CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEW: 12 Angry Men (1957)
By Li Xiang
Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds
Twelve jurors gather in one little room, discussing whether a boy is guilty for his father’s death or not. That's what this 96-minute movie shows us. No visual effects, no action, no love scenes, even no background music. What makes this movie sparkling for almost 50 years? Performance.
At the beginning of the movie, there is a constant shot for almost 10 minutes. No cutting, no montage. This plainest of camera skills calls for the most difficult of acting skills. The 12 actors give their best performance of the whole movie. Ten minutes, no mistake. Every one of them moves towards a certain direction, stops and talks to a certain person. Every move is smooth and natural, without a single trace of acting. In the rest of the movie, the actors also give fantastic performances. Henry Fonda, the leading actor, appears in the movie as juror No.8. No.8 is a strong minded character. Fonda uses a low but clear tone and firm impression in his eyes to display No.8's calmness and unshakable faith in humanity.
Besides Fonda, there are supporting actors who leave deep impressions on viewers. Joseph Sweeney is one of them. As juror No.9, an old gentleman, Sweeney speaks in a slow but logical way to show his wisdom. No.9 is the first person who steps out to give No.8 a hand. He also provides the strongest reasonable doubt to refute the eye-witness's testimony. This man is a very significant figure. His wonderful performance owes to his wisdom. Wisdom is one of the most difficult things to show in a motion picture, it cannot be done by any specific act or words. However, Sweeney made it by looking straight into the camera. His eyes are shining with wisdom. No one can teach an actor how to do this, only talent can explain it.
Other actors, such as Lee J. Cobb (No.3), E.G. Marshall (No.4) and Jack Warden (No.7) also make their characters vivid and believable. Their personality, experiences and points of view are so very different. The fierce conflict among the 12 angry men leaves the spectator with great enjoyment and a profound reflection on humanity. And all this was displayed by the 12 excellent actors. If there is a "Best Actor Team Award" in any movie festival, this movie should surely win it without a doubt.
(All data and photograph are from IMDB)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Story & Screenplay by Reginald Rose
Complete credited cast:
Martin Balsam .... Juror #1 (aka, the foreman) John Fiedler .... Juror #2
Lee J. Cobb .... Juror #3
E.G. Marshall .... Juror #4
Jack Klugman .... Juror #5
Ed Binns .... Juror #6
Jack Warden .... Juror #7
Henry Fonda .... Juror #8
Joseph Sweeney .... Juror #9
Ed Begley .... Juror #10
George Voskovec .... Juror #11
Robert Webber .... Juror #12
Genre: Drama / Crime
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10 (25,336 votes) Top 250: #21
Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds
Twelve jurors gather in one little room, discussing whether a boy is guilty for his father’s death or not. That's what this 96-minute movie shows us. No visual effects, no action, no love scenes, even no background music. What makes this movie sparkling for almost 50 years? Performance.
At the beginning of the movie, there is a constant shot for almost 10 minutes. No cutting, no montage. This plainest of camera skills calls for the most difficult of acting skills. The 12 actors give their best performance of the whole movie. Ten minutes, no mistake. Every one of them moves towards a certain direction, stops and talks to a certain person. Every move is smooth and natural, without a single trace of acting. In the rest of the movie, the actors also give fantastic performances. Henry Fonda, the leading actor, appears in the movie as juror No.8. No.8 is a strong minded character. Fonda uses a low but clear tone and firm impression in his eyes to display No.8's calmness and unshakable faith in humanity.
Besides Fonda, there are supporting actors who leave deep impressions on viewers. Joseph Sweeney is one of them. As juror No.9, an old gentleman, Sweeney speaks in a slow but logical way to show his wisdom. No.9 is the first person who steps out to give No.8 a hand. He also provides the strongest reasonable doubt to refute the eye-witness's testimony. This man is a very significant figure. His wonderful performance owes to his wisdom. Wisdom is one of the most difficult things to show in a motion picture, it cannot be done by any specific act or words. However, Sweeney made it by looking straight into the camera. His eyes are shining with wisdom. No one can teach an actor how to do this, only talent can explain it.
Other actors, such as Lee J. Cobb (No.3), E.G. Marshall (No.4) and Jack Warden (No.7) also make their characters vivid and believable. Their personality, experiences and points of view are so very different. The fierce conflict among the 12 angry men leaves the spectator with great enjoyment and a profound reflection on humanity. And all this was displayed by the 12 excellent actors. If there is a "Best Actor Team Award" in any movie festival, this movie should surely win it without a doubt.
(All data and photograph are from IMDB)
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