Fox has released a special DVD edition of Sidney Lumet's gripping 1957 courtroom drama 12 Angry Men. The story revolves around an all-male jury eager to convict a young Hispanic boy of stabbing his father to death. Eleven of the jurors vote guilty immediately, driven in large part by personal prejudices and a desire to escape the intense heat of the jury room. However, one holdout refuses to budge. Played by Henry Fonda in one of the great, understated screen performances of all time, the juror painstakingly argues against a rush to judgment and uses patience and logic to appeal to the better natures of the other men. The film was Lumet's first theatrical motion picture and he had the challenge of making a visually absorbing story that is in a claustrophobic setting. (Virtually the entire movie stays within the confines of the jury room.) The DVD contains two featurettes: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making 12 Angry Men and Inside the Jury Room. The first includes a recent interview with Lumet who reveals he was shocked when Fonda offered him the job. The iconic actor was taking a risk on this film, as he also produced it and helped finance the movie. Studios were unenthused about the project because it had already been presented as a television play several years before. However, United Artists ended up providing a distribution deal and Lumet managed to film the entire movie in just 19 days at a cost of $349,000. The featurette also has interviews with Jack Klugman, the one remaining cast member, who fondly recalls the honor of working with some of the great character actors of the time: Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb and Jack Warden among them. There are also interviews with legal experts and actors Richard Thomas and George Wendt who recently toured in a stage production of the story, that was the brainchild of writer Reginald Rose.
The second featurette examines the film from the viewpoint of prominent lawyers, though the inclusion of Robert Shapiro and Gloria Allred is more of a cliche than a coup: these media hams will appear in your home movies, if asked. Shapiro, who now appears in his own late night, cheesy TV commercials, actually says with a straight face that he tries to avoid approving any potential juror who might have overt prejudices. This from the man who was part of the O.J. Simpson legal team that turned a straight forward murder case into a racially charged circus by playing on the prejudices of the jury. Also ironic is the inclusion of the foreman on the Robert Blake murder case, which most people also consider a miscarriage of justice. Still, all of the participant's comments are relevant to the context of the movie and they come across as sober and informative. It is revealed that a dramatic highlight of the film - when the Fonda character introduces a switchblade that is identical to the murder weapon- is an action that would have seen him bounced from a real jury. Yet, the overall consensus is that the film remains a powerful and highly accurate drama, one that retains its impact over the decades. The DVD also contains an audio commentary track by Drew Casper, who, strangely enough, never introduces himself or identifies his credentials (though he is listed on the sleeve as "film historian".). Although a bit theatrical in his delivery, Casper is extemely well-informed and provides interesting insights into the movie.
Ironically, 12 Angry Men was a box-office flop upon its release in the United States, but Lumet reveals that it did extraordinary business in Europe. In any event, its legacy is that it remains as timely and thought-provoking today as it did in 1957 - and it provides a wonderful opportunity to see acting royalty at the peak of their careers. - Lee Pfeiffer
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