12 Angry Men
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Movie Reviews of 12 Angry Men
Movie Review: An excellent case study in negotiations, influence, team building... Every manager/leader must watch this.
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched this movie last week as part of my coursework on Influence. This film is often used at business schools as a case study in negotiations, conflict management, team building, persuasion, etc.
The story is about twelve jurors who need to decide whether a teenager accused of killing his father was guilty or not. A guilty verdict would result in a death sentence. The preliminary vote is eleven to one in favor of guilty. The only juror who votes not guilty is an architect played by Henry Fonda. He is unsure and proceeds by asking probing questions. The rest of the movie takes you through their decision making process.
I will not spoil the story for you but will elaborate on what you should look out for while watching the movie. Pay close attention to the 12 characters. Each has a unique personality, influenced by their prejudices. Observe how they interact and how the coalitions are formed. Be aware of when public voting and private voting are used. Observe how Henry Fonda remains calm and impartial throughout the process and attacks issues and not people. Overall, observe how interpersonal and procedural tactics influence group decisions.
The 12 jurors - referred to by juror number and seated in clockwise order on the table:
1. The foreman - an assistant football coach
2. Bank teller - has a high-pitched voice and wears glasses
3. Businessman - who is aggressive and has a broken relationship with his son
4. Stockbroker - arrogant, self-confident and driven by the facts
5. Man from the slums - quiet and self-conscious, dressed in a suit
6. House painter - strong physically, stands up for his principles
7. Salesman - wears a straw hat and cares primarily about a baseball game he might miss
8. Architect (Henry Fonda) - calm, impartial and rational
9. Old man - weak physically but with a strong sense of justice
10. Garage owner - aggressive person who harbors a prejudice against slum people
11. Watchmaker - of European origin, speaks with an accent and has a strong ethical obligation to do his duty as an American citizen
12. Ad executive - sits on the fence and contributes more fluff than substance.
This movie is on my list of the five greatest movies ever made. Great script, direction and acting. I highly recommend it, especially to managers and leaders.
Movie Review: Technical Work Ensured This Movie as a Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
'12 Angry Men', originaly based on a TV series, was a groundbraking movie of the 50s'. Henry Fonda lead a great cast as the cool, well collected juror who dared to cast a vote against 11 other men who saw the murder trial of a young Puerto-Rican teen as an open-and-closed case. Fonda sat among great character actor Lee J. Cobb, and other small time names that built the stereotypical ladder of society in that time. You know, the middle-aged overweight men with the Brooklyn accents who live for a great baseball game and share strong characteristics with Jackie Gleason...the smooth-talking 'Clark Kent' like salesman with the thick glasses and the metaphorical one-liners...and of course the stone-faced buisness men who look like they've been entranced most of the time. But these twelve men who dedicated themselves greatly to their parts, were really I think only half of what made '12 Angry Men' so great. The mood throughout the movie almost never exceeded a strong argument, and there was no heavy musical blasts that interrupted the feel for any certain part. Also an interesting thing were the camera angles...I was once told just how many different angles that camera was pointed throughout the entire movie but I forgot. The many different shots help focus you better on just the dialogue the director had in mind for that scene, so you can easily put everything together as it happens. The camera also never leaves the jury room, so just as they're stuck there until the verdict is in...so are you. I dont want to start going over the entire plot, but as each little bit of the trial is looked over by the jurors and then usually argued by Henry Fonda..you begin to get to know each character personally. Once another cigarette is lit, once it suddenly starts to rain heavily, or once the daylight fades and the lights go on you get the feeling at each of these points that there's much more to come. One of my favorite shots is at the end, when the camera pans over the table and you see the 'wreckage' of a jury deciding a tough case...ash trays filled with cigarette butts, torn pictures from a distraught father, and dozens of little pieces of paper that say...well you figure it out. '12 Angry Men' I think used not only a great cast, but also a technical crew that made each and every scene perfect. Hats off to one of the greatest movies of that era.Movie Review: They don't make them like this anymore!
Summary: 5 Stars
As clearly illustrated by viewer reviews previous to mine, this is a brilliant example of filmmaking. Not only for the classic theme of courtroom dramas which became an important element in the late 50s followed with WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG and many others, but 12 ANGRY MEN clearly dramatizes the elements present behind closed jury room doors.Picture a scenario: 12 people, complete strangers to each other, different ages, different backgrounds, different values, different personalities, and different occupations are all sitting together in a cramp room seriously lacking of air conditioning on a rainy afternoon. 11 jurors with the exception of Henry Fonda vote guilty immediately. Therein lies the tale.
This is more than film entertainment. It serves as a life's lesson to be learned. Henry Fonda's Juror #8 serves as a charactization of a person who sees different sides to every question, and believes in proper and sheer analysis of the facts before a death sentence of the accused felon is to be determined. His motive is not merely to change their votes, but to get each of them to rethink their hasty convictions. Along the way, each character is slowly but surely beginning to see more in common with themselves with Fonda than meets the eye.
His main opposition consists of Robert Webber as a smug advertising man who thinks of people in terms of percentages, Jack Warden a marmalade salesman who is more concerned about ballgame tickets, Ed Begley as a bitter garage owner who has little or no respect for his fellow man, E.G. Marshall as a stockbroker who is very quick to support the defendant's guilt, yet is unwilling to admit his own conscious guilt in such matters. Finally Lee J. Cobb stars as a gruff, bitter Messenger Service Exchange merchant who is simply determined to have the defendant committed.
There have been many dramatizations and repeat viewers following, but this adaptation remains the very best of all of them - more importantly it should (in my opinion) serve as a model for other films to follow, and a moral to analyze the facts before you know the truth, and never set passions before principles.
Excellent direction by Sidney Lumet and Boris Kaufman's photography is top notch!
A DEFINITE MUST SEE! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Movie Review: The finest courtroom drama
Summary: 5 Stars
12 Angry Men is one of the finest courtroom dramas ever created for the silver screen. Although many other movies have borrowed liberally from the plot, they have never captured the tension of this film or it's humanity. It is for this reason that I believe 12 Angry Men will outshine many other flashier movies to be a classic worth seeing by your grandchildren's children.The plot is very simple. A poor, young man from the wrong side of the tracks in on trial for murdering his father in a fit of anger. The evidence seems overwhelming: an eyewitness to the killing, a murder weapon was a knife owned by the young man, and he was seen fleeing from the scene of the crime. Guilty? You'll have to wait and see.
Well, when our film starts the 12 jurors have just been led to the jury room where they are to decide if the defendant should be convicted and given the death penalty. Eleven of the jurors vote guilty without really reviewing any of the evidence. Mr. Davis (Henry Fonda), juror #12, objects and asks that his apathetic companions at least give take a look at all of the information before sentencing the boy to death. The other 11 jurors are incensed by this waste of time but finally, they agree.
Watch as the evidence is examined bit by bit and make up your own mind. Guilty? Innocent? That really isn't even the point. This is a beautiful example of how suspense can be wrought without eerie music and 2 million dollars worth of sets. Ninety-eight percent of the film takes place in a small, claustrophobic jury room where you can feel the heat of bodies and smell the sweat, and know the true face of the man who has the seat next to you. Layer and layer of pretense is stripped from the characters until their true selves emerge and then, and only then, can they begin to see the truth in the case.
Although he has been nominated for 5 Oscars in the past, Sidney Lumet has never been given the kudos he deserves as a director. Without props or fantastic sets, this film relies heavily on intense performances from his all star cast-and he manages to bring it all together into a film that is even greater than all of its parts. I salute him. Don't miss 12 Angry Men -you will regret missing one of the finest movie experiences of your life.
Movie Review: Superlative filmmaking
Summary: 5 Stars
This sterling production is, from beginning to end, one of the very best and easily one of the more topical motion pictures ever made.
Set mostly within a sixteen by twenty-four foot jury room, it introduces us to twelve men of varying background who are called upon to decide the fate of a teenager accused of fatally stabbing his father. The seemingly air-tight nature of the case stirs all but one of these gentlemen into believing the boy deserves nothing but swift and decisive death. The sole standout among them, portrayed distinctively by the legendary Henry Fonda, is left with the unenviable task of steering his peers toward accepting the opinion he has presented: that this very same kid might very well be innocent of the charge against him. This understandably complicates the deliberations and, as an unavoidable result, triggers heated resentment and deeply-rooted prejudice.
To say I simply enjoyed this movie would be a severe understatement. It works on so many levels, the foremost being the absolutely incredible and intricately structured character study it offers. The supporting cast of Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman and all the rest work sheer wonders in breathing the necessary reality into each and every one of these individual men. But I was especially impressed with Lee J. Cobb, who delivers some of the most memorable and quotable lines this side of "Gone With The Wind." His character's stubborn worldview, along with Begley's steadfast racism, is just as unfortunate an aspect of today's society as it was way back in 1957 when this film was initially released. I think that's why it's retained such remarkable staying power over so many years. It's an altogether timeless story.
Reginald Rose, it should be mentioned, penned this drama soon after serving in a jury of his own. The film went on to capture four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and has remained a personal favorite of mine for as far back in my life as I can honestly remember.
To those who, for whatever reason, have not yet seen this perfectly crafted film for themselves: forget any lingering doubts you may have and watch it right now!