Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.ca
Sidney Lumet's directorial debut remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagy) courtroom thriller, in which the viewer never sees a trial and the only action is verbal. As he does in his later corruption commentaries such as Serpico or Q & A, Lumet focuses on the lonely one-man battles of a protagonist whose ethics alienate him from the rest of jaded society. As the film opens, the seemingly open-and-shut trial of a young Puerto Rican accused of murdering his father with a knife has just concluded and the 12-man jury retires to their microscopic, sweltering quarters to decide the verdict. When the votes are counted, 11 men rule guilty, while one--played by Henry Fonda, again typecast as another liberal, truth-seeking hero--doubts the obvious. Stressing the idea of "reasonable doubt," Fonda slowly chips away at the jury, who represent a microcosm of white, male society--exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. The tight script by Reginald Rose (based on his own teleplay) presents each juror vividly using detailed soliloquies, all which are expertly performed by the film's flawless cast. Still, it's Lumet's claustrophobic direction--all sweaty close-ups and cramped compositions within a one-room setting--that really transforms this contrived story into an explosive and compelling nail-biter. --Dave McCoy
Product Description
12 Angry Men, by Sidney Lumet (Network), may be the most radical big-screen courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system as riveting as it is spare, the iconic adaptation of Reginald Rose’s teleplay stars Henry Fonda (Young Mr. Lincoln) as the initially dissenting foreman on a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a Puerto Rican teenager charged with murdering his father. What results is a saga of epic proportions that plays out in real time over ninety minutes in one sweltering room. Lumet’s electrifying snapshot of 1950s America on the verge of change is one of the great feature-film debuts.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Frank Schaffner’s 1955 television version, with an introduction by Ron Simon, director of the Paley Center for Media Studies
• “12 Angry Men”: From Television to the Big Screen, a video essay by film scholar Vance Kapley comparing the Sidney Lumet and Schaffner versions
• Archival interviews with Lumet
• New interview about the director with writer Walter Bernstein
• New interview with Simon about television writer Reginald Rose
• New interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman
• Tragedy in a Temporary Town (1956), a teleplay directed by Lumet and written by Rose
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by writer and law professor Thane Rosenbaum
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Steven Aldersley
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
12 Angry Men (1957)
Drama, 96 minutes
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Martin Balsam
Sidney Lumet passed away in 2011, but he left us with 72 films, shorts or TV series. This was his first feature for the big screen and it's definitely among his best work.
For me, one of the signs of a good film is to take a subject in which I have no interest and hold my attention for the duration. The story takes place in one room, apart from a couple of minutes at the beginning and end of the film. It succeeds because of the strength of the dialogue and the acting ability of all involved.
After a very compact 96 minutes in which no scene is wasted, the credits roll. I'm left with the feeling that I have just seen something important. The film deals with racism and highlights the good and bad points of the American justice system. Henry Fonda leads a strong cast and every member has a significant role to play.
Lumet used a variety of camera angles to make the viewer feel like a member of the jury and it's easy to be drawn in. This is one of those rare stories where dialogue is actually exciting. It's really something that has the potential to be enjoyed by any audience.
Criterion's recent Blu-ray release offers a wonderful presentation and includes a good supplemental package.
Drama, 96 minutes
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Martin Balsam
Sidney Lumet passed away in 2011, but he left us with 72 films, shorts or TV series. This was his first feature for the big screen and it's definitely among his best work.
For me, one of the signs of a good film is to take a subject in which I have no interest and hold my attention for the duration. The story takes place in one room, apart from a couple of minutes at the beginning and end of the film. It succeeds because of the strength of the dialogue and the acting ability of all involved.
After a very compact 96 minutes in which no scene is wasted, the credits roll. I'm left with the feeling that I have just seen something important. The film deals with racism and highlights the good and bad points of the American justice system. Henry Fonda leads a strong cast and every member has a significant role to play.
Lumet used a variety of camera angles to make the viewer feel like a member of the jury and it's easy to be drawn in. This is one of those rare stories where dialogue is actually exciting. It's really something that has the potential to be enjoyed by any audience.
Criterion's recent Blu-ray release offers a wonderful presentation and includes a good supplemental package.
By Andy
Format:DVD
An excellent classic movie. Seen it several times and now own it. Great film and bought it on the strength of demonstrating persuasive talking to my wife who is a teacher. Thought it may be useful for her students. Simple set, all done in one room and no names of characters are ever mentioned until the end. One bum note - there seemed to be a fault on my disc at chapter 19 so ended up skipping a couple of scenes. Worth watching.
By tomycanuck
Format:DVD
The all star cast of this original movie version does the subject justice. It has compassion, anger, despair, hope and empathy in abundance.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 430 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping courtroom drama
This is a courtroom drama with a difference. Apart from a very brief scene in the courtroom itself, the film takes place in the jury's deliberation room. Read more
Published on Jun 15 2006 by Ms. H. Sinton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Addendum
Here are two subtleties in 12 ANGRY MEN which I don't know if anyone else has remarked on. At the end of the movie, as Henry Fonda leaves the empty jury room, he looks back at the... Read more
Published on July 16 2004 by Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece
What can I possibly say about this masterpiece? It is surely one of the greatest movies, a work full of layers of meaning, of symbolism, of psychological and artistic subtleties. Read more
Published on Jun 27 2004 by Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great movie about epistemology
It always pisses me off when people give The Matrix as a philosophical movie, when there are so many much more rich sources of artistic exploration. Read more
Published on May 5 2004 by Alison F. Randall
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great movie about epistemology
It always pisses me off when people give The Matrix as a philosophical movie, when there are so many much more rich sources of artistic exploration. Read more
Published on May 5 2004 by Alison F. Randall
5.0 out of 5 stars
A couple clarifications...
Excellent movie that I think we can all agree could not be made today. There probably isn't too much I could add that hasn't already been said, but I wanted to clarify two common... Read more
Published on April 20 2004 by Follett R
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good.
'12 Angry Men' is a fantastic film by one of the most underrated directors ever; Sidney Lumet. It about 12 jurors trying to figure out a complicated crime. Read more
Published on April 14 2004 by Dhaval Vyas
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow
That movie is the best, for your personal and professional life. Every body should own one... Negotiation, bargaining, integrative, distributive, a little bit of shouting... Read more
Published on April 7 2004 by Eduardo
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is My Old Standby!
For some reason or other, this is a DVD that I keep forgetting to review. Well, now I'm here to review it so as to give it a five star rating and to tell you that this is unlike... Read more
Published on Mar 6 2004 by Kevin Currie-Knight
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting
A marvelous look at the court system, peer pressure, and social norms then and now, this classic ranks up there with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, INHERIT THE WIND, and a host of other... Read more
Published on Feb 17 2004
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
