Product description

Twelve Angry Men [1957]

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Average customer rating: 5.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5050070005172
Label : MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer : MGM Entertainment
Publisher : MGM Entertainment
Release date : 2001-03-19
Title : Twelve Angry Men [1957]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Universal, suitable for all
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1957-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 112
Studio : MGM Entertainment
Theatrical releaseDate : 1957-08-14
Number of discs : 1

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sidney Lumet's directorial debut Twelve Angry Men remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagey) 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, Amazon.com

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-12-03 rating:

Absolutey fabulous film!
I love this film. It's in my top ten favourite films ever?

Why? Because it is full of drama. Because the script is among the finest ever written (it started life as a play). Because the acting is Top notch (Henry Fonda is absolutely 100% believable). Because the twists and turns of the emotions of the jurors is superb.

There are so few films made with such intelligent and succinct scripts - I love this film to bits and hold my hat off to all who were involved in its making. If you haven't seen it yet. Do so. You won't regret it.

review by: What you think you saw you did not see date: 2008-11-06 rating:

Make that thirteen.....
I'd love to rate it five star as everyone else has done but it was just "too" contrived, although it was the object of the film. The mix of jurors was excellent and the way the characters interacted was superb but I felt that i) it wouldn't happen as conveniently as that in reality..ii) Lee J.Cobb capitulated too easily...iii) Fonda actually thought that the boy could've committed the murder...iv) the absence of any other suspect..
...v) if everybody's testament was flawed then not even Fonda's argument/reasoning was perfect? That said, it did enthral and showed how prejudiced our beliefs can be..but, by his analysis of human nature he could've acquitted Jack the Ripper....All in all a typical(though not at that time) lawyeristic case of proving others faults, and, like the bible say's, "He who without Sin, cast the first stone"?
Overall well worth the money and highly watchable!

review by: date: 2008-09-08 rating:

Get the R1 copy!
This R2 edition isn't terrible by any means, but the R1 "50th Anniversary Edition" is much better: better picture, better contrast and anamorphic, too. This film famously takes place in one room, and you'll be looking at just twelve faces and four walls for an hour and a half, so treat yourself to the better DVD - you'll be watching it again and again anyway!

review by: date: 2008-07-02 rating:

The greatest film ever made?
It sounds so boring and dull that we should spend 90 mins or so watching a black and white film where 12 men are sitting around a table discussing a court case and not only that but give or take a few seconds the whole film is set in just that one room.

The fact that such a 'boring' film can put you on the edge of your seat EVERY time you watch it is pure testament to the art and skills of debutant director Sidney Lumet, writer Reginald Rose and the cast of twelve talented actors.

To prove the point, the remake from 1997 which also features sterling actors of great calibre such as Jack Lemmon and George C.Scott with an almost identical script could not pull it off as well as the 1957 version. In fact it was nowhere near.

At this price you'd be a fool to miss out on this invaluable addition to your collection.

Just to give you an idea of the tastes of this particular reviewer, they vary from Harold Lloyd to Pulp Fiction and beyond. So get it now.

So is it the greatest movie ever made? Perhaps it is. Enjoy.

review by: Jinny date: 2008-04-12 rating:

A Very Powerful Message
This thought-provoking film is set almost entirely in one room, a room in which a jury have retired, to discuss their verdict on someone who has been accused of murder.

To begin with Henry Fonda's character is the only one who is prepared to argue a verdict of not guilty. The others laugh at him and do not understand how he can have reasonable doubt. Slowly, however, more and more of the men who make up the jury begin to agree that all is not as it originally seemed, and that there is indeed a very real chance that the accused ISN'T a murderer.

One by one, the men slowly change their minds, and several members of the jury are revealed to be severely predjudiced, nursing the usual misconceptions about the American underclass.

This thoughtful and thought-provoking film has a very great deal to say about human nature, and how nothing can be taken at face value. It also encourages the viewer to realise that sometimes people deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt. The acting is excellent, the dialogue is realistic and the overall plot development is enjoyable to watch. This is an all-time classic.

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