12 Angry Men is directed by Sidney Lumet, and stars Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Jack Klugman, Ed Binns, Jack Warden, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, and Robert Webber. The musical score is provided by Kenyon Hopkins. ***

A teen from the slums has been accused of murdering his father. Following the trial, a jury of 12 men from completely different walks of life convenes in the jury room, to vote on the innocence or guilt of the defendant. Amongst the jurors are a timid bank employee, a hard-headed businessman/father, a sports fan who is more interested in the evening's baseball game than the trial, a doubtful architect, an old man, and an immigrant proud to be an American. As a murder case, finding the young man guilty means the electric chair. Following the preliminary vote, one man has doubts in his mind about the defendant's guilt - and it becomes his responsibility to go against the other 11 men, and convince them that the young man might not be guilty of the crime after all. ***

An absolute classic that stands the test of time, 12 Angry Men is as fresh and entertaining now as it was when it was released theatrically half a century ago. Despite being filmed on a low budget and nearly the entire film taking place in a single room, the experience always stays interesting, with debate and drama around every corner. The characters are all well-played and interesting, and the plot is simple and to the point. And perhaps even more interesting about the storyline is the fact that it's still a relevant one to American society. A lot of films get called “classics” on a regular basis, but it's debatable as to how many of them live up to that title. 12 Angry Men is one of them. ***

The acting in 12 Angry Men is one of the film's greatest assets. We're given 12 characters that couldn't be more different from one another. And despite them remaining nameless for the film's duration, they are more engrossing and interesting than characters in just about any other film out there, past and present alike. Henry Fonda steals the show as the initial lone juror who holds out against his fellow jurors to defend the accused. Also worth mentioning are Lee J. Cobb as the primary opponent to the defendant's innocence, Jack Warden in a terrific early performance as a man who cares more about ball games than the life that hangs in the balance, and Joseph Sweeney as the elderly juror. Everyone puts up a great performance from beginning to end. ***

Perhaps one of the reasons this classic stands the test of time is because it's a storyline that, while simplistic, remains relevant in American society. It's an easy-to-follow film, and it's a subject that just about every America citizen can relate to. ***

The movie was filmed on a low budget, but the crew doesn't let this show. The action of the movie is confined to the jury room, but this doesn't limit things. It's the performances that steal the show here, not a fancy big-budget production job. ***

Few movies stand the test of time as well as this one. An absolute must-see film for any fan of movies, 12 Angry Men is a masterpiece on all fronts. There are not enough good things than can be said about this classic. ---

Image And Sound:

nlike some earlier releases of the film, this one presents the movie in an anamorphic widescreen format. The image is crisp and clean for a movie as old as this, though there are a few scenes that suffer from heavy grain. Naturally, we can't expect perfect image quality, though, considering the source material is over half a century old. The sound has no major issues, and all of the dialogue is easy to understand, with no noticeable flaws. It's definitely the best the movie has looked and sounded on a home video format. ---

The bonus features here are surprisingly limited, considering how many times the movie has been released on DVD before, and the fact that this is a big anniversary for the movie. As far as the bonus material goes, we get three major features here. First up is an enlightening commentary from film historian Drew Casper, which is well worth checking out for any fan of the movie. The other featurettes include a “behind the scenes” feature with surviving cast and crew members, sharing their experiences on the filmmaking process, and a “jury room” feature that focuses mostly on what was changed for the movie, in an effort to make the film more dramatic. Omitted from earlier DVD releases, however, is the theatrical trailer. Also, it would have been nice to have had the 1954 CBS Studio One television version included as a bonus feature, as a complete recording of it was recently discovered (though it most likely wasn't included for legal reasons.) Still, this is a disappointingly sparse amount of extras considering that the movie has had multiple DVD releases in the past.

Final Words: