Galvin is moved after visiting the woman in the hospital, where he sees her in a comatose state. Galvin refuses the settlement offer and takes the case to trial, where he confronts the hospital’s high-powered and corrupt attorney Ed Concannon (James Mason) and a hostile judge (Milo O’Shea), Galvin also has a romantic relationship with another attorney, Laura Fischer (Charlotte Rampling) whom he meets in a bar but, unbeknownst to him, is a spy planted by Concannon. Galvin discovers the hospital is covering up its negligence. Although the judge excludes this evidence, Galvin wins a huge damage award as the jury sees the truth. The Verdict was directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed’s 1980 novel of the same name. It is a gripping courtroom drama and a moving story of redemption. My guest is John (“Rusty”) Wing, Senior Counsel at Lankler, Siffert & Wohl, and a nationally recognized criminal defense attorney (full bio here) Timestamps: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 10 Sep 2024 | Chinatown (1974) (Guest: John Walton) (episode 31) | 00:47:00 | |
Chinatown (1974) is a neo-noir crime thriller, directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne. Based loosely on the Owens Valley water wars in Los Angeles from the early twentieth century, the film follows private investigator J.J. (“Jake”) Gittes (Jack Nicholson) as he pursues a series of leads that take him into the dark underbelly of power and corruption in 1930s Los Angeles. A woman claiming to be "Evelyn Mulwray” initially hires Gittes to follow her husband Hollis, whom she suspects of infidelity. Gittes discovers that Noah Cross (John Huston), the father of the real Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), had Hollis, his former business partner and head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, killed. Hollis had learned of Cross’s plan to force famers in the Northwest valley to sell their land by cutting off their irrigating water and purchasing it through dummy syndicates on the cheap with the aim of developing the land into valuable Los Angeles real estate. Gittes also learns that the young woman he falsely suspected Hollis of having an affair with is Evelyn’s sister and daughter—the product of Evelyn’s rape by Cross when she was fifteen. While Gittes ultimately unravels the mystery, he is unable to stop the powerful Cross from achieving his goals or prevent the tragic fate that awaits Evelyn. My guest to talk about this venerated New Hollywood era classic is Emeritus Professor John Walton of the University of California, Davis. Further reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 01 Oct 2024 | Bridge of Spies (Guests: Lenni Benson & Jeffrey Kahn) (episode 32) | 01:22:19 | |
This episode explores Bridge of Spies (2015), the Cold War legal and political thriller directed by Steven Spielberg (and written by Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen). The film is based on the true story of American attorney James Donovan, who is assigned to represent Soviet spy Rudolf Abel after Abel is arrested in New York and prosecuted for espionage. The story takes a turn when American pilot Francis Gary Powers is captured by the Russians after his plane is shot down over the Soviet Union while conducting a surveillance mission. Donovan is then tasked with negotiating a high-stakes prisoner exchange—Abel for Powers—that culminates in a climactic scene on the Glienicke Bridge connecting Potsdam with Soviet-controlled East Berlin. The film is not only highly entertaining; it also provides a window into important legal issues around national security, criminal, and immigration law that still resonate today. Joining me to talk about Bridge of Spies are Lenni Benson, Distinguished Chair in Immigration and Human Rights Law at New York Law School, one of the nation’s foremost authorities immigration law and a prominent advocate in the field, and Jeffrey Kahn, University Distinguished Professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, a leading scholar on constitutional and counterterrorism law, an expert on Russian law, and the author of a must-read article on the Abel case, published in the Journal of National Security Law and Policy.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 22 Oct 2024 | A Separation (Iran) (2011) (Guest: Golbarg Rekabtalaei) (episode 33) | 00:51:15 | |
A Separation (2011) is an Iranian drama written and directed by Asghar Farhadi. The film depicts the martial separation between a middle-class couple, Nadar (Peyman Moaadi) and his wife Simin (Leila Hatami). Simin wants the family to leave Iran to make a better life for their 10-year-old daughter Termeh, but Nadar does not want to leave his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. So Nadar refuses to go and also refuses to give permission for their daughter to leave. The film also depicts the conflict that results when Nadar allegedly pushes his father’s new, lower-income caregiver, Razieh (Sareh Bayat) down the stairs during an altercation, causing her to miscarry. A Separation centers around the two legal cases: the divorce proceedings between Nadar and Simin; and the criminal proceedings against Nadar. It provides a window not only into law in Iran but also into the complex forces of politics, class, and religion that shape modern Iranian society. To discuss this universally acclaimed and award-winning film, I’m joined by Golbarg Rekabtalaei, a professor of history at Seton Hall University and expert on Iran and Iranian cinema.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 12 Nov 2024 | Black Hawk Down (Guest: Greg Fox) (episode 34) | 00:58:57 | |
Black Hawk Down (2001) describes the plight of the U.S. crew of a Black Hawk helicopter that is shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu during the civil war in Somalia in October 1993. The battle resulted in the death of 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somalis; it also prompted the U.S. withdrawal from Somalia after images of dead U.S. soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by enraged Somalis were broadcast on American television. Directed by Ridley Scott from a book by Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down is a gritty action movie that captures the brutal nature of urban warfare. It also provides a window into a host of complex international legal and political issues surrounding humanitarian intervention in the aftermath of the Cold War. Joining me is Greg Fox, Professor and Director of the Program for International Legal Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. Professor Fox is a widely cited authority on international law and international organizations and a leader in a variety of academic and professional organizations. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction Further reading: Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 05 Dec 2024 | Minamata: The Victims and Their World (1971) & Minamata (2020) (Guest: Darryl Flaherty) (episode 35) | 01:07:25 | |
This episode looks at two films that examine the environmental disaster in Minamata, Japan: Noriaki Tsuchimoto’s documentary, Minamata: The Victims and the World (1971), and Andre Levitas’s Minamata (2020), a Hollywood feature film that tells the story through the famous American photographer, W. Eugene Smith. From 1932 to 1968, the Chisso Corporation, a local petrochemical and plastics maker, dumped approximately 27 tons of mercury into Minamata bay, poisoning fish and, ultimately, the people who ate them. Several thousand people died and many more suffered crippling injuries, with often severe mental and physical effects. The corporation’s environmental pollution sparked legal and political battles that would last decades and reverberate throughout Japan. Joining me to discuss the films and the insights they provide into Japanese law and society, is Professor Darryl Flaherty. Darryl is a historian of law and social change in early modern and modern Japan. He has published work on the emergence of Japan's legal profession during the nineteenth century, the Meiji Restoration in world history, and the twentieth century history of the jury in Japan. He is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Delaware, where he teaches courses on Japanese, Asian, and world history. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 23 Dec 2024 | Matewan (1989) (Guest: Fred B. Jacob) (episode 36) | 01:05:47 | |
Matewan (written and directed by John Sayles) dramatizes the events of the Battle of Matewan, a coal miners’ strike in 1920 in a small town in the hills of West Virginia. In the film, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut), an ex-Wobbly organizer for the United Mine Workers (also known as the “Wobblies”), arrives in Matewan, to organize miners against the Stone Mountain Coal Company. Kenehan and his supporters must battle the company’s use of scabs and outright violence, resist the complicity of law enforcement in the company’s tactics, and overcome the racism and xenophobia that helps divide the labor movement. Sayles’s film provides a window into the legal and social issues confronting the labor movement in the early twentieth century and into the Great Coalfield War of that period. I’m joined by Fred B. Jacob, Solicitor of the National Labor Relations Board and labor law professor at George Washington University Law School. Fred’s views on this podcast are solely his own and not those of the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Government.
Further reading: Hood, Abby Lee, “What Made the Battle of Blair Mountain the Largest Labor Uprising in American History,” Smithsonian Magazine (Aug. 25, 2001) Moore, Roger, “A Masterpiece that reminds us why there is a Labor Day,” Movie Nation (Sept. 2, 2024) Sayles, John, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan (1987) Zappia, Charles A., “Labor, Race, and Ethnicity in the West Virginia Mines: 'Matewan,'” 30(4) J. Am. Ethnic History 44 (Summer 2011)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 04 Feb 2025 | Mr. Untouchable (2007) (Guest: Robert B. Fiske) (episode 38) | 00:42:28 | |
Mr. Untouchable, a 2007 documentary directed by Marc Levin, describes the rise and fall of former New York City drug kingpin, Leroy (“Nicky”) Barnes. In the early 1970s, Barnes formed “The Council,” an organized crime syndicate that controlled a significant part of the heroin trade in Harlem. Inspired by the Italian-American mafia, Barnes became one of the most powerful and notorious figures in New York City. A flashy and flamboyant fixture on the free-wheeling social scene of the period, Barnes quickly drew the attention of law enforcement. After several unsuccessful state prosecution attempts, Barnes, along with multiple other associates, was indicted by federal prosecutors in New York in 1977. Barnes was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Barnes, however, was released in 1998, in exchange for working as a government informant, and entered the Witness Protection Program, where he remained until his death in 2012. Barnes was also depicted in Ridley Scott’s 2007 film American Gangster, which starred Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, another notorious drug kingpin from the era. Cuba Gooding Jr. portrayed Barnes in that film. Joining me to talk about Mr. Untouchable and the Nicky Barnes case is Robert B. Fiske, Jr., Senior Counsel at Davis Polk in New York, where he previously served as litigation partner for many years. Bob Fiske is one of the most prominent and respected trial lawyers in America. He has been involved in some of the most notable cases of the last half-century, including as special prosecutor in the Whitewater controversy and the death of White House counsel Vince Foster, the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster, the antitrust suit between the USFL and. NFL, the most contentious America's Cup ever, and the financial swindler Bernie Madoff. Mr. Fiske also served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1976 to 1980, during which time he led the prosecution of Nicky Barnes. 0:00 Introduction Barnes, Leroy & Folsom, Tom, Mr. Untouchable: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Heroin’s Teflon Don (2007) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 14 Jan 2025 | First They Killed My Father (2017) and The Gate (2014) (Guest: Melanie O'Brien) (episode 37) | 01:18:15 | |
This episode looks at two films about the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s: First They Killed My Father (dir. Angelina Jolie), and The Gate (or Les Temps des Aveux) (dir. Régis Wargnier). First They Killed My Father is based on the memoir of Loung Ung, who was a five-year-old girl when the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia in 1975. Loung Ung was forced to flee Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, with her family. Loung Ung’s parents were killed, and Loung Ung was separated from her siblings; after surviving in a forced labor camp, Loung Ung was forced to become a child soldier. The Gate tells the story of acclaimed French anthropologist, Francois Bizot, who was imprisoned and tortured by the Khmer Rouge for three months in 1971 on suspicion of being a CIA spy, and who later became the French embassy’s translator and intermediary with the Khmer Rouge until he was forced to flee the country. The films, which are both based on personal memoirs, provide a harrowing account of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. I'm joined by Dr. Melanie O’Brien, Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Law School and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Dr. O'Brien is a leading expert on genocide and international law, and is the author of acclaimed scholarly books and articles on the subject. 0:00 Introduction Killean, Rachel & Moffett, Luke, “What’s in a Name? ‘Reparations’ at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia,” 21(1) Melbourne J. Int'l Law 115 (2020) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 25 Feb 2025 | The Goldman Case (2023) (Guest: Fred Davis) (episode 39) | 00:44:50 | |
The Goldman Case (Le Procès Goldman) (2023), is a French courtroom drama based on the real-life 1976 trial of Pierre Goldman, a far-left Jewish militant who was accused of multiple armed robberies and four murders during a holdup of a pharmacy in Paris. The film, which was directed by Cedric Kahn from screenplay by Kahn and Nathalie Hertzberg, stars Arieh Worthalter as Goldman and Arthur Harari as his lead lawyer, Georges Kiejiman. The film is not only a gripping account of this celebrated trial, but also explores larger themes around individual and collective responsibility, the way courtrooms can become the battleground for contested narratives about the past, and the swirling forces of race, class, and religion in 1970s France. Joining me to talk about The Goldman Case is Fred Davis, an internationally acclaimed trial attorney, expert on French criminal law and procedure, and Lecturer at Columbia Law School, where he teaches about how to examine comparative criminal procedure through film.
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 18 Mar 2025 | Syriana (2005) (Guest: Peggy McGuinness) (episode 40) | 01:08:01 | |
Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, based loosely on former CIA case officer Robert Baer’s memoir, See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism. The film weaves together multiple storylines that involve a CIA agent, a U.S. energy analyst, a major transnational law firm, and an oil-rich Persian Gulf kingdom. It tackles complex themes of corruption, power, and terrorism from a distinctly post-9/11 vantage point. The film also suggests how law operates in transnational settings and how it seeks—but often fails—to tame the forces of ambition, greed, and power that drive the oil industry and America’s role in it. Joining me to talk about Syriana is Margaret (Peggy) McGuinness, a professor at St. John’s University School of Law and a leading scholar of international law.
Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:00 The context and setting 5:24 The film’s multiple storylines 8:28 Former CIA agent Robert Baer and the George Clooney character 19:22 Capital markets and energy derivatives 25:26 Big oil in the early 2000s and today 28:28 Big law and the Jeffrey Wright character 33:43 DOJ’s investigation 37:14 The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 42:40 The illusion of due diligence 47:40 Radicalization 53:06 Gulf monarchs 55:10 Targeted assassinations 1:01:14 The next movie: big tech and AI 1:01:52 The outcome
Further reading: Alyson, Brusie et al., “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” 61 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 713 (2024) Baer, Robert, See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism (Crown, 2003) Cohen, Kfir, “Narrating the global: pedagogy and disorientation in ‘Syriana,’” Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media Lewis, R. James & Awan, Akil N. eds. Radicalization: A Global and Comparative Perspective (Oxford Univ. Press, 2024) Stiglitz, Jospeh E., Globalization and Its Discontents (W. W. Norton & Co. 2002)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||
| 08 Apr 2025 | Ali (2001) (Guest: Dave Zirin) (episode 41) | 00:50:16 | |
Muhammad Ali is widely recognized as one of the greatest athletes of all-time and one of the most important figures of the 20th century. In addition to his long and celebrated career as a boxer and three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Ali changed the conversation about race, religion, and politics in America. Ali’s refusal to be inducted into the U.S. military during the Vietnam War on religious grounds—a profound act of resistance that resulted not only in Ali’s three-plus-year exile from professional boxing, but also a criminal conviction and five year-prison sentence that Ali almost had to serve until it was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court—represented a pivotal moment of the 1960s. Ali has been the subject of numerous books and documentary films, including the Oscar-winning When We Were Kings (1996) and The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013). He is also the subject of the 2001 Hollywood biopic, Ali (co-written and directed by Michael Mann and starring Will Smith as Ali), which focuses on the ten-year period from Ali’s capture of the heavyweight crown from Sonny Liston in 1964 to Ali’s fight against George Foreman in Zaire in 1974 (the famed “Rumble in the Jungle”). Once a sharply polarizing figure, Ali became one of the most celebrated and eulogized individuals in America, whose rich, if not incomparable, legacy reverberates around the world today. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:22 Formative experiences 5:00 From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali 10:26 Opposition to the Vietnam draft 13:16 Ali’s loss of his prime years 15:42 The broader significance of Ali’s opposition to induction 18:08 Ali’s legal challenges and the U.S. Supreme Court 22:48: The Fight of the Century 24:06 From a symbol of resistance to reconciliation 27:50 Becoming a global icon: The Rumble in the Jungle 35:30 Ali and Howard Cosell 36:57 Ali and Malcolm X 41:08 Some problems of the Ali biopic 44:12 Ali’s post-boxing career 47:53 Sports and resistance: Ali's legacy Further reading: Hauser, Thomas, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1991) Kindred, Dave, Sound and Fury: Two Powerful Lives, One Fateful Friendship (2006) Lederman, Marty, “The story of Cassius Clay v. United States,” SCOTUSBlog (June 8, 2016) Lipsyte, Robert, Free to Be Muhammad Ali (1978) Marqusee, Mike, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties (2017) Remnick, David, King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero (1998) Zirin, Dave, Muhammad Ali Handbook (2007) Zirin, Dave, The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World (2022) Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. | |||