Wow! Such a good movie.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The "official" answer to the glut of vigilante B-movies that flooded the early '80s market with the likes of VILIGANTE and THE EXTERMINATOR, this has an A-list cast and a glossy sheen thanks to workman-like director Peter Hyams, who generally makes solid if not magnificent thrillers. THE STAR CHAMBER takes a moral tone in its depiction of a private group of judges, who hire out a contract killer to take care of the killers and rapists who walked free from the courts. Although some scenes are implausible there's plenty of cool action to enjoy which is very well-done. In particular the suspenseful finale (set in the clichéd abandoned warehouse) between Douglas and the two thugs is an excellent piece of cinema and highly watchable.THE STAR CHAMBER focuses more on the question of vigilantism and whether or not it should be used, displayed in the confused mind of Douglas's leading character, Judge Hardin, who is torn in two over his desire to see criminals brought to justice and his abhorrence of murder, as in his view the members of the clique are just as bad as the people he tries to prosecute. Douglas is good value in the leading role and does an able portrait of a confused man torn between two worlds. There are plenty of veteran performers giving solid turns, including Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, and Sharon Gless. Nods go in particular to James Sikking as a father who takes the law into his own hands and Don Calfa as a memorably sleazy bug-eyed thug. Good action and a solid script keep this one watchable and a worthy addition to the vigilante cycle.

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.

I am amazingly surprised that no user has pointed it out. Nearly every one realized that STAR CHAMBER was very similar to MAGNUM FORCE. Correct. Every one speaks of Hal Holbrook. OK. But no one tells that Holbrook played in MAGNUM FORCE too, and in a very similar character as this one. One of the lead of a vigilante police force who wanted to wipe all criminals out. Are they blind or what? Besides, I must admit that I prefer Ted Post's most famous feature, starring Clint Eastwood. Peter Hyams gives here a correct film, but he has done much better. See CAPRICORNE ONE, for instance.I will finish this comment in pointing out that this kind of topic was very common in the late seventies and early eighties.