Masterfully created, Sidney Lumet’s film adaptation of Reginald Rose’s wonderful teleplay is a true classic. Â A film that relies on its intelligent screenplay, powerful performances and creative cinematography, “12 Angry Men” will continue to be a beloved courtroom drama that will have its relevance in today’s society as it did in the past, but also in the future. Â The Criterion Collection release of “12 Angry Men” is magnificent and is definitely a 5-star release! Â Highly recommended!
Image courtesy of © 1957 The Estate of Peter Fonda and Defender Productions. 2011 The Criterion Collection All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: 12 Angry Men – The Criterion Collection #563
RELEASE OF FILM: 1957
DURATION: 96 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio, Black and White, Monaural
COMPANY: Twentieth Century Fox/The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: November 22, 2011
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Story and Screenplay by Reginald Rose
Produced by Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose
Associate Producer: George Justin
Music by Kenyon Hopkins
Cinematography by Boris Kaufman
Edited by Carl Lerner
Art Direction by Bob Markel
Starring:
Martin Balsam as Juror #1
John Fiedler as Juror #2
Lee J. Cobb as Juror #3
E.G. Marshall as Juror #4
Jack Klugman as Juror #5
Edward Binns as Juror #6
Jack Warden as Juror #7
Henry Fonda as Juror #8
Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9
Ed Begley as Juror #10
George Voskovec as Juror #11
Robert Webber as Juror #12
12 Angry Men, by Sidney Lumet, may be the most radical courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system that is as riveting as it is spare, this iconic adaptation of Reginald Rose’s teleplay stars Henry Fonda as the dissenting member on a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a Puerto Rican teenager charged with murdering his father. The result is a saga of epic proportions that plays out over a tense afternoon in one sweltering room. Lumet’s electrifying snapshot of 1950s America on the verge of change is one of the great feature film debuts.
“12 Angry Men”, the classic Sidney Lumet film that featured one of the most riveting, thought-provoking courtroom dramas in cinema history.
But before the 1957 film was made, writer Reginald Rose would create a teleplay of “12 Angry Men” for Westinghouse Studio One, a CBS live production that aired back in Sept. 20, 1954.
This was during a time when people were buying television to move away from radio programming to teleplays featured on both CBS and NBC and the response that the teleplay received was tremendous and would go on to win three Emmy Awards for Rose, director Franklin Schaffner and Robert Cummings for “Best Actor”. Â Suffice to say, the teleplay’s success would lead to a play adaptation in 1955.
With the success of the teleplay, actor Henry Fonda wanted to bring “12 Angry Men” to the big screen and working with Reginald Rose, the two decided to go for it. Â The only challenge was to keep things within the budget of $350,000 and so that meant finding a director that was talented but not expensive. Â And so, they went with a television director named Sidney Lumet (who would go on to direct “Network”, “Dog Day Afternoon”, “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead”), who never directed a film before, but had the experience to make this teleplay work on film.
With the film primarily using one set, the film dependent on the actors. Â And while Henry Fonda (“The Grapes of Wrath”, “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “On Golden Pond”) was the lead actor and the best known actor of the film, “12 Angry Men” would also star Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovec (both who were featured in the Westinghouse Studio One teleplay) and star Ed Begley (“The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, “Hang ‘Em High”), the film debut of Jack Klugman (“The Odd Couple”, “Quincy”, “Days of Wine and Roses”), Jack Warden (“Shampoo”, “Heaven Can Wait”), Martin Balsam (“Psycho”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Tora! Tora! Tora!”), John Fiedler (“The Odd Couple”), Lee J. Cobb (“The Exorcist”, “On the Waterfront”, “The Virginian”), E.G. Marshall (“The Defenders”), Edward Binns (“North by Northwest”, “Patton”) and Robert Webber (“The Dirty Dozen”, “10”).
The film did very well in the box office and would be nominated for three Academy Awards (“Best Director”, “Best Picture” and “Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay”) and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in 2007.
Decades later, the original teleplay would inspire a 1997 TV film adaptation by William Friedkin, as well as other adaptations in different parts of the world.
And now, “12 Angry Men” will received its Criterion Collection Blu-ray and DVD release in November 2011. Â The release will include both the 1954 teleplay and the 1957 film adaptation.
“12 Angry Men” begins with the final arguments being presented to the jury and the judge instructing the jury to decide whether or not a young man is guilty of murdering his father. Â If he is found guilty, the guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence.
As each men gather in the deliberation room during a hot humid afternoon, the 12 jurors must vote on whether or not the young man is guilty. Â For a guilty verdict, all 12 jurors must vote guilty. Â Otherwise if one doesn’t, it will be a hung jury and the case will need to be retried.
Nearly all of the jurors are confident that the boy is guilty with the exception of one juror, juror number 8 (played by Henry Fonda).
Juror number 8 feels that instead of everyone rushing into a decision, a young man’s life is in stake and what they are deciding is his fate. Â He doesn’t know if the young man killed the father but because he has “reasonable doubt”, he is voting not guilty.
This angers some of the jurors who are confident that the young man killed his father. Â One, because there is one witness, a woman who saw him doing it. Â Two, another witness who saw a young man running from the building and three, he used a knife that is one of a kind, used in the murder of the father.
What was presented was the young man was punched by his father, the young man stabbed him, was seen by a woman, he ran out of his apartment building and was seen by an older man. Â The young man came back to his home around 3:00 a.m. and was arrested by detectives.
Because the jurors must deliberate, they must convince juror #8 why each of them feels that the young man is guilty and everyone feels that the young man is guilty because of the evidence at witness. Â But when juror #8 explains why he doesn’t believe the knife evidence (of it being one of a kind), juror #8 presents the same knife in front of everyone. Â He has broken the rule by going to the neighborhood near the young man’s home and finding the same “hard to find knife” at a nearby gift shop, therefore eliminating the “evidence” as credible.
This continues to anger some of the jurors who feel that juror #8 is grasping at straws in defending the young man but when juror #8 asks for a revote, this time they do it by secret ballot. Â And this time, juror #9 (played by Joseph Sweeney) has now voted “not guilty” because of “reasonable doubt” and wants further discussion. Â But the other witnesses feel that no matter what he says, it’s not going to change anything. Â One man continues to say that anyone who grew up from the slum is guilty no matter what. Â That’s how they are! Â Others voice their opinion that if there are witnesses, it is a clear-cut case.
This angers the other jurors but they continue to deliberate. Â Juror #8 and #9 then takes on the witnesses. Â When they examine the older witness who said he saw a boy running from the home within “15 seconds” of him hearing a noise. Â Juror #9 talks about how the older witness had problems walking. Â This then catches everyone’s attention to the point that they try to do a mock example of the timing of someone with a leg injury getting from one spot to the other, in order to view the boy running from his home. Â And through their mock example, they feel that the witness is not credible because with his injury it would have taken him over 40 seconds to get from point A to point B.
Immediately, the other witness then begin to have “reasonable doubt”. Â Juror #5 (played by Jack Klugman) who grew up in the slum now votes “not guilty”, juror #11 (played by George Voskovec) then changes his vote to “not guilty”.
The other jurors who then switched to “not guilty” begin to take on the other witness and other key arguments that the prosecution delivered and slowly chip away to reveal flaws in the case which then begin to make other jury members realize that perhaps, the evidence was not as 100% as it seems.
While other jurors grow irritated that others are switching their vote when it’s a clear-cut case.
By their self-imposed deadline of 7:00 p.m., through deliberations, what will be the final vote for the 12 jurors in the case?
VIDEO:
“12 Angry Men” is presented in 1:66:1 black and white. Â Before I go into the picture quality of “12 Angry Men”, it is important for me to mention that if you want the best picture quality possible, you may want to consider the Blu-ray version over the DVD version of the film. Â With that being said, I will say that I have watched this film many times before on DVD and on cable and one thing that I noticed about this film is that there is more clarity and the DVD does give slight detail when it comes to the closeup of the men (from sweat beading on their forehead to the stitching in their clothing). Â Â Black levels are nice and deep and very good contrast with the white and grays. Â I can imagine that on Blu-ray, the detail on the skin of the characters, especially their clothing would be quite visible. Â Â There is also a good layer of grain that can be seen as well.
According to the Criterion Collection, this new high definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K from a 35 mm fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s Digital Restoration System and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Image Systems’ DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.
With that being said, if you want the best presentation of this film, you will definitely want to get the Blu-ray release.  But I will say that this DVD release is fantastic, especially when comparing the picture quality to the 2001 DVD release. The PQ looks a lot cleaner and doesn’t look aged at all. I would assume that since the film is shot outdoor for many scenes, that the Blu-ray release will be much more vibrant but still, this is a really good presentation of the film on DVD and fans of the film should be happy.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“12 Angry” is presented in its original monaural soundtrack. Â While the Blu-ray definitely has the edge with its lossless LPCM 1.0 soundtrack, because it is 1.0 and limited in dynamic amplitude, the DVD monaural track is very clear. Â Dialogue is understandable and I detected no hiss or crackle while watching the film.
According to the Criterion Collection, the soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a restored  35 mm magnetic track and clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“12 Angry Men – The Criterion Collection #591” DVD comes with the following special features:
Disc 1:
- The Television Version –  (50:43) Frank Schaffner’s 1954 television version that aired on Westinghouse Studio One (on CBS back in Sept. 1954)
- The Television Version – Introduction by Ron Simon – (14:03) Ron Simon, curator at the Paley Center for Media looks at the importance of the teleplay and its impact on live television.
- 12 Angry Men: From TV to Big Screen – (25:32) Film scholar Vance Kepley looks at the evolution of “12 Angry Men” form teleplay to film.
- Original Theatrical Trailer – (:30) Â The original theatrical trailer for “12 Angry Men”.
- Sidney Lumet – Archival interviews with director Sidney Lumet by his friend and collaborator Walter Bernstein. Â “Lumet on Lumet” (22:54) and “Reflections on Sidney” (9:24).
- On Reginald Rose – (14:59) Ron Simon, curator at the Paley Center for Media examines Rose’s importance.
- Tragedy in a Temporary Town – (55:11) A teleplay (aired on NBC as part of “The Alcoa Hours” back on Feb. 19, 1956) directed by Lumet and written by Rose.
- On Boris Kaufman – (38:20)Â New interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman
EXTRAS:
Included is a 24-page booklet featuring the following essay “Lumet’s Faces” by Thane Rosenbaum.
Riveting and thought-provoking, “12 Angry Men” is a film that captivates viewers from beginning to end. Â From its powerful ensemble performances, wonderful screenwriting and its creative cinematography, there is no doubt in my mind why this film continues to live on, discussed and analyzed.
My first introduction to “12 Angry Men” was in psychology class when I was a teenager and over the years, I have seen this film on video, on cable television and now watching the Criterion Collection release of this important film, it’s a film that continues to succeed in many levels and has its relevance today.
Clever writing that goes to show how many people are quick to judge. Â Even today, with many high profile cases, many wonder how people are able to acquit an individual on charges and I always think about this film. Â What we are presented in media is one thing, but the burden of sending one to prison for life or for a death penalty, it requires a group of jurors to be in unison and not have “reasonable doubt”.
The 1957 film does a magnificent job in showing viewers how people are quick to judge but even goes further than the teleplay in giving us the character’s background but also to bring in more character development in order to show the viewers why the jurors think they way they do.
For example, juror #7 (played by Jack Warden) is a man who is more bothered by he heat and humidity and worry about not missing a baseball game than the actual case, so he goes with the flow of “guilty” and is seen as a man with no moral scruples. Â While juror #10 (played by Ed Begly) is a man who will automatically vote “guilty” because of the young man’s upbringing. Â He grew up in the slum, thus he is automatically a deviant. Â And then there is juror #3 (played by Lee J. Cobb), a man who worked hard all his life but the viewer is tipped off that there was some sort of disagreement that led to him and his son not talking, and thus this case of a son murdering his father tends to have some influence on his anger to push for “guilty”.
“12 Angry Men” is a title that explains the emotions that come out during the deliberation. Â Juror #1 (played by Martin Balsam) ends up being the man in charge of getting everyone to vote. Â And we see his temper being tested when people speak out of turn. Â Juror #5 (played by Jack Klugman) starts of quietly until he hears juror #10 continue his ranting of how people from the slum are bad people and then finally speaking out and telling everyone that he is from the slum. Â When a juror #3 starts yelling at the older juror #9, juror #6 is offended how anyone can disrespect and elder and comes to the point where he wants to defend the older man by fighting juror #3.
What writer Reginald Rose was effective in his screenplay was to develop 12 characters and making the viewer interested in them. Intelligently written, wonderful performances by its talent, then you have the cinematography of Boris Kaufman (“On the Waterfront”, “Splendor in the Grass”, “The Pawnbroker”) who is able to use a variety of shots in the single room to make us feel the uncomfortable humid heat the the jurors are facing.
From the shots of the broken fan, the beads of sweat that are flowing through the heads of the individuals, the sweat that is showing on their necks and underarms. Â But also the efficacy of showing us emotion through facial characterizations. Â Scenes showing characters looking directly at the camera, scenes showing us anger and despair. Â And to imagine that all this is happening in one room.
It’s truly amazing how captivating this film is. Â A film that is low-budget, required no magnificent costume design, no major set design. Â It’s a film that relies on the actor’s performance and a screenplay that gives the actor their moment to grow their character.
The Criterion Collection’s release of “12 Angry Men” is a magnificent release. Â It’s one thing to have a Blu-ray and DVD release that features this wonderful film but also to include the original 1954 teleplay is fantastic. Â And then it goes even further by showing its respect to filmmaker Sidney Lumet, writer Reginald Rose and cinematographer Boris Kaufman via its lengthy and wonderful special features.
Masterfully created, Sidney Lumet’s film adaptation of Reginald Rose’s wonderful teleplay is a true classic. Â A film that relies on its intelligent screenplay, powerful performances and creative cinematography, “12 Angry Men” will continue to be a beloved courtroom drama that will have its relevance in today’s society as it did in the past, but also in the future.
The Criterion Collection release of “12 Angry Men” is magnificent and is definitely a 5-star release! Â Highly recommended!
