MoeFOH's Movie of the Week... Week #21

[MoeFOH]

MoeFOH's Movie of the Week 🎥

Each week we're going to spotlight a movie... be it a classic, new release, hidden gem, or outright turd... and open it for discussion: i.e. post up your favourite quotes, clips, memories... or dive deeper and give us a critique on why you think it's great, overrated, or a complete train wreck... And finally score it for us...  

All contributors go into a monthly prize draw for a 3-cigar sampler! 

PM me with suggestions if there's a movie you want to nominate for next week's discussion. 

 

Week #21: 12 Angry Men

Wiki says:

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American courtroom drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, adapted from a 1954 teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. The film tells the story of a jury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of an 18-year old defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among them force the jurors to question their morals and values. It stars Henry Fonda (who also produced the film with Reginald Rose), Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden.

12 Angry Men explores many techniques of consensus-building and the difficulties encountered in the process among this group of men whose range of personalities adds to the intensity and conflict. The jury members are identified only by number; no names are revealed until an exchange of dialogue at the very end. The film forces the audience to evaluate their own self-image through observing the personalities, experiences, and actions of the jurors. The film is also notable for its almost exclusive use of one set, where all but three minutes of the film takes place.

The film was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever (after 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird) by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list. It is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Over to you...

How do you rate it? Favourite scenes?

Best moments?... etc, and so on... post 'em up!!

Give us your score out of 10!

[MoeFOH]

 

[Chibearsv]

Heard of it, never saw it. I’ll give it a whirl. 

[Ken Gargett]

what i find interesting is that this is considered a great classic by many - i only ever saw it once a very long time ago and remember thinking it a cracker. but it is never shown these days. some of those older movies get rerun so many times but a few just never pop up. i'd guess it was a couple of decades since it was shown here. shame as i'd love to see it again. the other one never shown here is french connection. big fan of hackman and that movie. 

[Greenhorn2]

That movie was a classic before I was born! Lol. Never heard or seen it but the French Connection  was on a couple weeks ago here. That's an oldie but goodie.

[riderpride]

4 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Heard of it, never saw it. I’ll give it a whirl. 

Never heard of it, never saw it. I'll give it a whirl. 🤣 

Cheers 

ETA - second only because 'In The Name Of The Father' wasn't eligible for first overall...

[SirVantes]

A real classic, and the very definition of a successful "talkie" - all the action takes place in dialogue, and what little physical acting there was, was exceptional. 9/10

It also created all sorts of legacies - I found Amy Schumer's parody hilarious.  And there is a Chinese remake that was also very enjoyable, especially if you know a little of the social context of the characters/stereotypes in that version - but given the themes that the movie addresses, you realise that the world really has gone post-ironic. 

[Ford2112]

I will have to watch this . Henry Fonda is always good!

[Bill Hayes]

Is this the one with the ad guy? Or is that to kill a mockingbird? I think it is12AM. Being in advertising, some of phrases he uses were classics that did the rounds in ad offices all around the world. "Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes it". Ha ha!

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, Bill Hayes said:

Is this the one with the ad guy? Or is that to kill a mockingbird? I think it is12AM. Being in advertising, some of phrases he uses were classics that did the rounds in ad offices all around the world. "Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes it". Ha ha!

a jury of 12. 

mockingbird is gregory peck as lawyer atticus finch. another cracker. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

Absolutely amazing film. Like Glengarry Glen Ross it's one of the few movies where the entire thing could be a stage play, or a movie, and it works brilliantly as either.

8/10

[MoeFOH]

14 hours ago, Bill Hayes said:

Is this the one with the ad guy? Or is that to kill a mockingbird? I think it is12AM. Being in advertising, some of phrases he uses were classics that did the rounds in ad offices all around the world. "Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes it". Ha ha!

Yep, the ad guy is one of the 12. 

[Ken Gargett]

8 hours ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

Absolutely amazing film. Like Glengarry Glen Ross it's one of the few movies where the entire thing could be a stage play, or a movie, and it works brilliantly as either.

8/10

i have a feeling that both were plays before films. but i would need to check. 

 

31 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

i have a feeling that both were plays before films. but i would need to check. 

glengarry glen ross was based on a play before it and 12 angry men based on a teleplay. 

[JohnS]

I concur with @Cigar Surgeon, this film was made practically on one set (I think Alfred Hitchcock did similarly with Rope and Rear Window) and was a successful play before being filmed. The fact that we have some of the finest supporting actors in Hollywood history also adds to its greatness. Sidney Lumet would go on to make some all-time great films, but he was just starting out here. Henry Fonda...his role as Juror No.8 was the centerpiece performance of what makes this film awesome!

[Tdm_86]

I’ve always struggled with this movie. Not exactly sure why, because I really do love many of it’s contemporaries that are equally ‘slow’. But 12 Angry Men seems to never fully captivate me and retain my attention, which is kind of critical for a movie like this. I know that objectively it’s a really good movie and I recognize that, maybe I should revisit because it’s been quite a long time since I’ve watched it last. 
 

7/10 for me as it sits 

[Cigar Surgeon]

15 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i have a feeling that both were plays before films. but i would need to check. 

 

glengarry glen ross was based on a play before it and 12 angry men based on a teleplay. 

Yes that was clumsy wording on my part. I meant that they work as either a stage play or a movie and both are equally entertaining. You don't feel like you're missing out.

In the case of Glengarry Glen Ross; it's a play that was a movie that was then adapted back into a play based on a movie. IIRC

[joeypots]

Gotta watch this one again. I haven’t seen it in at least 35 years. 

I love courtroom dramas. Anatomy Of A Murder, A Civil Action, and The Verdict are a few of my favorites.