Reversal of Fortune (1990) Revisits the Claus von Bülow Trial

Reversal of Fortune, released in 1990, tells the story of one of the 1980s' most talked-about court cases, in which the Danish-born aristocrat Claus von Bülow was accused of twice attempting to murder his extremely wealthy wife, Martha 'Sunny' von Bülow, with insulin injections.

The film follows the dramatic appeals process after Claus von Bülow was initially convicted of attempted murder. Sunny von Bülow had fallen into an irreversible coma in 1980 under mysterious circumstances at the couple's mansion-like home in Newport, Rhode Island. Prosecutors alleged that Claus had deliberately injected her with insulin in order to inherit her fortune, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The documentary offers insight into the complex legal proceedings, in which the charismatic lawyer Alan Dershowitz took over Claus's defense for the appeal. Through a thorough review of the evidence and expert testimony, the defense succeeded in casting doubt on the credibility of the prosecution's case.

Reversal of Fortune sheds light not only on the legal aspects of the case, but also on the fascinating dynamics of an aristocratic marriage marked by wealth, privilege, and dysfunction. Sunny von Bülow remained in a coma until her death in 2008, and the case left many unanswered questions about what really happened on that fateful day.