1957.Unlisted / #87
Nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Juror #8 (Henry Fonda) convinces the other eleven jurors to re-consider their guilty verdict of a young Puerto Rican man accused of murdering his father.
Eddie: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Ninety-two percent of it takes place in one room, but Sidney Lumet and Boris Kaufman manage to photograph it in a fresh way, so you never feel like they got lazy and stuck a tripod in the corner of the room. The dolly moves really keep the movie's pace alive. The writing is also superb. In a room with twelve characters, it's difficult to flesh out each one, but Reginald Rose manages to give us a clear sketch of each (angry) man. In terms of palpable drama, this is up there with any of the best, but my guess is that it made the AFI list because of its star power - Lumet and Fonda, especially.
Sarah: The first time I saw this movie I thought it was borrrrriiiiinnng. I wasn't looking forward to watching it again for our challenge. However, things improved the second time around.
Despite the inherent narrative obstacles of the film (one location, no real character names, talking about a character who appears only for a few seconds), thanks to the crafty writing of Reginald Rose, the movie still has emotional arcs and relationships. Each juror is well-defined. I especially liked the quiet Juror #5 (Jack Klugman, playing opposite of his famed TV role as Oscar Madison), and timid Juror #2 (John Fiedler, but you might know him as Piglet).
Even though I've grown to appreciate this film I still think it's an on-the-nose fable. I prefer the homage to the film that HAPPY DAYS did. It's much shorter, and the Fonz gets to be Henry Fonda.
Despite the inherent narrative obstacles of the film (one location, no real character names, talking about a character who appears only for a few seconds), thanks to the crafty writing of Reginald Rose, the movie still has emotional arcs and relationships. Each juror is well-defined. I especially liked the quiet Juror #5 (Jack Klugman, playing opposite of his famed TV role as Oscar Madison), and timid Juror #2 (John Fiedler, but you might know him as Piglet).
Even though I've grown to appreciate this film I still think it's an on-the-nose fable. I prefer the homage to the film that HAPPY DAYS did. It's much shorter, and the Fonz gets to be Henry Fonda.
Why You Should See It: As the jury stands deadlocked at 9-3 in favor of acquittal, Juror #10 (Ed Begley) launches into a bigoted tirade about Puerto Ricans. One by one, the jurors stand up and turn their backs to him. It's one of the few times that the camera is locked off, and the result is stunning. Finally, Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) tells him, "I have [listened]. Now sit down and don't open your mouth again." Yeah. Fuck racism.
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