12 Angry Men 1957
This is another classic movie that I had never seen, though its concept of jury deliberations has been copied many times. I was surprised to find out that the original work for this movie was not a play or book, but a television drama or teleplay. In the 1950’s all three networks had playhouse type shows that would show a different drama each week, this one as part of Studio One running on CBS in 1954.For the feature film release, it was lengthened and they brought in some bigger actors and a TV director doing his first movie, Sidney Lumet, who would earn an Oscar nomination for it. Taking place almost entirely in a jury room, the setup is perfect for a play or TV because it is so economical in terms of sets. It could be pretty boring to watch men sit around a table talking, but Lumet offers some very good camera work, the actors are great, and the details of the trial (which we never see) are slowly teased out to good effect. There are aspects that seem kind of made up, like allowing prior offenses to be brought up. Maybe that was allowed at the time, as well as having juries made up of 12 white men. Still, even with all white guys, there is diversity as you get people from different social classes and backgrounds, some more prejudiced than others. Since the movie has been frequently imitated on TV (The Flintstones, Happy Days, The Simpsons, and Monk among many others) you kind of know how the story will go, but it works as a courtroom drama (the jury basically recreating a trial, even introducing their own evidence, which really isn’t alllowed) as well as a social play. At only 96 minutes, the movie is longer than the original teleplay, fleshing out some of the characters, but doesn’t overstay its welcome. However, it is also fairly simple, often imitated because it is so easy to carry off. Still, as the original, Lumet and the cast do everything right, even avoiding making it overly theatrical, which had to be a temptation. Instead the 12 men are not angry for the most part, despite a few flareups, making the movie a little more understated and rewarding.
I got the Criterion edition of the movie on blu-ray, made in 2011. The black and white restoration looks pretty bad, very grainy (especially when paused). There is a constant argument about whether to incorporate the original grain or try to clean it up and it seems like they left it, maybe bolstering the argument for cleanup (there are also plenty of movies that do a horrible job of cleanup, bolstering the argument for leaving it alone). I haven’t watched all of the extras yet, but they are pretty good, including interviews with Sidney Lumet, film historians, and others, as well as choice extras like the original teleplay (which really, really looks awful, being a kinescope, a film of a live TV image) and a different teleplay with involvement from writer Reginald Rose and Lumet. It was an interesting era with Broadway theater scene maybe at its peak, with new actors, directors, and writers establishing their craft before mostly moving to Hollywood, and television in its infancy, looking for a way to fill the broadcast hours with something meaningful.
Written: 28 Feb 2021
Owned on: Blu-ray