ViewGuide

Created Nov 27, 2014 09:13PM PST • Edited Nov 02, 2016 11:39PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Good 3.0

   12 Angry Men has lost its punch, coming across today as more tortured and melodramatic than taut and credible. Still, it’s a classic, enduring as a case study of group dynamics more than as a compelling drama.

   The well-known story follows a jury into and through their deliberations on a murder charge.
   Engaging in tumultuous arguments, they end up surprising themselves in how their opinions change.

   The acting and direction are legendary. The former features Henry Fonda in one of his iconic roles, along with 11 other great actors, nearly all stalwarts of 60s and 70s TV and movies. The latter features Sidney Lumet’s deft staging and camera work, vital in a film that is all talk and no action.

   The problem today is that the jurors get hung up on what’s possible, not reasonable. This low standard of reasonable doubt sapped my willing-suspension-of-disbelief for a movie that purports to be a realist classic.

   Yet if courtroom dramas are your thing, 12 Angry Men is must see. There’s no reasonable doubt about that.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   Henry Fonda played Juror #8, yet was Moviestar #1 in this non-dirty dozen. Fonda’s innate decency was ideal as a man who radiated reasonable doubt.

   The other jurors, in order:

   • Martin Balsam as Juror #1: Balsam has 175 acting credits on IMDb, with his Jury Foreman in 12 Angry Men one of his four Known Fors.
   • John Fiedler as Juror #2: Fiedler has 189 IMDb acting credits and will be instantly recognizable to viewers of a certain age.
   • Lee J. Cobb as Juror #3: Cobb only has 102 acting credits on IMDb, but arguably had an even greater career than Balsam.
   • E.G. Marshall as Juror #4: Marshall has 150 acting credits on IMDb, and was perhaps a bigger TV star than moviestar.
   • Jack Klugman as Juror #5: Klugman played comedy as well as drama, though he’s nothing but dramatic in 12 Angry Men.
   • Edward Binns as Juror #6: Binns has 177 acting credits on IMDb, and is more easily recognizable by look and sound than by name.
   • Jack Warden as Juror #7: Warden has 163 acting credits on IMDb, and was simply a beloved character actor.
   • Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9
   • Ed Begley as Juror #10: The father of Ed Begley Jr. was a prolific character actor for many decades, with 12 Angry Men one of his Known Fors.
   • George Voskovec as Juror #11: Czech immigrant Voskovec also counts 12 Angry Men as one of his Known Fors.
   • Robert Webber as Juror #12: Handsome Robert Webber comes across as a Don Draper type. Webber has 142 IMDB Acting Credits, with 12 Angry Men one of his Known Fors.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

10. Film

    Good 3.0

    Sidney Lumet’s masterful direction stands the test of time. Not so the idolized teleplay it brings to life.

11. Direction Great 4.0

    Wikipedia on Lumet’s technique:

    At the beginning of the film, the cameras are positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater depth between subjects, but as the film progresses the focal length of the lenses is gradually increased. By the end of the film, nearly everyone is shown in closeup using telephoto lenses from a lower angle, which decreases or “shortens” depth of field. Lumet, who began his career as a director of photography, stated that his intention in using these techniques with cinematographer Boris Kaufman was to create a nearly palpable claustrophobia.

12. Play OK 2.5

13. Music OK 2.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.2

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Salty 1.6

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

    The jury’s ballots are read in order, thus giving away how the juror’s voted. Is that allowed?

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.5

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0