| Photos (see all 31 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 9) |
| Richard Gere | ... | Martin Vail | |
| Laura Linney | ... | Janet Venable | |
| John Mahoney | ... | Shaughnessy | |
| Alfre Woodard | ... | Shoat | |
| Frances McDormand | ... | Molly | |
| Edward Norton | ... | Aaron | |
| Terry O'Quinn | ... | Bud Yancy | |
| Andre Braugher | ... | Tommy Goodman | |
| Steven Bauer | ... | Joey Pinero | |
| Joe Spano | ... | Abel Stenner | |
| Tony Plana | ... | Martinez | |
| Stanley Anderson | ... | Archbishop Rushman | |
| Maura Tierney | ... | Naomi Chance | |
| Jon Seda | ... | Alex | |
| Reg Rogers | ... | Jack Connerman | |
| Kenneth Tigar | ... | Weil | |
| Brian Reddy | ... | Woodside | |
| Christopher Carroll | ... | M.C. | |
| Wendy Cutler | ... | Lou | |
| Ron O.J. Parson | ... | Turner | |
| Sigrid K. Zahner | ... | Vail's Secretary | |
| Diann Burns | ... | WLS Anchor | |
| Linda Yu | ... | WLS Anchor | |
| Andy Shaw | ... | WLS Location Reporter | |
| Mary Ann Childers | ... | WBBM Anchor | |
| Lester Holt | ... | WBBM Anchor (as Lester D. Holt) | |
| Sylvia Gomez | ... | WBBM Location Reporter | |
| Jon Duncanson | ... | WBBM Location Reporter | |
| David Eckert | ... | WGN Anchor | |
| Robert Jordan | ... | WGN Anchor | |
| Joanie Lum | ... | WGN Location Reporter | |
| Randy Salerno | ... | WGN Location Reporter | |
| Kyle Colerider-Krugh | ... | Postman | |
| Joseph Luis Caballero | ... | Joe | |
| Randall Slavin | ... | Young Boy | |
| Mike Bacarella | ... | Sergeant | |
| Turk Muller | ... | Precinct Jailer | |
| Joseph F. Kosala | ... | Cop (as Joe Kosala) | |
| Lenny Wilson | ... | Bartender | |
| Peter Schreiner | ... | Bailiff | |
| Joseph R. Ryan | ... | Old Man | |
| Azalea Davila | ... | Linda | |
| Wayne Wright | ... | Court Clerk | |
| Tony Fitzpatrick | ... | Duty Officer | |
| Clarence Williams Jr. | ... | Arresting Cop | |
| Rosalie V. Lewis | ... | Stenographer | |
| Dwight Brad Dyer | ... | Prison Guard | |
| Larry Cook | ... | Pilot | |
| Bob Kenney | ... | Pilot | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Mike Boss | ... | Cop (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Gregory Hoblit | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| William Diehl | (novel) | |
| Steve Shagan | (screenplay) and | |
| Ann Biderman | (screenplay) | |
Produced by | |||
| Patricia Graf | .... | associate producer | |
| Hawk Koch | .... | executive producer (as Howard W. Koch Jr.) | |
| Gary Lucchesi | .... | producer | |
| Robert McMinn | .... | co-producer | |
| Arnold Rudnick | .... | associate producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| James Newton Howard | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Michael Chapman | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| David Rosenbloom | |||
Casting by | |||
| Deborah Aquila | |||
| Jane Shannon-Smith | (as Jane Shannon) | ||
Production Design by | |||
| Jeannine Claudia Oppewall | (as Jeannine Oppewall) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| William Arnold | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Cindy Carr | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Betsy Cox | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Hallie D'Amore | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Sterfon Demings | .... | hair stylist | |
| Elle Elliott | .... | hair stylist | |
| Margaret E. Elliott | .... | makeup artist (as Margaret Elliott) | |
| Kathrine Gordon | .... | hair stylist | |
| Tom Lucas | .... | makeup artist: Mr. Gere | |
| Carol Meikle | .... | hair stylist: Mr. Gere | |
| Jeffrey Sacino | .... | key hair stylist (as Jeffrey M. Sacino) | |
| Art Anthony | .... | special makeup effects: Chicago (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Robert Grand | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Xochi Blymyer | .... | second second assistant director | |
| J. Stephen Buck | .... | first assistant director | |
| Gary B. Goldman | .... | second second assistant director: Chicago (as Gary Goldman) | |
| Randall Newsome | .... | second second assistant director: Chicago | |
| Lucille Ouyang | .... | second assistant director (as Lucille OuYang) | |
| Sharon Swab | .... | dga trainee | |
Art Department | |||
| Paul Allen | .... | set dresser: Chicago | |
| Randolph W. Andell | .... | assistant property master | |
| P. Scott Bailey | .... | set dresser (as Scott Bailey) | |
| Julie Brooke Beattie | .... | set dresser (as Julie Beattie) | |
| Louisa Bonnie | .... | set designer | |
| Mary A. Brady | .... | set dresser: Chicago (as Mary Brady) | |
| Javier Carrillo | .... | propmaker foreperson | |
| Daniel B. Clancy | .... | leadperson: Chicago | |
| Francis N. 'Lucky' Costello | .... | painter (as Frank 'Lucky' Costello) | |
| Jon Danniells | .... | lead man | |
| Dave DeGaetano | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Edward England | .... | construction coordinator: Chicago | |
| Andy Flores | .... | paint foreperson | |
| Joanna Gilliam | .... | set dresser | |
| Robert M. Hagman | .... | propmaker foreperson (as Bob Hagman) | |
| Aaron C. Holden Jr. | .... | assistant property master: Chicago | |
| Jack Johnson | .... | production illustrator | |
| Robert Kelter | .... | paint foreperson: Chicago (as Robert J. Kelter) | |
| Erin Kemp | .... | set designer | |
| Keith A. Kropf | .... | location foreman (as Keith Kropf) | |
| Robin Laughlin | .... | paint foreperson (as Bob Laughlin) | |
| Kacy Magedman | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Quentin Matthys | .... | set dresser: Chicago | |
| Steven B. Melton | .... | property master | |
| Tom Osman | .... | art department coordinator: Chicago | |
| Tyler Osman | .... | propmaker foreperson: Chicago | |
| Tyler Patton | .... | set dresser | |
| Walter J. Piers | .... | set dresser: Chicago (as Walter Piers) | |
| Mark Poll | .... | set designer | |
| Joel Prihoda | .... | labor foreperson: Chicago | |
| Steven Rigamat | .... | propmaker foreperson (as Steven W. Rigamat) | |
| Paul Stanwyck | .... | head scenic painter | |
| William Tessaro | .... | location foreman (as Bill Tessaro) | |
| Suzan Wexler | .... | assistant art director | |
| Tim Wilp | .... | head painter: Chicago (as Timothy W. Wilp) | |
| Ken Abraham | .... | set dresser (uncredited) | |
| Anthony Joseph Fatigato | .... | painter (uncredited) | |
| Sean Hood | .... | swing gang (uncredited) | |
| Troy Osman | .... | construction foreman (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Don Riozz McNichols | .... | special effects: Chicago (as Donald Rio McNichols) | |
| Matthew W. Mungle | .... | special effects makeup (as Matthew Mungle) | |
| Tom Ryba | .... | special effects coordinator: Chicago (as Thomas P. Ryba) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Rob Burton | .... | visual effects supervisor: DQI | |
| Mark Galvin | .... | visual effects executive producer: DQI | |
| Mike Gunning | .... | visual effects producer: DQI | |
| Michael S. Harbour | .... | 3D church modeling: Dream Quest Images | |
| Michael S. Harbour | .... | 3D church rendering: Dream Quest Images (as Michael Harbour) | |
| Rory Hinnen | .... | data management | |
| Jen Howard | .... | digital artist: Dream Quest Images | |
| Rick Lopez | .... | output technician: DQI | |
| Rick Lopez | .... | scanning: DQI | |
| John Murrah | .... | technical supervisor: Dream Quest Images | |
Stunts | |||
| Lanier Edwards | .... | stunts | |
| Rick Le Fevour | .... | stunts | |
| Ray Lykins | .... | stunts | |
| Ernie F. Orsatti | .... | stunt coordinator (as Ernie Orsatti) | |
| Noon Orsatti | .... | stunts | |
| Denney Pierce | .... | stunts | |
| Scott Blackwood | .... | stunt double (uncredited) | |
| Tom Lowell | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Carl Paoli | .... | stunt double: Richard Gere (uncredited) | |
| Linda Perlin | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Tony Hobbs | .... | extras casting: Central/Cennex Casting | |
| Tracy Kaplan | .... | casting: Chicago | |
| DeVera Marcus | .... | voice casting (as Dee Marcus) | |
| Karen Miller | .... | casting associate | |
| Karen Peake | .... | extras casting: Chicago | |
| Alex Wald | .... | casting assistant (as Alex Rosenberg) | |
| Mary Tricia Wood | .... | casting assistant (as Tricia Wood) | |
| Patti Carns Kalles | .... | casting: Seattle (uncredited) | |
| Jason James | .... | casting: Seattle (uncredited) | |
| Regina Prokop | .... | extras casting coordinator (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Elaine Davis | .... | costumer | |
| Lori DeLapp | .... | costumer (as Lori McClellen) | |
| Kimberly Guenther | .... | costume supervisor | |
| Gary J. Saldutti | .... | costumer | |
| Adrienne Wait | .... | costumer | |
| Heather Pollock | .... | set costumer (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Jana Lynn Gold | .... | assistant film editor | |
| Phil Hetos | .... | color timer | |
| Douglas Kunin | .... | assistant film editor | |
| Farrel Levy | .... | additional editor (as Farrel Jane Levy) | |
| Skip MacDonald | .... | assistant film editor (as Skip Macdonald) | |
| Wendi Jill Raderman | .... | assistant film editor | |
| Theresa Repola Mohammed | .... | negative cutter | |
Music Department | |||
| Terence Blanchard | .... | musician: horn solos | |
| Brad Dechter | .... | orchestrator | |
| Sandy DeCrescent | .... | orchestra contractor (as Sandy De Crescent) | |
| James Newton Howard | .... | orchestrator | |
| Artie Kane | .... | conductor | |
| Jo Ann Kane | .... | music preparation | |
| Tom Kramer | .... | preview music editor | |
| Michael Mason | .... | music scoring coordinator | |
| Shawn Murphy | .... | score mixer | |
| Shawn Murphy | .... | score recordist | |
| David Olson | .... | assistant music editor | |
| J. Peter Robinson | .... | composer: incidental source music | |
| Jim Weidman | .... | music editor | |
| Michael Mason | .... | score co-producer (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Steve Brodsky | .... | transportation coordinator (as Steven Brodsky) | |
| Michael P. Deal | .... | transportation captain: Chicago | |
| Craig Fehrman | .... | transportation captain | |
| James F. Hogan | .... | transportation captain: Chicago (as James A. Hogan) | |
| Thaddeus E. Larkowski | .... | transportation coordinator: Chicago | |
| Gaston Veilleux | .... | transportation captain | |
| Robert Wallace | .... | driver (uncredited) | |
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| Presumed Innocent | Fracture | A History of Violence | Mystic River | Basic Instinct |
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Although Richard Gere has one of his juiciest roles in Primal Fear, the best performance by far is that of Edward Norton who got the film's only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a stunning debut picture. It's the kind of debut that any player would like to make and the trick is to keep up a high standard you've already set for yourself. Which Norton to his credit certainly has in his career.
But as to Gere he plays Martin Vail, a top criminal defense attorney who will let everyone know it if they haven't figured it out. It's a tricky part because a guy this arrogant has to maintain some kind of surface likability or else you'd never believe he'd ever win a case in front of a jury. As for movie viewers they must have a rooting interest for him as well. But Gere's definitely a guy who they make lawyer jokes about.
A young altar boy has murdered the archbishop of Chicago, a mush mouth kid with a Kentucky twang played by Edward Norton. He's part of a choir of street kids that the Chicago archdiocese shows off on many an occasion. It was a particularly brutal murder, multiple stabbings and the carving of a cryptic message in the chest of the deceased.
Gere makes no bones about it, he's wanting this case because of the headlines it will bring him. But when F. Lee Bailey or Johnnie Cochran offers to defend you for nothing, you don't ask questions.
Which brings us to Norton who has you might have gathered is not all he seems. He's a street kid and he's used to getting over on people himself. It's one of the darkest characters ever done on screen, maybe a bit too dark for Academy tastes. That might have been the reason that Cuba Gooding beat out Norton for Best Supporting Actor with his much lighter role in Jerry Maguire.
One in this film you will notice are Laura Linney as the Assistant District Attorney who Gere was once involved with and is getting a lot of pressure to bring in a guilty verdict for understandable political reasons. I also liked Alfre Woodard as the very patient judge at Norton's trial and Frances McDormand as the psychiatrist who examines Norton.
If you think you've figured out what's behind Primal Fear, rest assured you haven't from this description. Let's just say everyone gets good and played here.
Which brings to mind the dedication for this review. Gere's attorney character is likable, but arrogant. Back in the day I knew an attorney who was arrogant without any real reason for the arrogance. He'd love to have been Richard Gere, I'm sure he saw himself that way. So to you Ron D'Angelo this review is dedicated to.