Monday, April 04, 2011

AFI 87 - 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men
1957
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Netflix sleeve: Knowing full well that a guilty verdict means death, a jury of 12 men (including Jack Warden and Jack Klugman) must decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his father. But only one juror (Henry Fonda) wants to take the time to coolly deliberate the case. Sidney Lumet (Network) made his directorial debut with this Oscar-nominated drama that illustrates all the petty impediments on the path to justice.

This one is a great movie. In my humble opinion, it deserves to be a little higher than number 87 on this list. But this is the AFI list, not mine. I first saw this movie my senior year of high school. We watched it in sociology class. I guess the point of it was to see how these guys interact with each other under such a tense situation. Whatever the reasoning behind Ms. Russell making us watch it, I loved this movie. On the surface it's such a simple story. I mean, it's 12 men in one room for pretty much the entire picture. But you get a chance to get inside the minds of these 12 men and quickly understand just how complex the story really is. If you've never seen it, see it. This weekend. That's not a request! I expect your full report by Sunday.

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