More drama, tension and fascinating psychology than any newer thriller

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2000)

Henry Fonda's best role. Gripping, dramatic, an extraordinarily powerful film more truthful than any documentary. It is also an important primer on the prime directive of American jurisprudence: that we as a nation prefer that 100 guilty men go free than that a single innocent person be convicted. The concept of "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" is nowhere defined in the American legal code or Constitution. This movie does it for us. It also makes clear why no one, not even the President of the United States, may commit perjury without deliberately working to undermine the very basis of our legal system.