Onion-Nova Productions and United Artists.

Written by: Reginald Rose, adapted from his 1954 teleplay of the same name.

Tasked with deliberating over what from all the evidence and testimony appears to be an open-and-shut murder case, 12 jurors assemble in the jury room to take what they believe to be a unanimous guilty vote. When one juror dissents, the entire process is hurtled into the air and slowly, juror by juror, we witness pent up anger, prejudice, fear, and frustrations swell until no one’s vote is for sure and the facts of the case are increasingly cast in a different light.

Adapted from his own teleplay, Reginald Rose’s script is just as entrancing and intoxicating today as it was received in 1957. If the film feels dated, that is an all-white jury after all, the tension created by Lumet and the amazing performances from the extraordinary ensemble, has allowed “12 Angry Men” to be held in regard as one of the greatest films ever made. The film never dulls and moves along so smartly and briskly that you cannot help but be taken in by the proceedings from the first moment to the last.

Technically speaking, Lumet’s camera placement and shooting approach has been written about in numerous books and essays. All the way through, from top to bottom and beginning to end, “12 Angry Men” is flawless theater and captivating cinema.

“12 Angry Men” received three Academy Award Nominations in 1958 in the following categories:

• Best Picture of the Year
• Best Director (Sidney Lumet)
• Best Adapted Screenplay
  

Should I See It?

Consistently regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, you need to see it for merely that reason and that reason alone.

“12 Angry Men” laid the groundwork for hundreds and hundreds of films.

Top 10 All-Time on IMDB, preserved by the National Film Registry, ranked by AFI as one of the Top 100 Films of the 20th Century and named the 2nd greatest courtroom drama of all time.

Classic films hold no real interest for you.

Perhaps you are not a fan of Sidney Lumet’s work?

The courtroom drama/legal drama genre is one of your biggest turnoffs with watching movies.