DVD

Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Collection, two DVDs). Otto Preminger was the most uneven of major film directors, but he hit the target with awesome force in this tough-minded 1959 screen version of the best-selling novel about a self-doubting lawyer (James Stewart) who tries to save an army officer (Ben Gazzara) from doing time for a murder that he may or may not have committed. The “supporting” cast, which includes George C. Scott, Lee Remick, Arthur O’Connell, and Eve Arden, is fully equal in quality to the front-liners, but it’s the total effect of Anatomy of a Murder that you’ll remember. Never has the American legal system been portrayed with such searching honesty–or such cinematic éclat. The score is by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, the titles by Saul Bass. As usual, the Criterion Collection provides both a flawless transfer and a second disc crammed full of watchable extras (TT).