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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
192K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
685
280
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
    192K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    685
    280
    • Director
      • Joel Schumacher
    • Writers
      • John Grisham
      • Akiva Goldsman
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Sandra Bullock
      • Samuel L. Jackson
    • 362User reviews
    • 45Critic 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 reviews362

    7.5191.9K
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    Featured reviews

    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!
    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!
    7Xstal

    Still Raising More Questions Than Answers...

    ... and when you cascade politics, religion and justice into the cauldron and catalyse them with a culture that, like all cultures, struggles to shake off its generational prejudices, you're left with a hate that's as tough to eradicate as the common cold. Some fine performances all round and quite a spectacular list of actors milling around and in the courthouse. The saddest part for me is that watching it over 25 years after reading the book I've become too accepting that the world is incapable of recognising what the true cause of prejudice is because those we elect to authority really don't want to empower and uplift those who enter the world considerably less well off than the rest.
    6The_Void

    An entertaining spectacle with a nice comment on justice

    Courtroom dramas are well known for providing thrilling films, and that is exactly what 'A Time to Kill' thrives on; entertainment value. It is clear that the film, in spite of having some very potent themes, puts most of it's focus on being entertaining and it's actually not a bad film for it. Sometimes, films that want to be entertaining and have themes fall down because they're too entertaining and the themes get left by the wayside; but A Time to Kill puts its cards on the table from the start, and it's always clear what this film wants to do with itself. The plot follows a man who, after his daughter is raped and almost murdered, decides to take the law into his own hands. However, this man is also a black man living in a white supremacy state, and so the film injects a racism theme into it's plot, which is always going to mean that it will have some sort of social commentary within it. However, that isn't the most interesting comment that the film wants to make; as that plaudit falls to the idea of justice, and exactly what justice is.

    The film, based on a novel by crime writer John Grisham, presents an impossible situation to the viewer and central characters; what do you do when justice will prevail whatever the verdict? The viewer and the characters must then make a choice between the law and general morality, and it is there where the film draws it's most interesting plot point from. While, as mentioned, it's always clear that this movie is meant to entertain you; it's always nice to be given something to think about as well. A Time to Kill benefits immensely from an absolutely fabulous cast, which includes the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Kiefer Sutherland, his father Donald Sutherland, Ashley Judd, Chris Cooper and more, all of which are lead by Matthew McConaughey. It is the lead that most lets the film down, as although McConaughey can definitely act, he's not quite charismatic enough to deliver a lead performance in front of that cast. Still, the movie is definitely very decent and although you probably wont hurt your brain watching it, it will entertain you.
    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.

    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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    FAQ

    • How long is A Time to Kill?
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    • 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
      2 hours 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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