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For other uses, see 12 Angry Men (disambiguation).
12 Angry Men is an American drama film produced in 1957 by first-time director Sidney Lumet based on the play of the same name by Reginald Rose. It is about a jury member who tries to persuade the other 11 members to acquit the suspect on trial on the basis of reasonable doubt. The film is notable for its almost exclusive use of one set: with the exception of three minutes of screen-time split between the beginning and the end and two short scenes in an adjoining washroom, the entire movie takes place in the jury room. Apart from two of the jurors swapping names on leaving the courthouse, no names are used in the film: the defendant is referred to as "the boy" and the witnesses as the "old man" and "the lady across the street". In 2007, 12 Angry Men was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
PlotThe story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a murder case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. According to American law (both then and now), the verdict (whether guilty or not guilty) must be unanimous. The question they are deciding is whether the defendant, a young teenaged boy from the city slum, murdered his father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence — the electric chair. The jury of twelve move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with each others' personalities and discuss the case. The plot of the film revolves around their difficulty in reaching a unanimous verdict due, in some cases, to the jurors' prejudices. Juror #8 dissents in the initial voting, stating that the evidence presented is circumstantial and the boy deserves a fair deliberation, upon which he starts questioning the accuracy and reliability of the sole two witnesses to the murder, the fact that the knife used in the murder is not as unique as assumed (he produces an identical one from his pocket) and that the overall circumstances are rather shady. His most fierce opponents - Jurors 3, 4 and 10 - claim that the boy's alibi is botched, since he does not remember any detail from the movies he watched at the theatre the night of the murder and he has sufficient motivation to kill his father. His lack of memory, however, is excused by panic attack; also, one of the witnesses is accused of wanting attention whilst the other might have "witnessed" the murder without her glasses on. As the deliberation goes on, the jurors go on to vote not guilty - in order, Jurors 9, 5, 11, 2, 6, 7, 12, 1, 4, 10 and finally 3. In a secret ballot, Juror 9 is the first to support Juror 8, not necessarily believing the accused is innocent but feeling Juror 8 deserves the opportunity for discussion. After listening to the complaints of Jurors 7 and 10, Jurors 5 and 2 change their votes. After Jurors 11 and 6 also decide on "not guilty," 7 becomes tired and also votes "not guilty" just so that the deliberation may end. Juror 12 changes his mind after voting "not guilty," but switches back moments after; the jury Foreman, 1, also votes "not guilty". Juror 10 loses all favor or respect after indulging in a bigoted rant, after which he is told to shut up by Juror 4 - who in turn is convinced that the witness who "saw" the murder may be inaccurate in her account because she may not have been wearing glasses at the time. Last of all is the adamant Juror 3, who, after a long confrontation with Juror 8, breaks down after glancing at and furiously tearing up a picture of him and his son, whom he hasn't seen in two years (his angry rage suggesting a probable falling out with the boy). All jurors leave and clear the accused of all charges off-screen. In the epilogue, the friendly Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McArdle) exchange surnames (all jurors have remained nameless throughout the movie) and the movie ends. ProductionReginald Rose's screenplay for 12 Angry Men was initially produced for television, and was broadcast on the CBS program Studio One in 1954. A complete kinescope of that performance, which had been missing for years and was feared lost, was discovered in 2003. The success of the TV film resulted in a film adaptation. Sidney Lumet, whose prior directorial credits included dramas for television productions such as the Alcoa Hour and Studio One, was recruited by Henry Fonda and Rose to direct. 12 Angry Men was Lumet's first feature film, and for Fonda and Rose, who co-produced the film, it was their first and only roles as film producers. Fonda later stated that he would never again produce a film. The filming was completed after a short but rigorous rehearsal schedule in less than three weeks on a budget of about $350,000. At the beginning of the film, the cameras are positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater depth between subjects, but as the film progresses the focal length of the lenses is gradually increased. By the end of the film, nearly everyone is shown in closeup using telephoto lenses from a lower angle, which decreases or "shortens" depth of field. Lumet, who began his career as a director of photography, stated that his intention in using these techniques with cinematographer Boris Kaufman was to create a nearly palpable claustrophobia.[citation needed] ResponsesCritical responsesOn its first release, 12 Angry Men received critical acclaim. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote "It makes for taut, absorbing, and compelling drama that reaches far beyond the close confines of its jury room setting." His observation of the 12 men was that "their dramas are powerful and provocative enough to keep a viewer spellbound." However, it was not a popular success: the advent of color and widescreen productions resulted in the film receiving a disappointing box office performance. Despite this, the film is today viewed as a classic, highly regarded from both a critical and popular viewpoint: Roger Ebert lists it as one of his "Great Movies,". The American Film Institute named Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda, 28th in a list of the 50 greatest movie heroes of the 20th century, named 12 Angry Men the 42nd most inspiring film, and later named the movie as the 87th best film of the past hundred years. In June 2008, it revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. 12 Angry Men was acknowledged as the second best film in the courtroom drama genre.[1] AwardsThe film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. In all of these categories, the film was eclipsed by The Bridge on the River Kwai, which won seven Academy Awards that year. At the Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the Golden Bear Award. Remake and other adaptationsFilm and TV12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997. Directed by William Friedkin, the remake stars George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, William Petersen, Ossie Davis, Hume Cronyn, Courtney B. Vance, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Jack Lemmon. In this production, the judge is a woman and four of the jurors are African American. (In interviews, producers said they decided against putting a woman in the jury because they didn't want to change the title.) Still, most of the action and dialogue of the film is identical to the original. Modernizations include a prohibition on smoking in the jury room, the changing of references to income and pop culture figures, more dialogue relating to race, and occasional profanity. In 2007, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov completed his remake of the movie. The jury of 64th Venice Film Festival assigned its special prize to this remake 'to acknowledge the consistent brilliance of Nikita Mikhalkov’s body of work.'[2] TheatreThe screenplay has been published, and Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. In 1964 Leo Genn appeared in the play on the London stage. In other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast the play is retitled 12 Angry Jurors or 12 Angry Women. In 2004, the Roundabout Theatre Company presented a Broadway production of the play, starring Boyd Gaines as a more combative Juror No. 8, with James Rebhorn (No. 4), Philip Bosco (No. 3), and Robert Prosky as the voice of the judge. In 2007, 12 Angry Men ran on a national theater tour with Richard Thomas and George Wendt starring as Jurors No. 8 and No. 1, respectively. The 2008 tour does not include Wendt but features another popular TV personality, Kevin Dobson of Kojak and Knots Landing , as Juror No. 10. Characters
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Categories: 1957 films | American films | American drama films | Directorial debut films | Courtroom dramas | Black and white films | Edgar Award winning works | English-language films | Films directed by Sidney Lumet | United Artists films | Films with a capital punishment theme | Films based on plays | United States National Film Registry films CommentsNo comments have been added. |
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