Disappointment for a huge fan!

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This movie was made in 1983. I must have seen it on TV sometime in the nineties, and the central theme has stayed with me since then - in fact, even more so as time has passed. So I have just bought and viewed the DVD. It was relevant then, and probably a lot more so in 2016, when I write.People worldwide are rebelling against the "system": the Star Chamber shows part of the reason - the increasing gap between common sense justice and the way the law has been perverted almost to the extent that the victims of crime are almost made into the perpetrators by the judicial system.Douglas is, as always, excellent as the judge who is drawn into the clandestine group of likeminded judges acting, with the best of intentions, outside the law to provide a form of vigilante justice. In fact the film is well cast altogether.There are several slight holes in the story, not least of which is how the hit men are funded, but these don't detract in the slightest from the beautifully constructed plot. It draws you in, especially because you can sympathise with the utter frustration of the people involved in a way that is rarely seen nowadays.One or two scenes could be shortened to good effect - the car park chase isn't up to Bullitt standards and probably slows the overall plot down rather than helping it along, and the finale warehouse chase is a little overdone.Overall, though, a film that should be compulsory watching for anyone debating how society is being allowed to disintegrate partly because of, rather than despite, the law.

Although I had seen Michael Douglas in "The China Syndrome", I think it was this film -- "The Star Chamber" -- where I really first took note of him. And this may be the film that set the stage for the type of movie he often appeared in later in his career.However, I remember REALLY liking this film back in 1983...but not liking it quite so much now in 2016. My main criticism is that the "bad guys" in the film seemed way too stereotypical, although it kinda worked back in the late-70's to early 80's. Now it seems very dated.The premise here was excellent. A group of judges get fed up with thugs getting off on technicalities, so they form their own justice league to deal with such scum...on a permanent basis. Of course, it wasn't hard to figure out that either they were going to get caught OR "convict" an innocent person OR both.Michael Douglas is excellent here...he sort of plays a "common man" (though not quite so common as Jimmy Stewart used to) who gets caught up in a surreal experience. One of my favorite supporting actors -- Hal Holbrook -- is here as another judge, but somehow this particular performance didn't satisfy me as much as most of his performances. Yaphet Kotto -- one of those supporting actors who was very popular for a while -- is here as a police detective, and does a rather nice job. Sharon Gless plays Douglas' wife...nothing to rave about, but she does "okay". Joe Regalbuto and Don Calfa play the two primary bad guys here, but I would have to say they were both guilty,,,of overacting.A good '70-ish (even though it was in the '80s) suspense film, but nothing to brag about. It won't end up on my DVD shelf.

A daring plot that obviously asks/and debates the big questions, but what it starts off as becomes nothing more than a systematic thriller to end with. "The Star Chamber" was a promising social commentary on the loop holes within the justice system that can see guilty criminal/s get off the hook. No matter how you feel, it isn't black and white. Going by right and wrong can be just as damaging in an emotional mindset to truly blinding you from the truth; as the law is written and the courts follow it. You don't have to like it. However the way the plot plays out manages to cover the negatives, but also the positives of the legal system. Nothing is perfect, as there's always going to be victims and those held accountable… even taking it into your own hands.The narration follows two stories; one being that of a Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin that dismisses one case after another, despite the obvious evidence against the accused because the obtained evidence was unlawful in which meant the hearing must be overturned through legal technicality. Guilt and anger fills Hardin despite doing his job by the book, but one of his fellow pals approaches him about joining a secret organization of judges who look over these types of cases as they hand down their own sentences by death through a hired assassin. It seems right at first, but then he realises that this system can be just as flawed. While on the other side of the coin we follow that of Det. Harry Lowes who's looking after the investigation involving one of the acquitted cases (child killers) that Judge Hardin looked over. What he digs up really does put a spin on Lowes personal quest for actual justice.These two sub-plots do come together in the latter end, but this is where it loses it way and abruptly ends on a truly weak resolution that dodges the bullet. Nonetheless it's a thought-provoking and bold drama, which might be heavy-handed in its approach but the concept stays captivating throughout. The idea of a secret society supposedly cleaning up the mistakes of a judicial system can be frightening, in the aspect of abusing their power and influence. These decisions would be haunting, which shows that this angle of the story could have gone a little more in depth then what materialised. The performances also do a great job in making it rather believable. A persistent Michael Douglas is fitting as the idealistic Judge Hardin and Hal Holbrook stands out with an remarkable turn as one of judges/and Hardin's pal. A refining Yaphet Kotto makes a good head-way as Det. Lowes. Don Calfa and Joe Regalbuto play the edgy accused child killers. Also showing up are Larry Hankin and David Proval. Director Peter Hyams keeps it fundamental (outside its expressive camera-work), but still knows how to get a rush from the action, breathes such horrific unease from the acts of violence (namely the child murders) and draws suspense/interest from it topically fuelled script.

Although the ending of the film is stupid, frustrating and illogical, the rest of this film is in fact pretty good, though it should be mentioned that some of the scenes are difficult to take. Whereas in Europe, justice systems seem more preoccupied with the rights of the criminal and couldn't care less about those of the victim, it seems to me that in the USA they have a more correct sense of right and wrong and probably apportion blame more justly, though of course, no system in the world is perfect. That said, as the film demonstrates, there would appear to be slip-ups even in the American system, and what better than the star chamber to right the wrongs committed by the justice system, murderers let off on technicalities etc etc. This gives the viewer a feeling of satisfaction .... that there is at least one continent in the world where criminals are really made to pay for their crimes. It's all the more surprising then, that a film which gives the impression of supporting this method, as I do, should suddenly at the last minute, want to take the bleeding-heart-liberal defense of the criminal ? What sane person could actually wish that scum such as Monk and Coom continue living instead of being eliminated ? To the film's credit they are actually assassinated by the hit man, but one get's the feeling, rightly or wrongly, that the film's director would have us believe that this is not the way of dealing with criminals, but without proposing a viable alternative solution. So much for the liberal politics of the film, which I find totally obnoxious, but on a cinematic level, it's pretty good and exciting stuff. I found the DVD here recently in Europe, and have watched it several times - although the ending is a real pain in the neck, the rest of the film is definitely worth watching.