12 Angry Men [50th Anniversary Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been admonished that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons of his own. The sole holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda. As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we learn the backstory of each man. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb), a bullying self-made man, has estranged himself from his own son. Juror #7 (Jack Warden) has an ingrained mistrust of foreigners; so, to a lesser extent, does Juror #6 (Edward Binns). Jurors #10 (Ed Begley) and #11 (George Voskovec), so certain of the infallibility of the Law, assume that if the boy was arrested, he must be guilty. Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) is an advocate of dispassionate deductive reasoning. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman), like the defendant a product of "the streets," hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his past. Juror #12 (Robert Webber), an advertising man, doesn't understand anything that he can't package and market. And Jurors #1 (Martin Balsam), #2 (John Fiedler) and #9 (Joseph Sweeney), anxious not to make waves, "go with the flow." The excruciatingly hot day drags into an even hotter night; still, Fonda chips away at the guilty verdict, insisting that his fellow jurors bear in mind those words "reasonable doubt." A pet project of Henry Fonda's, Twelve Angry Men was his only foray into film production; the actor's partner in this venture was Reginald Rose, who wrote the 1954 television play on which the film was based. Carried over from the TV version was director Sidney Lumet, here making his feature-film debut. A flop when it first came out (surprisingly, since it cost almost nothing to make), Twelve Angry Men holds up beautifully when seen today. It was remade for television in 1997 by director William Friedkin with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Color
• Subtitle: English, Spanish
• Features:
  • [cc]
  • Audio commentary with Film Historian Drew Casper
  • 2 New featurettes
  • Inside the Jury Room featurette
  • Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making 12 Angry Men Featurette

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1957 (Reginald Rose)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1957 (Sidney Lumet)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1957 (Reginald Rose, Henry Fonda)

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Won Golden Bear - 1957

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Foreign Actor - 1957 (Henry Fonda)
•     Nominated Best Film - Any Source - 1957 (Sidney Lumet)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1957 (Sidney Lumet)

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1957 (Reginald Rose)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Director - 1957 (Sidney Lumet)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1957 (Henry Fonda)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1957 (Lee J. Cobb)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1957

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1957

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Henry Fonda - Juror #8
       Lee J. Cobb - Juror #3
       Ed Begley, Sr. - Juror #10
       E.G. Marshall - Juror #4
       Jack Klugman - Juror #5
       Jack Warden - Juror #7
       Martin Balsam - Juror #1
       Edward Binns - Juror #6
       Joseph Sweeney - Juror #9
       George Voskovec - Juror #11
       Robert Webber - Juror #12
       John Fiedler - Juror #2

• Director:

  Sidney Lumet

• Producer:

  Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose

• Screen Story:

  Reginald Rose

• Screenwriter:

  Reginald Rose

• Cinematographer:

  Boris Kaufman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Kenyon Hopkins

• Editor:

  Carl Lerner

• Associate Producer:

  George Justin

REVIEWS:

• Twelve Angry Men is a tightly wound top of a movie. Each scene ratchets up the tension another notch as Henry Fonda's character tries desperately to open the minds of his fellow jurors. The setting -- a claustrophobic jury room in the dog days of summer -- superbly augments the suspense. Operating within the constraints of a small budget, first-time director Sidney Lumet tightens the noose by accentuating the throbbing pulse of the ceiling fan and slowly narrowing his shots on his characters as the film approaches its climax. Based on Reginald Rose's well-known play, which had been adapted to the television screen three years earlier, Twelve Angry Men boasts a series of excellent performances by young actors who would soon become household names, including Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, and Martin Balsam. However, it is the film's established stars -- Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall and most importantly Fonda -- who play the leads, delivering the goods like seasoned pros. The film has instructional value as a study of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the jury system, but its real value is how it allows each member of the cultural mosaic of a jury to develop into distinct, damaged, and interesting characters. In a well-crafted metaphor for the broader outline of society, the jury members must confront their prejudices in order to see that justice prevails. Nominated for three Oscars, Twelve Angry Men ran into the juggernaut of Bridge on the River Kwai and came up empty handed. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
• {#Twelve Angry Men} is a tightly wound top of a movie. Each scene ratchets up the tension another notch as {$Henry Fonda}'s character tries desperately to open the minds of his fellow jurors. The setting -- a claustrophobic jury room in the dog days of summer -- superbly augments the suspense. Operating within the constraints of a small budget, first-time director {$Sidney Lumet} tightens the noose by accentuating the throbbing pulse of the ceiling fan and slowly narrowing his shots on his characters as the film approaches its climax. Based on {$Reginald Rose}'s well-known play, which had been adapted to the television screen three years earlier, {#Twelve Angry Men} boasts a series of excellent performances by young actors who would soon become household names, including {$Jack Klugman}, {$Jack Warden}, and {$Martin Balsam}. However, it is the film's established stars -- {$Lee J. Cobb}, {$E. G. Marshall} and most importantly Fonda -- who play the leads, delivering the goods like seasoned pros. The film has instructional value as a study of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the jury system, but its real value is how it allows each member of the cultural mosaic of a jury to develop into distinct, damaged, and interesting characters. In a well-crafted metaphor for the broader outline of society, the jury members must confront their prejudices in order to see that justice prevails. Nominated for three Oscars, {#Twelve Angry Men} ran into the juggernaut of {#Bridge on the River Kwai} and came up empty handed. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide

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