It is a groundbreaking and timeless masterpiece of cinema, showing just how much can be achieved from an ordinary premise.

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2016)

Saw this first time when I was in 5th grade. Thot it was jus chatting n no action. Saw it again in 9th grade n found it to be totally engaging n character driven movie. Saw again in 2005 n then again few days back on a DVD. 12 Angry Men is a film that has aged incredibly well, offers fantastic performances, fantastic dialogues and a film that can be watched over and appreciated more and more each time. This movie shows in a marvelous simple way the mechanism of the justice system, how easily a man can be convicted to the death sentence based on prejudice, subjective declarations of witnesses and an unprofessional defense lawyer. Everything is good about this film. The screenplay by Reginald Rose (The wild geese, Escape from sobibor) is top notch. The direction by Lumet (Dog day aftnoon, Network, The verdict ) is excellent. It must be appallingly difficult to shoot an entire movie in such a small space, but Lumet does it superbly and the camera work is awesome. All the actors really got into the skin of the character n they portrayed their moods n emotions very well. Henry Fonda (The grapes of wrath, Once upon a time in the west, The longest day) n Lee J. Cobb (The exorcist, On the waterfront, Mackenna's gold) were awesome. So were the rest of the cast. It is a groundbreaking and timeless masterpiece of cinema, showing just how much can be achieved from a mundane premise. Well, so long. (Joseph Sweeney).