As tense as an elastic band around the moon!

Rating: Null/10 (11 April 1999)

'12 Angry Men' is what good, quality film making is all about. It doesn't rely on lavish sets or special effects. It is a dramatic piece which needs no more than a stage. Though it is the script and performances which what carry it along. Performances by two of these actors, Henry Fonda and E.G. Marshall are unrivalled. Now I won't bother telling you what it's about. That's for you to find out, but what I can tell you is that this film despite its low budget gives us more than a few things to think about. What is justice? Could we in deciding the life of another remove all our prejudices and resist the herd mentality? But as well as a superb script, which gives the film so much intensity and passion, there is the amazing camera work and the little known trick whereby throughout the film the director (Sidney Lumet) had the walls of the already cramped set moved in very gradually so as to increase the tension. It is all these things which makes this film so good and relevant even now. I have as yet not seen the remake of this film and so therefore cannot comment on the quality of it. But as far as I can see how can anyone improve on perfection?