12 Angry Men (1957)

Directed by

Sidney Lumet

Written by

Reginald Rose

Cast

Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda

Genre

drama film, trial film, huis-clos film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

NR

Rating

8.6 of 10 from 10,122 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A jury of twelve men must decide if a teenager is guilty of murder. One juror argues for reasonable doubt, forcing the others to reexamine the evidence and their own biases.

tenseclaustrophobicslow-burncerebralmoraldeliberatethoughtfulconfrontational

What happens

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet in his feature directorial debut, adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1954 teleplay. A critique of the American jury system during the McCarthy era, the film tells the story of a jury of twelve men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among the jurors forces them to question their morals and values. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Henry Fonda (who also produced the film with Rose), Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden. An independent production distributed by United Artists, 12 Angry Men received acclaim from critics, despite a lukewarm box-office performance. At the 30th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2007, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Additionally, it was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever (after 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird) by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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