Two dueling court cases have kept Americans glued to their TV sets over the last few weeks: Talking heads pontificate on Terri Schiavo, while performers re-enact daily scenes from Michael Jackson's trial. All of which makes this the perfect moment to watch The Staircase, a remarkable eight-part documentary that offers an intimate, vérité glimpse of a very sensationalistic trial. The series' eerie violin soundtrack brings to mind a Claude Chabrol film, one of those morally ambiguous thrillers about simmering, murderous passions within a... More >>>