Physical Evidence

Physical Evidence (1989)

If he's innocent, the truth could save him. If he's guilty, the lies could kill her.

A police officer suspended and now accused of murder is forced to join forces with his court-appointed attorney to assemble the pieces of a deadly puzzle to find the missing link before time runs out.

Date of release
1989-01-27
TMDB
5.1 / 10 (59)
Runtime
1h 39m
Genres
Thriller, Crime
Director
Michael Crichton

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $17M

Physical Evidence is a 1989 American crime thriller film directed by Michael Crichton, and starring Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell, and Ned Beatty. The film focuses on an alcoholic suspended police officer (Reynolds) charged with murder, and his representation by a female attorney (Russell) attempting to defend him.

Production

The film was originally conceived as a sequel to Jagged Edge and was meant to have Glenn Close and Robert Loggia reprise their roles. The story was about a private investigator framed for murder and the female lawyer who defends him.

The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures between in the United States and Canada, with Rank Film Distributors handling foreign distribution. The film was produced by Martin Ransohoff who formed with Columbia, Rank Film Distributors and Vestron Video in 1986.

The male lead went to Burt Reynolds, after starring in Switching Channels. "Joe is a ballsy character", said Reynolds, "kind of like Dirty Harry gone amok. He's around the edge of having a nervous breakdown but he has a strange sense of humor about it all."

Russell later recalled her part "was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, being someone who was that in control. Michael Crichton, who is a doctor -- and his ex-wife is a lawyer -- was very helpful in that regard. I always felt I wasn't doing anything. It was happening inside, but I didn't feel it would show. But they'd say, `No, if anything, do less.' You can't show your emotions when you're in that lawyer mode.

Principal photography was originally planned to take place in Seattle, Washington, but the film was instead shot in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts, as well as Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Production began in September 1987. It was filmed under the working title Smoke.

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