315. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Directed By Sidney Lumet
Synopsis
Lets face it, your peers are assholes, and if Henry Fonda isn't in the room to fight the good fight they'll fry your brains because they wanna go watch the game.
Review
I don't like the jury system, it's stacked against the defendant, it is composed by people off the street, who, as we all know, are mainly morons and have little to no understanding of the law. I would rather let a collective of judges decide, at least they were trained for this. This film didn't make me change my mind, but it was a joy to watch.
12 Angry Men are also 12 great actors who manage to make 90 minutes closed in a room look riveting to us watching. The film is so tightly written, the performances are so inspired and the characters are all so believable that you suddenly get really wrapped up in the story.
One of the most interesting things about the film is to look at all the characters and their particular motivations and ways of acting, all are driven by something, a sense of justice, racism, family problems, selfishness, a wish to fit in... and in that way they all come to life in an exciting way that will keep you watching. Henry Fonda also plays one of the most admirable characters in the history of cinema here. The film is also not afraid to deal with questions of racism, class and immigration in ways almost unseen before it. A great film all around!
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
On 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.
Racism in action:
Synopsis
Lets face it, your peers are assholes, and if Henry Fonda isn't in the room to fight the good fight they'll fry your brains because they wanna go watch the game.
Review
I don't like the jury system, it's stacked against the defendant, it is composed by people off the street, who, as we all know, are mainly morons and have little to no understanding of the law. I would rather let a collective of judges decide, at least they were trained for this. This film didn't make me change my mind, but it was a joy to watch.
12 Angry Men are also 12 great actors who manage to make 90 minutes closed in a room look riveting to us watching. The film is so tightly written, the performances are so inspired and the characters are all so believable that you suddenly get really wrapped up in the story.
One of the most interesting things about the film is to look at all the characters and their particular motivations and ways of acting, all are driven by something, a sense of justice, racism, family problems, selfishness, a wish to fit in... and in that way they all come to life in an exciting way that will keep you watching. Henry Fonda also plays one of the most admirable characters in the history of cinema here. The film is also not afraid to deal with questions of racism, class and immigration in ways almost unseen before it. A great film all around!
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
On 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.
Racism in action:
posted by Francisco Silva @ 1:16 AM
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