The Silver Screen Oasis

Is one of the more intelligent courtroom dramas, starring Henry Fonda, and a host of great character actors, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Jack Klugman, and Edward Binns, just to name four. The great Sidney Lumet directed this essentially one - ( jury ) room film. This film exposes a number of pimples on the landscape.

Hi Ken123:

12 Angry Men is one of the 'watch whenever it's on' movies for me. If I'm channel surfing and land on it, I'll watch it to the end. I've already seen it countless times, but always catch something new. I saw the TV remake with Jack Lemmon in Fondas' part, and if I had never seen the original, I would have said the Lemmon version was excellent, which it was, but still doesn't overcome the original. That original cast just melded into a spectacular group that couldn't be equaled.

the Lifetime channel remade it also with a mix of men and women, but it had nowhere near the grabbing power either of the others had. In fact Kelly McGillis (from Witness) had the Fonda/Lemmon role, but was a throw away.

Anne

It's also interesting in the way Lumet shot the film. He starts with a medium shot that includes the ceiling in some parts and then throughout the film gradually works the shots tighter and tighter till they're almost all close ups.

This gives us a clostrophobic feeling like the world is closing in on us. We are made to feel like the defendant in the case and it really heightens the tension in a way the original play could not.

Mr. Arkadin wrote: "He starts with a medium shot that includes the ceiling in some parts and then throughout the film gradually works the shots tighter and tighter till they're almost all close ups.
This gives us a clostrophobic feeling like the world is closing in on us."

You're right on the money there, Mr. A. In fact it's probably the only way Lumet could have made this material really work on an emotional level. People pay a lot of lip service to the screenplay (admittedly strong) and the acting (uniformly sterling), but it's Lumet's intense direction (especially with respect to what he does with the camera) that actually makes this whole thing resonate the way it does.

Yes, I also love his film The Verdict (1982).

His use of color and lenses makes the film look like paintings instead of motion pictures. I think it's also Paul Newman's best film.

Mr. Arkadin wrote:Yes, I also love his film The Verdict (1982).

His use of color and lenses makes the film look like paintings instead of motion pictures. I think it's also Paul Newman's best film.

I agree !

Was this not Sidney Lumet's first shot at directing a "major" motion picture? It seems that I had heard something to that effect on TCM, and if it's true makes the film all the more remarkable.

Hollis

It was Lumet's first motion picture, as a director, but he had much experience on TV in the director's chair, Lee Grant was questioned by HUAC about Lumet as they had worked together on a TV series called DANGER . Ms Grant testified in either 1856 or '57.

I don't know if any of you have every served on a jury in NYC, but I can attest that the atmosphere of the jury room in Summer and the behavior of the jurors was captured pretty accurately by Lumet. (I've been in air conditioned and non-air conditioned jury rooms.)

Besides, any movie that has John Fiedler in it is OK with me.

Mr. Arkadin wrote:

Yes, I also love his film The Verdict (1982).

His use of color and lenses makes the film look like paintings instead of motion pictures. I think it's also Paul Newman's best film.

I recall seeing The Verdict in the theatre at the time of its release and finding that same painterly use of chiaroscuro--so reminiscent of Caravaggio--to be a striking feature throughout the film. The cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak certainly contributed as much to the movie as Lumet, screenwriter David Mamet and the actors. I've never seen a Sidney Lumet film with quite the same distinctive visual look, though they worked together several times. Bartkowiak brought a similarly rich, cold & golden palette to Huston's penultimate movie, Prizzi's Honor (1985) and to some far lesser but visually interesting movies, such as Streisand's The Mirror Has Two Faces & the loonily entertaining The Devil's Advocate.

I think my favorite films of Sidney Lumet's might be the most deceptively simple in terms of visual style, The Pawnbroker (1964), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962) and The Offence (1972). The latter, little known movie may contain Sean Connery's best performances as a policeman who's seen too much inhumanity. Btw, as I typed those titles I realized that as impressive as they were to me, I'd have a hard time viewing them again, since they were powerful and disturbing simultaneously. 12 Angry Men (1957), on the other hand, benefits from repeated viewings because of the range of acting opportunities offered by the Reginald Rose script and the highly talented cast members--and yes, John Fiedler is a jewel in that crowning achievement at the beginning of Lumet's career.

Good choices! The Pawnbroker is one of my favorite films. Love the QJ score as well and Jamie Sanchez was always good in the 60's films he was in. Even though I personally did not like David and Lisa, he was great in it.

Have not heard of The Offence. Will check it out. Thanks for the tip! Speaking of Connery, what did you think of The Hill (1965)?

Hi Ken123:

Gee, I knew Lee Grant was getting up there in years, but I didn't realize she was that old!

Anne

I meant 1956 - '57. Thanks for catching my error. It is in fact the only typing mistake that I have ever made. Now Generals Lee & Grant were around back in 1856 - '57, so I won't change my original post. The Cubs last WS win was around that time, actually 1908.

Ken123:

I hope you know I was kidding!!! No matter how many times I re-read a post of mine, usually there is at least one typo that I miss. Things like dates are common for me, and I have a terrible habit of hitting the 2 instead of the 1, so that things comes out 2957. Anyway, I hope I didn't raise your shackles! That's the last thing I would want to do! I would have sent a P/M but tis board doesn't seem to notify you that you have one, so it could sit there for weeks before you found it.

Anne

No Problem ! NO PM either. Never mind. But HUAC was sure interested in Lumet.