Murder in the First

Play trailer

Murder in the First

R

1995

2h 2m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

39 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Henry, a small-time criminal sent to Alcatraz, is caught attempting to escape and as punishment, he's put in solitary confinement. Instead of staying the maximum nineteen days, he is kept alone, in the cold and complete darkness for years, only to emerge a madman and a murderer. It's a rookie lawyer who proves Alcatraz is to blame, and that Henry should not be executed.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Despite a strong cast and story inspired by incredible real-life events, Murder in the First is strictly second rate.

Read Critics Reviews

Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

11/07/2022

Playing the hero of an issues movie (and this one is dripping with issues) is usually a thankless task, but Slater carries this one with ease.

Go to Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

04/12/2002

The figures are right, the investment looks good, but the emotional pay-off is minimal.

Go to Full Review

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

05/12/2001

More than likely you will forgive the compromises -- the story of Henri Young needed to be told.

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Dec 26

3/4

...a somewhat erratic yet mostly compelling endeavor...

Go to Full Review

Sheila Reid

Women in the Life

05/16/2022

It’s depressing, it’s dark and dingy and so far it’s the strongest set of performances on the big screen this year.

Go to Full Review

Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

03/02/2022

3/4

See this only for Bacon's compelling performance. Factual or not, he creates a moving portrait of a young man who never had a chance.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Ellie C

@Ejtopsy82 May 12

Inspired by a true story, this movie has a stellar cast with Slater, Bacon, and Oldman performing at the top of their abilities. Moving, provocative, and gut wrenching; it’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you angry, and it’ll make you weep. A highly underrated movie with a beautiful score, It’ll leave you thinking about it long after it’s over.

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 29

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

Maddox G.

@maddoxblade Aug 20

Best Kevin Bacon performance ever!

See more

Daniel N

@Hotchopeppa 08/07/2025

Boring, slow, uneventful and lacking any sort of power or emotion. You can see what they were trying to do but the movie was poorly written and lacked any heart. Basically a PG version of Kevin Bacons much better prison movie "Sleepers"

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 07/02/2025

Success in 2 hours and 2 minutes.

See more

Alex H

@Alexoldgit 11/05/2024

This film is one of my all time favourites. I just don't understand the low scores. There is everything here, including action, tenderness, violence, a moving score, friendship, hatred, high emotion, shocking cruelty and on and on. As courtroom dramas go, this is among the best of the genre and is woefully underrated and unknown.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Marc Rocco

Director

Christian Slater

James Stamphill

Kevin Bacon

Henri Young

Gary Oldman

Milton Glenn

Embeth Davidtz

Mary McCasslin

William H. Macy

District Attorney William McNeil

Nuts

42%

72%

Nuts

Watchlist

The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca

29%

58%

The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca

Watchlist

A Time to Kill

66%

85%

A Time to Kill

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Time to Kill

The Firm

76%

65%

The Firm

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Firm

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Henry, a small-time criminal sent to Alcatraz, is caught attempting to escape and as punishment, he's put in solitary confinement. Instead of staying the maximum nineteen days, he is kept alone, in the cold and complete darkness for years, only to emerge a madman and a murderer. It's a rookie lawyer who proves Alcatraz is to blame, and that Henry should not be executed.

Director: Marc Rocco
Producer: Marc Frydman, Mark Wolper
Screenwriter: Dan Gordon
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., Canal+
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.1M
Runtime: 2h 2m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings