My Review: 12 Angry Men (10/10)

¨It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is.¨

12 Angry Men is one of the best courtroom dramas I`ve seen despite the fact of it being filmed way back in 1957 in black and white and happening almost entirely (except for the opening 3 minutes and a few seconds in the end) inside an enclosed room. So why is this so good? Because Reginald Rose came up with an excellent story, which he wrote as a play first and was later turned into a movie under the direction of the great Sidney Lumet. This was actually Lumet`s first feature film and among his best movies all time, although it wasn’t received really well when it first came out. This film paved the way for Sidney who in the 70`s made one great film after another (Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network). 12 Angry Men works thanks to the strong characters that are introduced in the story starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. In order for a film in an enclosed room to work you need a very engaging story with interesting characters and that is what Rose was able to do. Many great plays have failed to perform well in film, so credit has to be given to Sidney who managed to maintain the tension and suspense in the movie. As the film moves on the enclosed room seems to be closing in on each character, and this was achieved really well by Sidney. The dialogue in this film is really powerful and authentic as we see how each character interacts with one another. Sidney manages to let the action play out through words because the entire film is one giant deliberation between these 12 men.

 The film opens in a courtroom where we hear the judge say his final words before sending the 12 men in the jury to deliberate over whether the accused young Spanish American is guilty or not of murdering his father. He reminds the jury that if they find the teenager to be guilty then he will be sentenced to death. The 12 men enter the jury room where the rest of the film takes place as they deliberate whether or not the kid is guilty. Everyone seems to have made their mind up and believe he`s guilty even before beginning to debate the issue. The first thing they do is vote and 11 of the 12 men believe he`s guilty pointing to the clear evidence, but Juror #8 (Henry Fonda) claims to have his doubts. He isn`t sure the guy is innocent, but he has reasonable doubts so he asks the rest of the jurors to deliberate about it for the next hour considering that the young man`s life is in their hands. Once the jurors begin to debate the issue the more difficult the case becomes and doubts begin to creep in all over the place. The rest of the jury is played by Martin Balsam (#1), John Fiedler (#3), Lee J. Cobb (#4), E.G. Marshall (#4), Jack Klugman (#5), Edward Binns (#6), Jack Warden (#7), Joseph Sweeney (#9), Ed Begley (#10), George Voskovec (#11), and Robert Webber (#12). The debate escalates as tension builds and the jurors begin to grow impatient over one another`s arguments. The small room and the heat also seem to play an important factor in the story.

One of the greatest things about the film is that it actually serves as a case study as how small groups work and how important communication can be in these scenarios. Many of the jurors entered the room with prejudice and had their own conceived ideas, but sometimes in order to find the truth you have to discuss the issue as objectively as possible. As the men debate we see how all of this plays out, and Reginald Rose writes the story in such a way that it begins to unfold through the conversations these men are having about their own views. There is no mention of names (except for the final scene where we hear the name of two of the jurors), but we do find out a lot about each character through the way they think and act. Their personalities are very different and that always makes it hard to have everyone agree with each other. This is why the film is used in so many business and communication schools today. These characters are well crafted and we might even have come across a couple of these jurors in real life because their personalities and views are still very much alive in the 21^st century. Overall I believe this to be a great film and a must watch for all cinema lovers. It is really well executed and one has to admire the talents of Sidney Lumet and Henry Fonda who have left us with their rich legacy.

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My Review: On the Waterfront (10/10)

¨You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley. ¨

If you aren`t moved by this quote then perhaps it`s because you haven`t seen 1954`s On the Waterfront. I know the phrase isn`t all that memorable if you read it on its own, but if you have seen this scene before then you probably get goose bumps just from reading it. Marlon Brando delivers this line to perfection in one of his best performances in a 5 minute scene with Rod Steiger in the back of a cab. It is considered by many as one of the best American scenes in film and in my opinion it is one of my favorites. I didn`t care that the taxi had Venetian blinds in the back window or that the set wasn`t great, all I really cared about were the two characters and the way they delivered each line. It is not only one of the most touching and memorable scenes of the movie, it stands on its own. If the film sucked for 100 minutes but still had this great cab scene in it I`d give this movie 10 stars anyways because it`s just worth it. However the other 95 minutes don`t suck, they are great as well so On the Waterfront ranks among the best films in history. Elia Kazan did a terrific job with the direction getting the best out of every actor on the set, the black and white cinematography by Boris Kaufman gave the film the realistic mood it needed, the screenplay written by Budd Schulberg and adapted from Johnson`s news articles about the mobs that ruled the docks was inspiring, and the original music by Leonard Bernstein made this a perfect film. The film has aged very well even now 55 years later, and one can still appreciate the eight Oscars it won. The film truly captures the essence of the fifties and the social injustice that was going on in the waterfront.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) is a former boxer who had a lot of potential but wasn`t able to ever get a chance to fight for the title. He has been working at the docks ever since following orders from his corrupt boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) and his partner Charley (Rod Steiger) who is Terry`s older brother as well. Terry is uneducated and Johnny is like family for him, so he always is willing to do favors for him and his brother. One day they ask him to turn in one of his friends so they can convince him not to speak out against them in court. Malloy follows orders although little did he expect that they were going to murder his friend. He has mixed feeling about what happened but he lives under the ¨D and D¨ code, which means being deaf and dumb so he is not willing to tell anyone what has happened. The victim`s sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), is an innocent catholic educated girl that is trying to find out what has happened. She meets the priest, Father Barry (Karl Malden), and begs him to try to find out who killed her brother. It´s not long before Terry falls for Edie and she sees past his apparent tough guy attitude. There is some sweetness and kindness in Malloy who enjoys spending time in the rooftops tending to his pigeons. Terry struggles between remaining faithful to his boss and brother and speaking out against the injustice going on in the waterfront. Meanwhile Father Barry tries to stir some courage out of the workers who are being exploited by the mob.

 On the Waterfront is considered a masterpiece because Kazan was able to capture the injustices that were going on in the docks during the era in a very realistic and powerful way. He was against remaining silent and thought people should always speak out against evil. The worst thing one could do was to remain silent like the workers in the waterfront did because that just allows more evil to take place. Some think Kazan used this movie as an explanation as to why he whistle blew against some of his partners during McCarthy`s communist witch hunt. I think the film is much more than that however. The priest figure in the film serves as a symbol as to how sometimes the church remains silent against the abuse of the powerful over the poor. The Church should always take an interest towards the weak and defend them, and that is sort of what Father Barry does in some very memorable speeches. Terry`s character is also a key element of the film as we all can identify with what he was going through. He had a conflict of interest, but had to do what he thought was the right thing. The way he let himself be cheated out of being a contender for the boxing title, in a way represents all those wrong decisions we regret from our past that could have changed our lives in the future so we can easily identify with his character. Marlon Brando is such a great actor and he truly gives one of the best performances I have seen in a film. This film is required viewing for everyone. 

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