12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet
Theme: Debarting
I. FIRST THINGS FIRST: Brief presentation of the movie and its director
DIRECTOR:
Sydney Lumet (born on June 25, 1924 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US ; died on April 9, 2011 - Manhattan, New York, US)
- Grew up in NY city where both parents were veterans of the Yidish Art Theater.
- Followed in their footsteps and made his acting debut in the theatre as a child (first Broadway production in 1935, Kingsley’s Dead End, film debut in One Third of a Nation).
- 1950: Became Assistant Director at CBS.
- 1957: 12 Angry Men (first feature film as a director).
- Originally a TV production written by Reginald Rose (1954) and adapted for a play (1955).
- Centers on the jury deliberations in a murder trial. The 12 men have to unanimously decide whether the culprit (an 18 year old boy) deserves the electric chair or not.
- Nominated for an Academy Award and granted an Oscar nod for best Director.
GENRE:
Teleplay + Courtroom classic
II. IN A FEW WORDS: Unmissable characteristics
• AMERICA IN THE 50s:
- McCarthyism (term coined in 1950): accusing with proper regard for evidence. House of Un-American Activities Committee. Execution of the Rosenbergs (1953).
- Civil Right Movement (Montgomery bus boycott of 1955).
- More and more White-collar workers (growing economy).
→ Moving to the suburbs + consumer’s society.
- Development of the American way of life.
- Between 1945 and 1960 the number of inhabitants in the USA grew from 140 to 160 million.
• Justice on lockdown (cinematic choices).
• Unnamed characters though given an identity (naming vs calling names / Justice vs judgement).
III. WAYS AND MEANS: Analysis of interesting stills
IV. IT’S A MATCH: Echoes in other artistic works
