12 Angry Men (1997)
The drama 12 Angry Men (1997), directed by William Friedkin and based on Reginald Rose’s 1954 teleplay of the same name, is a remake of the 1957 film. The story follows a murder trial in which a teenage boy from the city slums is accused of killing his father. The judge instructs the jury to determine the boy’s guilt or innocence, with a unanimous decision required for conviction. A guilty verdict could potentially result in the death penalty, unlike in the 1957 film. As the twelve jurors retire to the jury room, an initial vote reveals that eleven are in favor of conviction. However, Juror 8 offers a dissenting opinion, arguing that the evidence is circumstantial and that the boy deserves a fair deliberation. He also questions the credibility of two witnesses and points out that the murder weapon is not as unique as claimed, pulling out an identical knife from his own pocket.
At Juror 8’s suggestion, the group agrees to a secret ballot. If the rest of the jurors all vote guilty, he will concede, but if even one person votes ‘not guilty’, they will continue discussing. After some debate about whether a witness actually heard the murder occur, Juror 5, who grew up in a slum, decides to change his vote. Juror 11 also changes his vote after questioning whether it’s reasonable to believe that the defendant would have left the scene and then come back three hours later just to retrieve his knife. In addition, jurors 2 and 6 also join in with their own ‘not guilty’ votes, resulting in an even split of 6-6 after Juror 8 effectively argues that there is little chance that one witness truly saw the defendant flee the scene.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Jack LemmonJuror 8  George C. ScottJuror 3  Armin Mueller-StahlJuror 4  Courtney B. VanceForeman  Mykelti WilliamsonJuror 10  Hume CronynJuror 9  Edward James OlmosJuror 11  James GandolfiniJuror 6  Ossie DavisJuror 2  Tony DanzaJuror 7  Dorian HarewoodJuror 5  William PetersenJuror 12  Mary McDonnellJudge |
The drama 12 Angry Men (1997), directed by William Friedkin and based on Reginald Rose’s 1954 teleplay of the same name, is a remake of the 1957 film. The story follows a murder trial in which a teenage boy from the city slums is accused of killing his father. The judge instructs the jury to determine the boy’s guilt or innocence, with a unanimous decision required for conviction. A guilty verdict could potentially result in the death penalty, unlike in the 1957 film. As the twelve jurors retire to the jury room, an initial vote reveals that eleven are in favor of conviction. However, Juror 8 offers a dissenting opinion, arguing that the evidence is circumstantial and that the boy deserves a fair deliberation. He also questions the credibility of two witnesses and points out that the murder weapon is not as unique as claimed, pulling out an identical knife from his own pocket.
At Juror 8’s suggestion, the group agrees to a secret ballot. If the rest of the jurors all vote guilty, he will concede, but if even one person votes ‘not guilty’, they will continue discussing. After some debate about whether a witness actually heard the murder occur, Juror 5, who grew up in a slum, decides to change his vote. Juror 11 also changes his vote after questioning whether it’s reasonable to believe that the defendant would have left the scene and then come back three hours later just to retrieve his knife. In addition, jurors 2 and 6 also join in with their own ‘not guilty’ votes, resulting in an even split of 6-6 after Juror 8 effectively argues that there is little chance that one witness truly saw the defendant flee the scene.
