In 1996, Francis Ford Coppola needed the money.

He was coming off a run of films that included The Godfather Part III, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Jack. His critical and box office results were at a career nadir.

So he agreed to direct an adaptation of the John Grisham bestseller 'The Rainmaker' for Paramount. He wouldn't direct another film for 10 years. And he'd make only four more, including the epic disaster 'Megalopolis'.

Curious then that 'The Rainmaker' is a superlative example of a courtroom thriller, a big-business-versus-the-little-guy movie that features fantastic performances from a large cast of total pros; a film that deserves to be considered among Coppola's best, and maybe a film whose constraints brought out the best in a filmmaker not know for personal or professional restraint.