Tom Cruise plays an inexperienced Navy JAG litigator, Lt. Daniel Kaffee, who’s assigned to defend two Marines charged in the death of a colleague at Guantanamo Bay. Directed by Rob Reiner, this military courtroom drama moves with intensity, with Kaffee confronting Col. Nathan Jessep, played by Jack Nicholson, about an unofficial punishment known as a “code red,” a hazing that turned fatal. Based on the play by Aaron Sorkin.

Trivia: Nicholson performed his famous courtroom monologue several times while Reiner trained the camera on other actors to get their reactions. The last take had Nicholson on camera yelling, “You can’t handle the truth!”

See our August 2018 cover story: “The 25 Greatest Legal Movies.”