12 Angry Men (Twelve Angry Men [1957] (DVD))

Member Name: ruth_cole

Product:	Twelve Angry Men [1957] (DVD)
Date:	25/10/04 (376 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tense, intelligent drama, gritty, gorgeous direction

Disadvantages: none

Sometimes you can't help wondering if there's any point in writing an opinion on something; after all, this is a classic film. I've no doubts there are far more people on here who have seen it than not, and most of them wouldn't have kept doing what I did which was go "oh yeah, that's one I know I'll love... I must get round to that..." and never do it. (I did see the recent tv remake, where Jack Lemmon took on juror number 8 and George C. Scott number 3... but... it's never the same, and why would it be?).

But, with a film like this one, it just seems like there's too much to say not to. So bear with me, and pretend you've never seen it. And if you haven't, take my cue and make up for lost time...

A jury are charged with their task; a 17 year old boy from an immigrant slum stands accused of plunging a knife into his abusive father's chest, and the jury's verdict must be unanimous either way. If he is found guilty, he will be sent to the electric chair. The case seems open and shut - there are apparent witnesses to the murder, the evidence is stacked up against the young man, as is his vaguely criminal background, and eleven of the jurors are ready to convict within minutes. But juror number 8 (Henry Fonda) is unwilling to cast his lot so easily, and navigates his fellow jurors through the evidence once more, raising questions no-one thought to ask...

Thus follows an hour and half of grit and sweat and claustrophobia. Just the few minutes that top and tail the film take place outside the overheated jury room (that's tempers as well as the "hottest day of the year" that pours its heaviness through the window). The cast is something of a who's who, and everyone has at least one moment in the spotlight, although it's Lee J. Cobb, as the most determined and abrasive juror gunning for a guilty verdict, that shares the most screen time with a piercing and austere Fonda. Ed Begley, too, has a deeply uncomfortable moment in the spotlight, but we'll come back to that.

There's a thirteenth man in that simple room, though. He isn't sitting at the table; his coat isn't hung on the simple, bare rail. He's behind that camera and he's dancing with balletic precision around the room...

Let's start with performances, though.

Henry Fonda burns with curious indignation; his cause rests somewhere between discomfort at the idea of sending any man to his death with even a shred of uncertainty in his mind and a kind of academic precision with facts. His arch, pinning glance, curious raised eyebrow and almost feline grace all point to a pitch-perfect performance. Cobb equally blisters and blunders and bellows his way through his prejudices and fears as he slowly begins to realise how personally he is taking the facts of the case. Each juror is very much an individual - despite the fact that there is limited screen time to be shared, no-one could mistake the meticulous, measured juror 4 that E.G. Marshall portrays for the edgy, slum-raised juror 5 sitting next to him, in a sharp turn from Jack Klugman. Each man around that table has a wealth of history and character heaped on his shoulders, and yet names are never spoken, only numbers. And yes, there are some stereotypes, such as Robert Webber's gabby advertising exec, and Martin Balsam's weary foreman, but they are naturally and humanly portrayed. These are people sitting around a table, and despite the play-like atmosphere that always persists when show is transferred to screen, they are not merely characters.

The script in itself is a joy to behold. Reginald Rose not only wrote but, like Fonda, produced the film, and the immense power of his words emanates from every syllable. When, in a supremely uncomfortable moment, a tirade of xenophobic prejudice against immigrants is unleashed by one of the jurors, each word rings in the ears with painful force, as the camera stays resolutely still and allows the movement of the actors to plot the subtext elegantly. This is a tense and intelligent film. Even if there is some inevitablity to it, it's possibly just that which makes it so watchable. What juror number 8 is doing, weaving doubt through the group, is inexorable, but how he will possibly stand up to the onslaught of evidence and opinion is anyone's guess. There's no thundering, clumsy preaching, and no hard and fast answers... this is not a conclusive film but an exploration: of identity, of epistemology, of prejudice and of humanity.

Sidney Lumet's direction is characteristically spare and stunning. The economy of movement, whereby slow sweeping shots are interwoven with sharp cutting between atmospheric close-ups and then long periods of static camera angles, is incredible. The camera guides and flexes with expert grace, so subtly that one minute you're so lost in the action you've forgotten it's there, and the next minute the visual wallop of the film hits you for six. Two wonderful layered shots bookend the film; the accused boy's wide eyes are left to linger over the empty jury room just before the jurors file in to Kenyon Hopkins evocatively atmospheric score, and the jury room itself casts a shadow over the steps of the courthouse at the end. The music and sound are pivotal - as I was watching my DVD a storm broke outside at the same time as in the film! There's a grainy quality sometimes to the sound that reflects the noises of the real world, and the score is sparingly and effectively used.

Well, I doubt I've told you anything you didn't already know, but I've marshalled my own thoughts on the matter at least. In terms of DVD release information, this boasts only the original theatrical trailer as an extra, and the menus are pretty functional and straightforward, with the usual language and scene selection options. It's a widescreen format, apparently specially programmed so that use with a widescreen television boosts the picture quality. It was obtained as one of play.com's regular 3 for £20 offers, so that's a good place to start.

Alex
xxx

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