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12 Angry Men (1957)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast overview: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb
Running time: 96 minutes
This is a film that has previously passed me by in terms of not having watched it - I was, of course, aware of its existence and its reputation as a classic, but simply never got around to watching it. I'm a fan of Sidney Lumet as a director, though, and particularly his expertise in the field, and Dog Day Afternoon is one of my favourite films.
I can see why this is a classic. Firstly, it's in one setting - a closed jury room - which requires sublime acting and excellent writing for it to hold the audience's attention for the running time, and thankfully both elements are present here. It could work well as a play, given the closed setting and tension that is developed through the argument and debate between the twelve jurors present in the jury room.
The performances here are stellar, with Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb giving the best, although everyone adds depth, development and a sense of credibility and authenticity to their respective characters, including an early Jack Klugman role. As mentioned, good acting is vital in a setting of this nature, as the film would have fallen completely flat without acting of this calibre.
Overall, I can't believe I haven't watched this earlier, and it deserves its place in the IMDb Top 250. Lumet's directing is masterful, the acting is first-rate, and it should make for a particularly memorable and powerful film in anybody's book. I'd recommend this highly, if there remains anyone who hasn't seen it.
Quotes
Juror #8: Let me ask you this: Do you really think the boy'd shout out a thing like that so the whole neighborhood could hear him? I don't think so - he's much to bright for that.
Juror #10: Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.
Juror #11: He doesn't even speak good English.
[last lines]
Juror #9: Hey!... What's your name?
Juror #8: Davis.
Juror #9: [shakes his hand] My name's McCardle.
[pause]
Juror #9: Well, so long.
Juror #8: So long.
Juror #8: It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure.
Trivia
At the beginning of the film, the cameras are all positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater distance between the subjects. As the film progresses the cameras slip down to eye level. By the end of the film, nearly all of it is shot below eye level, in close-up and with telephoto lenses to increase the encroaching sense of claustrophobia.
With the deaths of Jack Warden (Juror #7) on July 19, 2006 and Jack Klugman (Juror #5) on December 24, 2012, none of the twelve stars of 12 Angry Men (1957) are still alive.
The movie is commonly used in business schools and workshops to illustrate team dynamics and conflict resolution techniques.
Trailer
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast overview: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb
Running time: 96 minutes
This is a film that has previously passed me by in terms of not having watched it - I was, of course, aware of its existence and its reputation as a classic, but simply never got around to watching it. I'm a fan of Sidney Lumet as a director, though, and particularly his expertise in the field, and Dog Day Afternoon is one of my favourite films.
I can see why this is a classic. Firstly, it's in one setting - a closed jury room - which requires sublime acting and excellent writing for it to hold the audience's attention for the running time, and thankfully both elements are present here. It could work well as a play, given the closed setting and tension that is developed through the argument and debate between the twelve jurors present in the jury room.
The performances here are stellar, with Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb giving the best, although everyone adds depth, development and a sense of credibility and authenticity to their respective characters, including an early Jack Klugman role. As mentioned, good acting is vital in a setting of this nature, as the film would have fallen completely flat without acting of this calibre.
Overall, I can't believe I haven't watched this earlier, and it deserves its place in the IMDb Top 250. Lumet's directing is masterful, the acting is first-rate, and it should make for a particularly memorable and powerful film in anybody's book. I'd recommend this highly, if there remains anyone who hasn't seen it.
Quotes
Juror #8: Let me ask you this: Do you really think the boy'd shout out a thing like that so the whole neighborhood could hear him? I don't think so - he's much to bright for that.
Juror #10: Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.
Juror #11: He doesn't even speak good English.
[last lines]
Juror #9: Hey!... What's your name?
Juror #8: Davis.
Juror #9: [shakes his hand] My name's McCardle.
[pause]
Juror #9: Well, so long.
Juror #8: So long.
Juror #8: It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure.
Trivia
At the beginning of the film, the cameras are all positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater distance between the subjects. As the film progresses the cameras slip down to eye level. By the end of the film, nearly all of it is shot below eye level, in close-up and with telephoto lenses to increase the encroaching sense of claustrophobia.
With the deaths of Jack Warden (Juror #7) on July 19, 2006 and Jack Klugman (Juror #5) on December 24, 2012, none of the twelve stars of 12 Angry Men (1957) are still alive.
The movie is commonly used in business schools and workshops to illustrate team dynamics and conflict resolution techniques.
Trailer