1957. dir. Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Martin Balsam.
Seen it before? Yes.
There's a reason why I can't stand when Sam writes first. It's because he gets the plot summary out of the way immediately and then interjects his own experience with the movie. The latter I have no real problem with. The former makes writing my blog post difficult.
Aside from Henry Fonda my favorite juror was #11 George Voskovec - the immigrant juror. I liked that he took notes to get a better idea of where Henry Fonda was coming from and then use his notes to help convince other jurors that Fonda wasn't just speaking out of his ass.
The thing is, when I first watched this movie many moons ago as a kid in junior high, and then again in high school, I was disturbed by how 12 people can go into a jury room with evidence that is incomplete and just vote unanimously (you're right, one person stood his ground followed by others) for someone to be put to death. (Yes, naysayers, what if the person actually did commit the crime? That's not my point right now so just shut up for a moment.) It bothers me that a jury of ones peers can think, "oh, this is open and shut" when there's reasonable doubt of a person's guilt. And while I know that those on a jury spend a great amount of time deliberating the fate of someone's innocence or guilt, I think the reason that this movie was so powerful for me was because even if you don't know the person whose life you are deciding from any other stranger on the street, there will be something you relate to and so your position will be influenced by that relation.
Everybody in that room had a conscience. Everybody in that room had something that would make up his mind about whether the kid was guilty or not even without all the evidence. I believe this movie is in the position it is on the list because, as Brian Rathjen wrote on imdb.com under the synopsis "As the deliberations unfold, the story quickly becomes a study of the jurors' complex personalities (which range from wise, bright and empathetic to arrogant, prejudiced and merciless), preconceptions, backgrounds and interactions. That provides the backdrop to Mr. Davis' attempts in convincing the other jurors that a "not guilty" verdict might be appropriate." Couldn't have said it better myself!
Would I watch it again? Yes, and I probably would use it as a teaching tool as well!
Would I add it to my collection? Yes
And yes there is a Tony Danza version...this one from 1957 is NOT it!
Showing posts with label 12 Angry Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 12 Angry Men. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2010
#17 12 Angry Men: This yakkety-yak and back-and-forth, it's gettin' us nowhere.
1957. dir. Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Martin Balsam.
Seen it before? Yes.
My 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Schmidt, was THE legendary strict teacher. Before we even got to junior high, we heard whispered tales about the piles of homework she assigned, the brutal punishments doled out to kids who misbehaved, etc. When we finally got to junior high, she announced she was retiring, and we would be her last class. This was actually a little disappointing, because she went easy on us. She was nice to us. Didn't give us a whole lot of homework, certainly not as much as Mrs. Messina, the 6th grade teacher. And we watched a lot of movies. This was one of them.
Watching movies in school was the best. There was no better feeling than seeing the TV/VCR setup in the classroom when you walked in. And we watched this one TWICE. Here was the assignment: Watch the movie once. Then, we assign you a juror number, and watch it again, but this time pay special attention to your juror. Now write an essay from that juror's POV. Piece of cake if you got #8 (Henry Fonda) or #3 (Lee J. Cobb)... damn near impossible if you got #2 (the guy who did the voice of Piglet) of #6 (some guy, had hardly any lines.) I forget who I got, I think it was #11 (the immigrant guy.)
Anyway. This movie was adapted from a stage play, and it shows; virtually the entire movie happens inside a sealed jury room, as the 12 titular angry men* discuss the facts of a capital murder case. At first the vote is 11-1 in favor of execution, with #8 as the lone holdout. As it turns out, much of the evidence is not as solid as it first appeared. There's quite a bit of screaming and yelling among the jurors, as several of them seem to be taking the case personally for various reasons. There's an undercurrent of class and prejudice to many of the arguments (the kid is from the slums... as is one of the jurors).
It's pretty well acted; the jurors have distinct personalities, and it makes you think about which one you identify with. Personally I liked #1 (Martin Balsam), who just wanted everybody to calm down and talk like adults. I guess as an 8th grader I was more impressed with the writing than I am now; it's kind of melodramatic in spots -- looking at your big scene here, #10 (Ed Begley) -- but it's definitely worth seeing anyway.
*Yes. 12 Angry MEN. This movie, like Reservoir Dogs before it, fails the Bechdel Test with flying colors by not including a single woman with a speaking part. Won't be the last either; I don't think Shawshank Redemption or The Great Escape have any women either. What's weird here is that there's no real reason for ALL of the jurors to be men. Some of them could easily have been women. In fact, they staged it as such in our high school. Ah well, I guess Hollywood is just sexist that way.
Position on the list: 7
Another fantastic waste of time from 8th grade: This one project where we had to create an island, complete with animals and a language. Good night, Mrs. Schmidt, wherever you are.
Seen it before? Yes.
My 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Schmidt, was THE legendary strict teacher. Before we even got to junior high, we heard whispered tales about the piles of homework she assigned, the brutal punishments doled out to kids who misbehaved, etc. When we finally got to junior high, she announced she was retiring, and we would be her last class. This was actually a little disappointing, because she went easy on us. She was nice to us. Didn't give us a whole lot of homework, certainly not as much as Mrs. Messina, the 6th grade teacher. And we watched a lot of movies. This was one of them.
Watching movies in school was the best. There was no better feeling than seeing the TV/VCR setup in the classroom when you walked in. And we watched this one TWICE. Here was the assignment: Watch the movie once. Then, we assign you a juror number, and watch it again, but this time pay special attention to your juror. Now write an essay from that juror's POV. Piece of cake if you got #8 (Henry Fonda) or #3 (Lee J. Cobb)... damn near impossible if you got #2 (the guy who did the voice of Piglet) of #6 (some guy, had hardly any lines.) I forget who I got, I think it was #11 (the immigrant guy.)
Anyway. This movie was adapted from a stage play, and it shows; virtually the entire movie happens inside a sealed jury room, as the 12 titular angry men* discuss the facts of a capital murder case. At first the vote is 11-1 in favor of execution, with #8 as the lone holdout. As it turns out, much of the evidence is not as solid as it first appeared. There's quite a bit of screaming and yelling among the jurors, as several of them seem to be taking the case personally for various reasons. There's an undercurrent of class and prejudice to many of the arguments (the kid is from the slums... as is one of the jurors).
It's pretty well acted; the jurors have distinct personalities, and it makes you think about which one you identify with. Personally I liked #1 (Martin Balsam), who just wanted everybody to calm down and talk like adults. I guess as an 8th grader I was more impressed with the writing than I am now; it's kind of melodramatic in spots -- looking at your big scene here, #10 (Ed Begley) -- but it's definitely worth seeing anyway.
*Yes. 12 Angry MEN. This movie, like Reservoir Dogs before it, fails the Bechdel Test with flying colors by not including a single woman with a speaking part. Won't be the last either; I don't think Shawshank Redemption or The Great Escape have any women either. What's weird here is that there's no real reason for ALL of the jurors to be men. Some of them could easily have been women. In fact, they staged it as such in our high school. Ah well, I guess Hollywood is just sexist that way.
Position on the list: 7
Another fantastic waste of time from 8th grade: This one project where we had to create an island, complete with animals and a language. Good night, Mrs. Schmidt, wherever you are.
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