12 Angry Men
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On a hot summer afternoon, twelve men who have Decamped from the sweltering air of the courtroom to the deliberation room sit around a table as strangers who have never spoken between them until that day. They hold a life in their hands; to give or to take. The decision must be made unanimously, and according to most, the matter is already settled. The greatness of Sidney Lumet's 1957 masterpiece lies not so much in the case it tells as in the people it portrays. Based on the stage play by Reginald Rose, the film takes place in a single room, almost in a single period of time, and turns this restriction into an extraordinary strength, not a weakness. The camera shrinks the walls of the negotiation room; over time, the audience begins to breathe in that room and feel the tension there in their bodies. The twelve jury members come from diverse social backgrounds, hold different prejudices, carry personal burdens, and have varying life experiences. The debate over the fate of a young defendant soon turns into a much deeper showdown: do people see what they want to believe, or do they see the truth? Where does anger come from? Does justice consist of the voice of the majority? Lumet never poses these questions with a didactic intent; he embeds them in the characters' conflicts, silences, and sudden outbursts. Henry Fonda's performance as the jury member who resisted alone is one of the turning points in cinema history, but the real strength of the film lies in the other names who stood up to him or moved with him over time. Lee J. Cobb's shocking anger, E.G. Marshall's cold logic, Jack Klugman's silent weight... Each one represents a distinct human portrait and a separate social stratum. The black-and-white images feel like both an aesthetic choice and a moral stance through Boris Kaufman's cinematography. Perhaps it would not be honest to depict a world where good and evil, guilt and innocence, stand so close to each other in color. It is no coincidence that the film has retained everything it had decades after its release. This tension in a jury room continues to remind us how much a person avoids confronting himself in every era and in every society, when he chooses courage and when he chooses cowardice.
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Andres Gomez
May 13, 2013
10/10
Master piece. Fantastic script and evolution of the characters.
John Chard
March 29, 2020
9/10
Unlikely, but it is possible. 12 Angry Men is directed by Sidney Lumet and adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. The cast is headed by Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. The film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. Except for two short scenes at the beginning and end of the film, it's filmed entirely on one set, that of the jury deliberation room. Sweaty, gritty, claustrophobic...
barrymost
December 06, 2021
10/10
Jurors: Martin Balsam John Fiedler Lee J. Cobb E.G. Marshall Jack Klugman Edward Binns Jack Warden Henry Fonda Joseph Sweeney Ed Begley George Voskovec Robert Webber 12 jurors deliberate on the guilt or innocence of a young Spanish-American man accused of murdering his father. As the moments tick by, the discussion becomes an expose of each individual man's thoughts, feelings, prejudices, and secrets. This is Fonda at his best, backed up with excellent s...
AstroNoud
March 11, 2022
9/10
A timeless classic in which the characters really come to life. Slowly exposing each man's thoughts, personalities and prejudices, ‘12 Angry Men’ isn't really about solving the crime, but about the power of reasoning, discussion and dialogue. 9/10
Krakatoa69
December 19, 2022
10/10
Unassuming. This is the first impression one may have, upon reading what this movie is about: 12 jurors deliberate about a murder case, where the accused suspect is the victim's son, a 18 y.o. boy. They must reach a unanimous verdict of guilty or innocent. As it starts, it seems pretty much set, and everybody appears sure of the boy's guilt, except for one man. "How can someone still have doubt, when so many (incl. more experienced jurors) are so sure?". What follows is an exciting and car...
CinemaSerf
April 17, 2023
8/10
Twelve jurors are sent to their deliberating room after hearing the evidence in a murder trial. It's potentially the hottest day of the year as this collection of white, male, individuals take their seats around the table and wait for foreman Martin Balsam - none of the characters have names, here - to call them to order. A first vote is in order - it's a slam dunk - the accused is obviously guilty - 11-1! Henry Fonda is the dissenter. What has he seen that the others missed? What has he not see...
Filipe Manuel Neto
May 23, 2023
10/10
**A very well-made film, with great actors.** As a non-American myself, it's a little tricky for me to understand how well this justice system works. Don't get me wrong, but in my country it is not usual to resort to this type of trials, where the decision depends largely on the lawyers' ability to convince a group of jurors. Here, the decision depends more on the judge, or on a collective of judges. Resorting to a jury trial is provided for in Portuguese law, but must meet a tight set of pre...
James
October 20, 2023
8/10
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Frequently Asked Questions
12 Angry Men was released in 1957.
12 Angry Men has a runtime of 1 hr 37 min (97 minutes).
12 Angry Men belongs to the following genres: Drama.
12 Angry Men has a rating of 8.6/10 from 10,050 votes on TMDB.
In the United States, 12 Angry Men is available to watch on: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies.