The Fugitive is a 1993 American action-thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sela Ward. The film is based on the 1960s TV series of the same name, and both are loosely based on the real-life story of Dr. Sam Sheppard, who was accused and convicted of killing his wife, but maintained his innocence and escaped from prison.
The film opens with Richard Kimble, a prominent Chicago vascular surgeon, coming home to find his wife Helen brutally murdered. He is blamed for the murder and arrested, but claims to be innocent. At his trial, the evidence against him is circumstantial, but he is still found guilty and sentenced to death.
On the way to prison, the bus transporting Kimble crashes, and he escapes amid the chaos. He becomes a fugitive and goes on the run, determined to find out who killed his wife and clear his name. Meanwhile, Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard is assigned to track Kimble down and bring him to justice.
The rest of the film follows the cat-and-mouse game between Kimble and Gerard, as Kimble tries to evade the law and find the real killer, while Gerard and his team pursue him across the country. Along the way, Kimble discovers that his wife was involved in a secret medical study run by a pharmaceutical company, and that her death was part of a larger conspiracy to cover up the dangers of the drug.
Despite numerous close calls and some thrilling action sequences, Kimble eventually pieces together the evidence to identify the true killer and clears his own name. In the film's climactic scene, Kimble confronts the killer on top of a dam, leading to a tense showdown that ultimately results in the killer's death and Kimble's exoneration.
The Fugitive was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $368 million worldwide and winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Gerard. The film's action sequences, particularly the train crash scene, have become iconic in cinema.