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'''A Civil Action''' is a 1998 film, starring John Travolta (as plaintiff's attorney Jan Schlichtmann) and Robert Duvall, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Harr. Both the book and the film are based on the real-life case of Anderson v. Cryovac that took place in Woburn, Massachusetts in the 1980s.

Contents

Plot

Music

Certification

Awards

Trivia

See also

External links

Plot

Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta) is a successful lawyer who has started his own practice. Early legal victories have made him wealthy and one of Boston's most eligible bachelors. All of this begins to collapse after Jan begins activity on one of his firm's cases, a lawsuit on behalf of the parents of deceased children in a small industrial town against the companies they believe to have polluted their water. The pollutant in question is trichloroethylene, an industrial solvent, and it appears to have caused fatal cases of leukemia and cancer, as well as a wide variety of other health problems, among the citizens of the town.
Jan believes that this case will be easily won, resulting in a fortune for him and the families and prestige for his firm. However, the huge expenses in both time and money incurred in the class action suit soon begin to take their toll on his finances, ambitions, and career.

Music

The music score was written by Danny Elfman.
Other songs include:

★ "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder"

★
★ Brian Setzer Orchestra

★ "Hard Workin' Man" (featured on the opening credits)

★
★ Written by Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, Paul Schrader

★
★ Performed by Captain Beefheart

★
★ Courtesy of MCA Records; under license from Universal Music Special Markets

★ "Little Drummer Boy"

★
★ Written by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone

★
★ Performed by Vienna Boys Choir; London Symphony Orchestra

★
★ Courtesy of Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music Entertainment

★ "Take Me To The River"

★
★ Written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges

★
★ Performed by Talking Heads

★
★ Courtesy of Sire Records Company, by arrangement with Warner Special Products and licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

★ "Theme From ''A Summer Place''"

★
★ Written by Max Steiner

Certification

★ MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some strong language (certificate #36309)

★ Iceland:L

★ Argentina:13

★ Australia:M (original rating)/Australia:PG (TV rating)

★ Chile:14

★ Finland:K-12

★ France:U

★ Germany:12 (w)

★ Norway:7

★ Peru:14

★ Portugal:M/12

★ Spain:T

★ Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) /Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud)

★ UK:15

★ Singapore:PG

Awards

★ Academy Awards, USA

★
★ 'Nominated:' Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Duvall)

★
★ Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall)

★ Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

★
★ 'Nominated:' Favorite Actor - Drama (John Travolta)

★
★ Favorite Supporting Actor: Drama (Robert Duvall)

★ Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

★
★ 'Won:' BSFC Award Best Supporting Actor (William H. Macy, also for Pleasantville (1998) and Psycho (1998).)

★
★ 'Tied' with Billy Bob Thornton for A Simple Plan (1998).

★ Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

★
★ 'Nominated:' CFCA Award Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)

★ Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

★
★ 'Won:' FFCC Award Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)

★
★ Golden Globes, USA

★
★ 'Nominated:' Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Robert Duvall)

★ Political Film Society, USA

★
★ 'Won:' PFS Award Human Rights

★ Satellite Awards

★
★ 'Nominated:' Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama (Robert Duvall)

★ Screen Actors Guild Awards

★
★ 'Won': Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Duvall)

★ USC Scripter Award

★
★ 'Won' USC Scripter Award (Jonathan Harr (author), Steven Zaillian (screenwriter))

★ Writers Guild of America, USA

★
★ 'Nominated:' WGA Award (Screen) Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Trivia

This is the second Paramount/Touchstone co-production to star Travolta, after 1997's ''Face/Off''.
The real life case at the heart of the book and film is ''Anne Anderson, et al., v. Cryovac, Inc., et al.''. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 F.R.D. 431 (denial of defendants' motion to dismiss).

See also

★ Anderson v. Cryovac

★ Beatrice Foods

★ W. R. Grace and Company

★ Trichloroethylene

External links

★

★ A Civil Action: Before the book and before the movie (early newspaper articles by reporter Charles C. Ryan)

★ Beyond A Civil Action hosted by W. R. Grace & Co.

★ ''In Toxic Tort Litigation, Truth Lies at the Bottom of a Bottomless Pit'' by Eric Asimow, ''Picturing Justice: The On-Line Journal of Law & Popular Culture'', Feb. 1999

★ Woburn Toxic Trial, mock trial based on the case, Ohio State University

★ Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Index and copies of every pleading filed in the Woburn suit, maintained by Florida State University College of Law