12 Angry Men

There are a few wonderful courtroom dramas out there, Anatomy of a Murder, To Kill a Mockingbird and Witness for the Prosecution immediately springing to mind. 12 Angry Men is so brilliant, it could very well be the definitive courtroom drama on film. Sidney Lumet's direction is masterly, and although the action takes place on one set(an actual New York drawing room) there are a huge variety of innovative camera angles and visual set-ups. The screenplay is sophisticated and smart, and the story is compelling and intelligent. The film is also brilliantly made, and the acting is superb. Henry Fonda especially dominates the film, with an integrity that makes his character so wonderful, but the other actors are wonderful as well, Ed Begley, Jack Warden, John Fiedler, Lee J Cobb, Rudy Bond et al. are all impeccable support to Fonda. Overall, brilliant courtroom drama. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This film deserves to be on anyone's list of top films. My problem is that it is so perfect, so seamlessly polished, it is hard to appreciate the individual excellences.

The acting is top notch. I believe that monologue acting is quite a bit simpler than real reactive ensemble acting. Most of what we see today is monologues pretending to be conversations. But in this film, we have utter mastery of throwing emotions. Once the air becomes filled with human essence, it is hard to not get soaked ourselves as the camera moves through the thick atmosphere. Yes, there are slight differences in how each actor projects (Fonda internally, Balsam completely on his skin...) but the ensemble presents one vision to the audience.

The writing is snappy too. You can tell it was worked and worked and worried, going through several generations. It is easy to be mesmerized by this writing and acting, and miss the rare accomplishment of the camera-work. This camera is so fluid, you forget you are in one room. It moves from being a human observer, to being omniscient, to being a target. It is smart enough to seldom center on the element of most importance, so expands the field to all men.

This is very hard. Very hard, to make the camera human. So much easier to do what we see today -- acknowledge the machinery and jigger with it. Do we have a filmmaker today who could do this?

Ted's Evaluation -- 4 of 3: Every cineliterate person should experience this.

One of the best movies every made. This movie has one of the deepest stories, and best of all no violence. You are just taken on the journey, along with the jury to figure out what really happened, and ponder on the philosophical questions of accidentally imprisoning an innocent man.

This film is investing from start to finish. None of the performances feel like actors playing characters, but instead as people who just happen to be being filmed. The dialogue is phenomenal, the camerawork is absolutely phenomenal, the heat and claustrophobia of the environment sets in right away and gradually gets more and more intense. This film is absolutely phenomenal, and I would recommend it to absolutely anybody who enjoys film as an art form.

This film is superb, in fact as Shakespeare once said "Its the bees' knees". The film captivates the audience from the beginning. Each of the twelve jurors are introduced to us as they are introduced to themselves. The characters are well draw out and individual, each with his own personality.

The tension of the characters draws the audience in from the start. We imagine that the case is open and shut, 11 me saying guilty and 1 not. We feel the discomfort of Henry Fonda as the other characters belittle and mock how he can see any reasonable doubt in the case. But we also share his victories and the enthusiasm as he proceeds to refute or add doubt to the arguments for guilty and are captivated and draw in as other jurors begin to see doubt in the proceedings.

The audience can also see the arguments for guilty and wonder if Fonda's character is correct in saying that he doubts. Yet they also feel the shame of the characters as he disproves that a previously sound theory is iron tight, joining his side as members of the jury do.

On top of this they are wonderfully woven in human elements such as the misconceptions that influence people and the growing tension between different characters. This is brought to life even more by the amazing performances, Fonda, Lee J Cobb and Joseph Sweeney are of particular note.

I started watching this film on a bored relaxed laying about day but by the end i was on the edge of the seat with my hands on my knees feeling more tense than a politician on results day.

How a film should be made. Modern directors take note(thats ur telling off for the day) 10/10