Movie Monday: 12 Angry Men (1957)
It was my college Psychology 100 class of freshman year that prompted me to watch 12 Angry Men for the first time. We were learning about group think and (like any good student) I was watching YouTube videos about the subject. One of the videos I watched used 12 Angry Men as an example of group think, the video showed a clip of the film and I was hooked! I couldn’t wait to watch the full movie!
The compelling story about the American judiciary system and how one man standing up for what he believes is right has gone down in history as one of the most notorious films of the 1950’s. This was the only film Henry Fonda was ever the producer of in the duration of his career. Fonda found the experience to be too stressful and distracting from acting. Still, 12 Angry Men would later be named by the Library of Congress as one of the “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” films, and added to the United States National Film Registry.
These photos are not mine.
With a budget of only $350,000 12 Angry Men made its mark in cinematic history using simplicity. The whole film centers around only a little more than a handful of characters and pretty much never leaves the jurors deliberation room. With so much focus on being on differing personalities, it was important to have the acting be stellar. The characters each actor crafted are unforgettable in their own way, when watching this movie you may even feel like you know someone in your own life similar to one of these characters.
In preparation for this film, the dedicated actors all practiced sitting in a room together for hours on end to get a feel for what the jurors in this film would experience. The pointed choice to not directly name any of the characters in 12 Angry Men adds to the wonder of who’s argument will win out or if the defendant actually committed the crime.
These photos are not mine.
12 Angry Men is a fantastic example of how differing personalities and opinions can work through decisions. Juror #3 had a strong belief that the defendant was guilty, but ultimately he was just emotional about seemingly loosing his son. Juror #7 would do anything to get out of there and watch the baseball game. These are just two of the twelve types of personalities represented, but the fact that they all stayed huddled in that room and worked through the whole case together shows us that the power of conversation is so pertinent to compromise.
These photos are not mine.
In its initial run in theaters, 12 Angry Men did not earn back the $350,00 spent in production. Despite the abysmal funds brought in, this film would go on to receive Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. In addition, 12 Angry Men was awarded First Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. If that isn’t enough, this movie has gone down in climatic history, and remains one of the most influential films of all time.
Much Love,
Sarah
