Absence of Malice

Absence of Malice
Promotional poster
Directed bySydney Pollack
Written byKurt Luedtke
David Rayfiel (uncredited)
Produced bySydney Pollack
Ronald L. Schwary
Starring
CinematographyOwen Roizman
Edited bySheldon Kahn
Music byDave Grusin
Color processColor by DeLuxe
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 18, 1981 (1981-12-18)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$40.7 million

Absence of Malice is a 1981 American drama neo noir thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Wilford Brimley, Melinda Dillon and Bob Balaban.

The title refers to one of the defenses against libel defamation. It is used in journalism classes to illustrate the conflict between disclosing damaging personal information and the public's right to know.[1]

  1. ^ Absence of Malice (1981) Archived January 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine "When bad journalism kills", By Lauren Kirchner, Columbia Journalism Review, July 15, 2011