The Verdict #4 on AFI's Top Ten Courtroom Dramas

I decided to watch The Verdict after seeing it on American Film Institute's top 10 list of courtroom dramas. The beautiful Paul Newman looked a little haggard but was impressive as the alcoholic lawyer who takes one last stab at winning a case. My friends and I who watched the movie were struck by the datedness of the movie -- the slow pace-- the long camera shots -- the dial phone (printed out phone bill), the absence of computers, and the politically incorrect comments. I thought it was it going to be great, but I was only so so impressed with it. There was some falling asleep while we watched it (not me). Is it that we are so used to modern movies that we cannot sustain attention to the pace? After I learned that the movie was written by David Mamet, I thought, hmm, I should have paid better attention to the dialogue and should have been more impressed. Other AFI top ten in the courtroom dramas are . . .
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Twelve Angry Men
3. Kramer Vs. Kramer
4. The Verdict
5. A Few Good Men
6. Witness for the Prosecution
7. Anatomy of a Murder
8. In Cold Blood
9. A Cry in the Dark
10. Judgment at Nuremburg