True Believer (1989 film)
| True Believer | |
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| Directed by | Joseph Ruben |
| Produced by | Lawrence Lasker Walter F. Parkes |
| Written by | Wesley Strick |
| Starring | James Woods Robert Downey Jr. Margaret Colin Yuji Okumoto Kurtwood Smith Tom Bower Charles Hallahan |
| Music by | Brad Fiedel |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 17, 1989 |
| Running time | 108 min |
True Believer is a 1989 courtroom drama directed by Joseph Ruben and released by Columbia Pictures.
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[edit] Synopsis
The film stars James Woods as burnt-out attorney Eddie Dodd, who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Robert Downey Jr. plays Roger Baron, an idealistic young legal clerk fresh out of law school who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man, played by Yuji Okumoto, who has been imprisoned for a gang-related murder. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused. Dodd and Baron's investigation leads to a conspiracy among the district attorney, a police informant, and several police officers.[1]
[edit] Real life background
The film is loosely based on an investigative series of articles written by Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist K. W. Lee on the conviction of immigrant Chol Soo Lee for a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gangland murder. The news coverage led to a new trial, eventual acquittal and release of the prisoner from San Quentin's Death Row. Screenwriter Wesley Strick based the character of Eddie Dodd on real-life Bay Area defense attorney Tony Serra.
[edit] Reception
Strick's screenplay was nominated for a 1990 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Motion Picture. Film critic Roger Ebert commended Woods's performance for being "hypnotically watchable."[1]
At the time of True Believer’s release, K.W. Lee told the Charleston Gazette he enjoyed the film “as fiction … but it was not a true picture. They have completely preempted the struggle of Asians.”[2]
True Believer was popular enough to inspire a spin-off television series, Eddie Dodd, starring Treat Williams in the title role.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Roger Ebert (1989-02-17). "Movie reviews: True Believer". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19890217/REVIEWS/902170303/1023.
- ^ "'21' not the first film to whitewash our history". Asianweek. http://www.asianweek.com/2008/04/07/21-film-ben-mezrich-cards-las-vegas-not-the-first-film-to-%e2%80%98whitewash%e2%80%99-our-history/. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ Rohter, Larry. "Movies: About True Believer". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/51132/True-Believer/overview. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
[edit] External links
- True Believer at the Internet Movie Database
- Eddie Dodd at the Internet Movie Database
- True Believer at Rotten Tomatoes
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