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IMDbPro

Le Droit de tuer ?

Original title: A Time to Kill
  • 1996
  • Tous publics avec avertissement
  • 2h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
193K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
333
50
Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Matthew McConaughey in Le Droit de tuer ? (1996)
Home Video Trailer from Unknown
Play trailer2:29
1 Video
99+ Photos
Legal ThrillerCrimeDramaThriller

A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.

  • Director
    • Joel Schumacher
  • Writers
    • John Grisham
    • Akiva Goldsman
  • Stars
    • Matthew McConaughey
    • Sandra Bullock
    • Samuel L. Jackson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    193K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    333
    50
    • Director
      • Joel Schumacher
    • Writers
      • John Grisham
      • Akiva Goldsman
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Sandra Bullock
      • Samuel L. Jackson
    • 364User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 12 nominations total

    Videos1

    A Time To Kill (2006)
    Trailer 2:29
    A Time To Kill (2006)

    Photos156

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    Top cast88

    Edit
    Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew McConaughey
    • Jake Tyler Brigance
    Sandra Bullock
    Sandra Bullock
    • Ellen Roark
    Samuel L. Jackson
    Samuel L. Jackson
    • Carl Lee Hailey
    Kevin Spacey
    Kevin Spacey
    • D.A. Rufus Buckley
    Oliver Platt
    Oliver Platt
    • Harry Rex Vonner
    Charles S. Dutton
    Charles S. Dutton
    • Sheriff Ozzie Walls
    Brenda Fricker
    Brenda Fricker
    • Ethel Twitty
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland
    • Lucien Wilbanks
    Kiefer Sutherland
    Kiefer Sutherland
    • Freddie Lee Cobb
    Patrick McGoohan
    Patrick McGoohan
    • Judge Omar Noose
    Ashley Judd
    Ashley Judd
    • Carla Brigance
    Tonea Stewart
    Tonea Stewart
    • Gwen Hailey
    RaéVen Kelly
    RaéVen Kelly
    • Tonya Hailey
    • (as RaéVen Larrymore Kelly)
    Darrin Mitchell
    • Skip Hailey
    LaConte McGrew
    • Slim Hailey
    Devin Lloyd
    • Willie Hailey
    John Diehl
    John Diehl
    • Tim Nunley
    Chris Cooper
    Chris Cooper
    • Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney
    • Director
      • Joel Schumacher
    • Writers
      • John Grisham
      • Akiva Goldsman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews364

    7.5192.6K
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    Featured reviews

    tfrizzell

    Pretty Strong.

    A truly tense film that takes place in present-day Mississippi. A young African-American girl has been raped by two backwoods white men. Her father (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands and kills the two. Now the small town becomes a hot-bed of controversy as a murder trial starts that gets national attention. There is the defense attorney (Matthew McConaughey) and his bright-eyed assistant (Sandra Bullock) against prosecutor supreme Kevin Spacey. A really solid film that works because of a screenplay that pulls no punches and revolutionary direction by Joel Schumacher. A great ensemble cast all excel here and the film captures a place that has turned into a media circus very well. A film that you will watch with clenched fists. An intense experience. 4 stars out of 5.
    7tmpj

    A very taut racial thriller !

    This one had me sitting on the edge of my seat. The 90s weren't as polite as the late 50s/ early 60s when we were riveted by "To Kill a Mockingbird", a book and film that author John Grisham credits as an influence to this story. Two "Good Ol Boy" racists go on a red-neck spree, disrespecting all things Black...men, women, and children. Their beer guzzling binge culminates in the rape and near murder of a 10 year old black girl. Samuel L Jackson plays her father...and he goes out for revenge, killing the two miscreants and seriously wounding a deputy sheriff in the process. The film there-after revolves around the very basic points : A. Can a Black man receive a fair trial even in the so-called "New South" after killing two white men...even though their crime was and is considered reprehensible by every decent human being? And B: Will the Black man receive competent legal representation and receive justice irrespective of his "vigilante" action which appears to many to be justified? What will be the fallout? Matt McConaughey's performance as the lawyer is slightly reminiscent of Gregory Peck in "Mockingbird". He has a moralistic reverence for the law, and endures the taunts of the townsfolk and his other encumbrances with fortitude. Sandra Bullock is convincing as the law student who wants to chime in and lend a hand for the experience. Don and Keifer Sutherland deliver solid support...the elder being a dis-barred lawyer who is ready with advice, the younger playing a racist Klansman out to get revenge for the two dead rednecks. The atmosphere hinges on the explosive as the racial tension builds, and it is a movie that is worth watching with a message worth pondering and remembering. See the film.
    8r-fronimides

    Rare gem movie!

    From this film, I learned who Matthew McConaughey is.

    This film was the first film I've watched him, and oh boy, I liked him so much.

    Very emotional film, very hard, strike on the face.

    Amazing performance from all the actors, but Matthew McConaughey was incredibly amazing!

    His last speach in the court before the judge's decision, was... one of the best I ever watched and heard.

    A must-see film!
    Clever Jones

    Very well done

    I'm not sure why I didn't see this film when it came out, but I watched it for the first time last week and was blown away. "A time to kill" is not only very well done, but it shows the way racism is dealt with in an intertesting way. Every character is not only well developed, but the actors playing them make it totally believable.

    Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson, who remain two of the finest American actors are definetly one of the best parts of the film. I'm not really sure how this film was received when it was released, but I consider it to be one of the most well done films I've seen recently.
    8Topshelf_89

    A Powerful throwback!

    Thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish action packed powerful drama great story that impacts your emotions! All star cast and great acting must see!

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Matthew McConaughey auditioned for the role of Freddie Lee Cobb. After reading the script, he preferred the role of Jake Brigance but didn't think they would cast him due to his experience level. He went to director Joel Schumacher, who granted him a private screentest.
    • Goofs
      When Jake calls Max after the fire, Max tries to run past him, apparently toward the off-screen dog wrangler.
    • Quotes

      Jake Tyler Brigance: [in his summation, talking about Tonya Hailey] I want to tell you a story. I'm going to ask you all to close your eyes while I tell you the story. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. Go ahead. Close your eyes, please. This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl. Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on. First one, then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure with a vicious thrust in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. And when they're done, after they've killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to have children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. They start throwing full beer cans at her. They throw them so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones. Then they urinate on her. Now comes the hanging. They have a rope. They tie a noose. Imagine the noose going tight around her neck and with a sudden blinding jerk she's pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking. They don't find the ground. The hanging branch isn't strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge. Pitch her over the edge. And she drops some thirty feet down to the creek bottom below. Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine she's white.

    • Alternate versions
      The first name of the Jake Brigance character becomes ''Jack'' Brigance in the Italian version.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Multiplicity/The Frighteners/Kazaam/Fled/Celestial Clockwork (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Take My Hand Precious Lord
      Written by Thomas A. Dorsey

      Produced by Matthew Johnson and Bruce Watson

      Performed by The Jones Sisters

      Courtesy of Fat Possum Records

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    FAQ23

    • How long is A Time to Kill?Powered by Alexa
    • This story is very similar to To Kill a Mokingbird. Why?
    • What is the sleeveless shirt Matthew McConaughey's character is wearing with a famous musician on it?
    • What is 'A Time to Kill' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 13, 1996 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tiempo de matar
    • Filming locations
      • London, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • New Regency Productions
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $40,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $108,766,007
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,823,159
      • Jul 28, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $152,266,007
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 29m(149 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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