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12 Angry Men (1957)

  

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Of my 25 most favorite movies, this is number 8. Lumet could have filmed it as if he were shooting the stage play; instead, he used lighting, camera angles and the right number of extra touches to give 12AM a different feel while keeping it familiar. In fact, he upped the ante in many ways, stoking the dank tension by having the camera be the 13th juror. And while Fonda was great, his performance would have been as bland as the character he played were it not for Cobb's energy giving him something to reflect and deflect. Oh, and who couldn't have been endeared by a young Jack Klugman (RIP, Oscar).

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One of my all time favorite films. The "Same Knife" scene still gives me a rush of adrenaline every time I see it.and yet, despite such visuals, It's also a film that takes the "Show. don't tell" rule and tosses it out the window to great success. I'll take a film filled with relevant dialogue over one with pointless visuals that add nothing to the story any day

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It seems as you grow older, you can appreciate older films more. That does not mean that when I hit the age of 65 I will appreciate a film like Citizen Kane, but now that I am in my 40's I have a desire to see some of the greats from years past. Years ago I was too narrow minded to want to even try to appreciate older cinema and some of the screen greats. But today I love the 1957 classic, 12 ANGRY MEN.What's quite fascinating is to see the change in political and social climates since the days of black and white film. In this film, there were no black jury members, no women, and no swearing. This was also, to be fair, probably the worst handled case in the history of trials next to the Warren Report. Questions that today would be common place were avoided like the plague. Evidence was not handled properly, very little effort was put forth by the defense to come up with a defense at all and witnesses were never thoroughly interrogated or cross examined to refute what can only be regarded as flimsy testimony. But, not only was I not around in the 50's, I have no idea what the North American justice system was like back then, and perhaps that is what makes this film so interesting. So I can only say that it is possible that a case could be handled this poorly, given its circumstances. You would have to compare and dissect what society was like back then to get a true appreciation of what was and wasn't possible.To talk about the film, yes it was very enjoyable. It was a great film that unwound piece by piece all of the apparent infallible theories that pointed to the guilt of this kid. The writer should be given a lot of credit for that. But having said that, a film like this would never see the light of day with today's fickle audience that would rather see a film like Transformers than Perks of Being a Wallflower. I am not critisizing today's audience for that, just pointing it out. But the 40's and 50's were different. Spielberg and Lucas and Bruckheimer were just little tykes then. It was a different time. A film that only talks and has no action was perhaps a possible sell back then with a cast like this. Lee J. Cobb and Henry Fonda and Jack Warden must have been at the height of their popularity so that immediately leant credence and respect to the project. But it wouldn't matter who did this film in today's age, it would not work. Again, not a critisism, just an opinion.I think it is important to go back to the roots of cinema every once in a while to view some of it. You come across gems like this and you learn to appreciate them. 12 ANGRY MEN is a fascinating film and it is one that serious lovers of film should watch every now and again to feel the aesthetic of film before special effects started to replace a good script and a good director. Tarantino would appreciate something like this. In his version of 12 ANGRY MEN, the 12 jurors would probably have names of colours and at the end they would all have grabbed Henry Fonda's knife and tried to kill each while uttering the F-Word in, but a film that prides itself on dialogue more than action is what he is all about. This could be a pioneer of a Tarantino film project.12 ANGRY MEN is a great film and it is one that HENRY FONDA should have been proud of. A wonderful experience! And it is great to see some of his work, other than On GOLDEN POND.9 out of 10

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In hindsight, the effectiveness of Fonda's persuasion is dulled by the realization that he had to resort to juror misconduct in order to do it, but otherwise this movie is dialogue-driven filmmaking at its finest. You feel both the literal and figurative heat in the room throughout the runtime as it grabs your attention better than 90% of action films.

 

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"It seems as you grow older, you can appreciate older films more. That does not mean that when I hit the age of 65 I will appreciate a film like Citizen Kane"

 

 

I love your hate on Citizen Kane its hilarious!!!

 

 

I hate it....hate everything about it.

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It's in my Top 10 of Best films ever made, and probably within Top 5 of my most favorite movies.I remembered watching it for the first time during either a History or Government class, and I was absolutely enthralled by it. An exceptional movie.A+

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A+

I love this movie so much. Simply brilliant is the best description for it. It's also one of the few old movies I can watch over and over with ease. Seen it at least a dozen times cause it's so easy to sit through. Moves at an alarmingly blazing pace every time, which I always find nice.

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