12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men is a Black-and-white film of 1957, and tells the story of twelve jurors bound by the acceptance of their civic duty and thrust together into a hot, humid room to determine the guilt or innocence of a boy accused of killing his father in a moment of rage. Only one juror is not certain, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the young man is guilty. With the exception of a few moments at the beginning and the end, the entire movie takes place in the room. A study of contrasts in human character under the stress of responsibility, it stars Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley and E.G. Marshall, and is highly regarded from both a critical and popular viewpoint; Roger Ebert lists it as one of his "Great Movies", and it has been consistently ranked in the top 30 of the Internet Movie Database Top 250 List.

The inside story

Directed by Sidney Lumet and adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1954 teleplay which was originally broadcast on CBS, the film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Boris Kaufman was the cinematographer.

Related Topics:
Sidney Lumet - Reginald Rose - 1954 - CBS - Academy Awards - Best Director - Best Picture - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium - Boris Kaufman - Cinematographer

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The filming of 12 Angry Men was completed in 19 days on a budget of $349,000. It begins with the use of cameras positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater depth between objects; by the end of the film nearly everyone is shown in closeup using telephoto lenses from a lower angle, which decreases or "shortens" depth of field. Lumet states that his intention in using these techniques was to create a nearly palpable claustrophobia, and by most accounts he succeeded.

Related Topics:
Wide-angle lens - Telephoto lens - Depth of field - Claustrophobia

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The screenplay was initially produced for television, and was broadcast on the program Studio One in 1954. A complete kinescope of that performance, which had been missing for years and feared lost, was finally discovered in 2003.

Related Topics:
Screenplay - Television - Studio One - 1954 - Kinescope - 2003

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12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997 and starred George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza and Jack Lemmon. In this production the judge is a woman and three of the jurors are African Americans; in most other aspects the action and dialogue of the film is virtually identical to the original.

Related Topics:
Remade - 1997 - George C. Scott - James Gandolfini - Tony Danza - Jack Lemmon - African American

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12 Angry Men is sometimes studied as literature. Some of the screenplays have been published, and Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. In 1964 Leo Genn appeared in the play on the London stage. Other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast as jurors are called 12 Angry Jurors or 12 Angry Women.

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The film was parodied on BBC television in an episode of Hancock's Half Hour, which starred Tony Hancock and Sid James.

Related Topics:
Parodied - BBC - Television - Hancock's Half Hour - Tony Hancock - Sid James

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