Sidney Lumet directed 12 Angry Men, a 1957 American judicial drama movie modified from Reginald Rose’s 1954 screenplay from the same name. The movie follows a jury of 12 men. They consider whether to incarcerate or exculpate an 18-year-old accused based on general confusion, pressuring the jury members to interrogate their beliefs and ethos.
12 Angry Men delves at a variety of general agreement approaches and the challenges faced in the procedure by this bunch of people, whose diverse personas contribute to the fervor and rigidity. It also looks at the ability of a single individual to effect transformation. Their numbers solely recognize the jury members; no identities are disclosed until a last discourse round.
The protagonists and the viewer are forced to analyze their own identities by studying the judges’ personalities, backgrounds, and behaviors. The movie is particularly remarkable for its nearly complete reliance on a single set, which is used for all but three minutes of the movie.
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An assassination prosecution nears its completion in a New York courtroom in the 1950s. The judge orders the panel to deliberate the case of an 18-year-old accused of slashing his father to an ultimatum; they must reach a consensual decision, and if they find them guilty of the crime, the capital punishment will be carried out. Nevertheless, if any of them has a legitimate question, they must acquit the defendant. In this apparently open-and-shut case, only Juror No. 8 declares the accused ‘not guilty’ as the panelists stroll into their chamber on the warmest day of the year.
The trustworthiness of the eyewitnesses to the crime, as well as the statement that the murder equipment – a swiss army knife with an elaborate grip – is uncommon, have led to No. 8’s concerns, as he shows another similar blade he acquired for $6 from a thrift store. As he begins to present his argument, the jury members begin to pay attention, and this previously straightforward case gradually becomes a contest amongst lawyers. As outbursts boil, the suspect’s fate lies in the air.
12 Angry Men Trivia that you Didn’t Know
- Fonda detested seeing himself on display; therefore, he hasn’t ever viewed the movie in its entirety in the theatre. He did, nonetheless, tell Lumet that the picture was excellent as he discreetly slid out of the viewing.
- Apart from three minutes in the jury’s toilet, a brief prologue in the court, the film is entirely set in the jury’s chamber, with an even shorter finish on the court’s stairs.
- Bridge On The River Kwai won all three of the film’s Oscar nominations. Nevertheless, the movie did win the Golden Bear prize at the 1957 Berlin Film Festival; infact, it also encouraged US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer to follow a legal line of work.
Is It Worth Watching It?

12 Angry Men may not have had the most cutting-edge visual graphics or the most earth-shattering plot, but it is without a doubt one of the best plays ever made. This movie is required to watch for anybody who values doing what is good and adhering to their guns in the face of criticism and even violence. It has a basic set-up, scorching talents from the tiny cast, and a shrapnel screenplay.