12 Angry Men (1957)

[Jack Nevada]

Perfection. I almost restarted it immediately after it was done.A+

That's exactly right, I too wanted to watch the movie again right after finishing it. 

[Plain Old Tele]

For anyone who liked this movie, I recommend Lumet's book Making Movies. It's a very methodical look at his approach to all his films, from pre-preduction through release, and it's fascinating to read how carefully and how detailed his plans for 12 ANGRY MEN were. For example, he slowly but surely changed camera lenses over the course of the story, moving from wider-angle lenses early on (which emphasize space), to longer lenses later (which compress space), all for the sole purpose of making things feel more tight and constricted visually. Camera placements and angles were also carefully planned to reinforce this effect.

 

It's very very rare these days for a director to have such a cohesive approach (to say nothing of understanding the technical means to reach the wanted effect), and it's why so many movies today aren't 100% what they could be.

[vc2002]

All A's. How many film got all A's in this section?

[Lordmandeep]

This is a great film...

 

That is all 

[luna]

All A's. How many film got all A's in this section?

i'd like to ruin it, but i just can't.

[vc2002]

i'd like to ruin it, but i just can't.

 

[Water Bottle]

A-

 

It's a little preachy at times but it's okay because this movie is simply fantastic. It takes something that shouldn't be interesting (jury duty) and makes a really entertaining film out of it that ultimately celebrates what the American justice system should be.

[Empire]

Great movie. Everything about it is great. I would give it an.......A(98)

[RobinHood26]

A (97)

[Goffe]

5 minutes for my showing to begin, really excited, I have a feeling that I will love it.

[Lordmandeep]

This movie actually made me distrust the Jury system. 

[Goffe]

wow, it's the best character work I've seen

 

100/100

[Jake Gittes]

Saw this for the first time just now. Pretty fantastic, I especially liked how the film allows you to get as annoyed with Fonda as the other jurors are, before he starts making his case. All the actors nail it, even if half the characters are little more than types, but they are types convincingly brought to life, and Lumet perfectly sustains the energy for 96 minutes. I never even thought of checking my watch.

 

I do have some nits to pick with it - all the attention being called to the "hottest day of the year" and the non-working fan is the kind of thing that tends to annoy me ("it's because they're gonna have a heated, emotional argument! Get it? Get it?!!"), and when the old guy started his racist monologue, everyone demonstrably turning away from him - capped off by "Now sit down and don't say another word" - felt like a reaction that was performed for the audience more than something that would've happened in real life. (I can easily believe they'd get disgusted with him, but not in such a stagey way). Still, the fact that those things stood out to me is, in a way, a further testament to how accomplished the rest of the film is. 

[Plain Old Tele]

Saw this for the first time just now. Pretty fantastic, I especially liked how the film allows you to get as annoyed with Fonda as the other jurors are, before he starts making his case. All the actors nail it, even if half the characters are little more than types, but they are types convincingly brought to life, and Lumet perfectly sustains the energy for 96 minutes. I never even thought of checking my watch.

 

I do have some nits to pick with it - all the attention being called to the "hottest day of the year" and the non-working fan is the kind of thing that tends to annoy me ("it's because they're gonna have a heated, emotional argument! Get it? Get it?!!"),...

I think the heat and non-working fan have a much simpler primary function: to show that the room is really damn uncomfortable. No one wants to be there. It's just one more incentive for them to wrap things up quickly.

[Infernus]

Watched this yesterday. Have been watching bits and pieces again and again since then. Great, great film. The direction, the acting, the characters, the writing - all are top class. A classic in all respects. Its so simple. And so unique! A courtroom drama with no lawyers, a case with no trial. With nothing but a single shot of the convict's face. It feels to me like it was not really about the case, about proving or not proving something, about the convict, about the whodunit or even about guilty or innocent. It was about the men - 12 strangers, who don't even know each other's name, come together to decide the death of another stranger. Its about being able to look past the surface. No, its about willing to look past the surface. Its about the will to look past your prejudices and your emotions, about opening your mind. The story's got its holes, even though its written very well and great part of it is covered by the superb acting. Too much is assumed. The lawyers are apparently high school drop-outs. In other word's it isn't really realistic. But it doesn't matter, not completely. For as i said, its not about the case, its about the Men. 12 Angry Men.

 

 

A, easily. somewhere between 90-95 out of hundred overall. Among my favourite ever.

[Infernus]

Btw this is probably the highest no of 100% A's I have yet seen in the sub forum. Is there another film with a higher vote count with 100% A's?

[wenbilson]

I absolutely love this film. A+
I made a video on why I think it's a masterpiece of American cinema - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxXBZEx3tgA 

[Lordmandeep]

I think this is the highest rated movie on our website ever ?