12 Angry Men

Pros: Acting, Direction, Group dynamics
Cons: Manipulative, Some dialog really stupid

"It's possible for a lawyer to be really stupid, isn't it?" Juror No. 8 The day was hot. The jurors dutifully filed into the jury room, having received the judge's instructions and found that the fan did not work. It was a murder trial and ...

Pros: The acting, script, level of tension, amazing cast.
Cons: It's just as relevant now as it was nearly fifty years ago.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit and watch this film in an uncommercal, uncut viewing. Deceptively simple in setting, it's a story that relies on the acting and dialog to create the tension. Even the names of the twelve men are not known, only ...

Pros: extremely well done, great character acting, impressive use of camera and dialogue
Cons: none

The 1957 release of 12 Angry Men seemed to be quite ground-breaking in the original storytelling as well as the themes being used to present a taunt tale. A little more than 50 years later, the themes being addressed could have been pulled right ...

Pros: Dialogue. Tight legal-thriller plot. Fierce belief in democracy, from writers who nonetheless understand people.
Cons: Once or twice, jurors conveniently say really dumb things.

I always want to be careful about spoilers, but my impression is that in 12 Angry Men, like in Jesus Christ Superstar, pretty much everyone knows from the beginning (as I did) the defendant’s fate. In Jesus, he’ll be found ...

Pros: Sound acting performances by all in the film, GREAT script, solid direction
Cons: Not everybody's cup of tea

The past few days, my family and I have been sorting out stuff we have in storage boxes. I never realized that we have so many comic books, books and films lurking about in this place! We have more than 10 huge boxes of books, well over 1000 comics and...

Pros: Wow. This is a real ground breaker. The story is exceptional.
Cons: It's black and white. I'm still mad about the ending.

I had to sleep on 12 Angry Men, because the ending made me so angry that I was just itching to rank this one star when I know in my heart that it’s a valuable piece of old cinema. If someone could go back and fix the ending on the film, ...

Pros: Strong acting from the ensemble, Lumet makes good use of the simple setting
Cons: A bit too binary in its division of themes

As the opening shot of Sidney Lumet's "12 Angry Men" unfolds, the camera pans up from street level t ...

Pros: Introspective plot, great cast
Cons: Absolutely none!

The judge is giving instructions to the jury in a first-degree murder case. We don't know what happened; we didn't hear the case or the arguments presented by the lawyers. We watch as the jury exits to go into deliberations. The young Hispanic boy...

Pros: Lumet's direction, Fonda's performance, as well as the acting and execution
Cons: Cosmo Girls might not like it.

Let's face it. The most badass of all film heroes are not the hard-core, "ballsy", "charge into a room and kill all of the armed Chinese guys" types. They are the calm, cool guys/girls, who just sit back and relax in the middle of a conflict, and someone ...

Pros: Great script, superb performances.
Cons: No action, no change in scenery.

Jury duty’s never fun. Just ask Pauly Sh…errr, Henry Fonda. Being stuck in the 85 degree heat of a cramped New York jury room can be one hell of a frustrating experience, especially when having to deal with bigots like Ed Begley’s juror #10 character in...

Pros: Just about everything
Cons: Is a fairy tale in the end

Usually when a writer declines to name certain characters, it means the character is faceless. He may or may not be insignificant, but you unquestionably will not be getting to know the guy. 12 Angry Men turns this formula upside-down by giving us twelve ...

Pros: Solid script, acted by some old pros
Cons: Minimalist, to say the least

After recently re-watching 12 Angry Men (1957), I was struck by a couple of things. 1) If ever there was an example of a movie being an enduring work of art, this is it. The movie was based on a play written for television by Reginald Rose ...

Pros: Fascinating drama that grips you from the first moment.
Cons: None.

DVD offers movie lovers a great opportunity that seems to be lost on today’s youth. Classic films that present some of the best that films have ever had to offer are ignored because of the simple fact they are in black and white as opposed to the ...

Pros: Cast, performances, pace of the film
Cons: Narrow jury room set hampers camera angles a bit

A young man (John Savoca), who is a minority, is on trial for the murder of his father, which he says he didn't commit. Both sides have presented their cases, and now it's in the hands of the jury of his peers. Each men believe that the boy, who has a ...

Pros: great cast, great story line
Cons: none

Have you ever wondered what goes on in a jury room after a trial? How a jury, made up of twelve normal, everyday citizens with no legal expertise, come up with the verdicts of guilty or not guilty. The verdicts that will either send a man to jail or...