This is in the IMDB TOP 5 BEST MOVIES???
Wow I am shocked that Sidney Lumet's dull and basic 12 Angry Men ranks in the top 5 of ALL TIME for best films ever made, on IMDB! Art is subjective, but this film isn't even close to a top 500. It's OK. But inspiring? Cinematic? Gripping? None of those things. It's pretty basic. Perhaps this goes to show that the average cinephile is not that artistic or deep.
The Plot: Jury duty on the hottest day in New York City. Henry Fonda (playing another Eagle Scout) decides to test his fellow patrons by insisting the defendant is possibly Not Guilty, for reasons only to show off his sensible and goody two-shoes nature. He played a similar role in The Grapes of Wrath - the "I'm a plain and honest man" personality that even has fellow jury men annoyed. "Can we just get this going so we can get home to watch the game?" One of the men grumbles. I nodded in agreement.
Without giving away too much, I will say it was nice to see some of the best character actors of the 20th century go back and forth around the room, each with a distinction to their personality. The cast includes Lee J. Cobb, Joseph Sweeney, Twilight Zone's Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, E.G. Marshall, Robert Webber, Edward Binns and John Fielder. Directed by Sidney Lumet, who's film Network should be a top 5 IMDB instead.
I just sat watching the film in stoned silence. There are no memorable lines. No comic relief moments. The film reeks "Classroom Movie!" and I would bet my bottom Euro that it is shown in schools to children who want to learn about how to get along with a group. And also why jury duty sucks. Apart from no air conditioning, these gentleman don't even get to order Thai food - and since Henry Fonda is the leading reason they're stuck debating, I would have personally asked the geek to pay for everyone's meal too.
Back to this being a top 5. And ranking over 9/10. How? Perhaps the simplicity of the story. Or maybe because there are no ladies present, so men can feel this "is one for the guys". Is this how congress acts when they're debating to pass a bill? All of the men are white and in their 50s. When they did a remake in the 90s for TV, they cast a bunch of black men too - to be diverse, I am guessing. They should have also cast women. Where is Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Olivia de Havilland and Bette Spaghetti? These were all leading ladies who should have been considered. I had no idea women weren't allowed on juries in the 1950s. I thought laws were passed in the 30s to allow for gals to be able to hang with the boys. But this movie is sexist. It premiered in the boring date of 1957, and was nominated for Best Picture. It lost to The Bridge on the River Kwai, which currently ranks #165. It deserved to win best picture, and also deserves a better rating than this snooze fest.
Do the men get angry? You bet they do! Since the SAG awards didn't establish until 1995, the movie didn't win Best Ensemble - which it easily would have now a days. But the story is again not sensational, and there is nothing notable about the story. It's a courtroom drama. With Henry Fonda acting noble. That does not deserve a top 5 of all time merit.
Does the Latino on trial end up going to the chair? Or is Fonda able to convince the rest of the jurors that he's not guilty? I'll leave that up to you (and Amazon Prime) to decide. You can rent it for $3.99- or for one more dollar, own it. I ended up doing the latter and its a good thin I did. Prime only gives you 48 hours to watch the movie. Because the film is a little...boring, I kept stopping it so I could figure out how the hell it got on that IMDB shortlist. By the time I finished it, a cool two weeks had gone by. As you can see, it's not a film that is swift to screen either.
FINAL GRADE: C
MY PERSONAL BEST TOP 10 FILMS OF ALL TIME, not ranked
1. Gone with the Wind, 1939
2. The Godfather, 1972
3. The Deer Hunter, 1978
4. Thelma & Louise, 1991
5. The Heiress, 1949
6. Schindler's List, 1993
7. Goodfellas, 1990
8. The Shining, 1980
9. A Place in the Sun, 1951
10. The Philadelphia Story, 1940