'12 Angry Men' (1957) movie: best master scenes
First, I suppose you've seen 12 Angry Men (1957) movie, so I wrote this post. If you haven't, go and see it, please.
Number one
The scene begins when they bring the folded knife into the room to examine it, and one of the jurors asks Juror Number Eight about his request for them to accept a supernatural coincidence—that the boy who killed his father lost this folded knife, and someone else picked it up, went to his father’s apartment, and murdered him, justifying his actions.
The shape of the knife was unusual and distinctive, so Juror Number Eight pulled another knife from his pocket that exactly matched the shape of the murder weapon. The others noticed this, which excited them, and they asked how he found it. He explained he bought it from a store in the boy’s neighborhood. Juror Number Three pointed out what this proved, and another asked him to believe that the person who stabbed the boy’s father was carrying a knife very similar to it. He said that this was possible, but they told him it was a very weak likelihood.
They then stuck to their opinion and did not change it, as it was a very weak possibility and he knew that, and he only had that point at that moment. So, he asked them to secretly vote on whether the boy was guilty or not guilty. If everyone was still convinced he was guilty, he would change his mind, and they would take the criminalization decision to the judge. But if someone changed their mind, they would stay and discuss the matter further.
Juror number nine actually changed his mind during this ballot, and his reason was that he wanted to support someone willing to stand alone against others’ ridicule of his belief in the boy’s innocence. This marked the true beginning of the film and served as the lifeline thrown to the drowning person before he drowns.
What set this scene apart was its realism, because juror number eight was not fully convinced of the boy’s innocence at this early stage. He merely felt a lingering doubt and sought motivation from others to continue his thinking and discussion of the crime, even before he turned away from them. During the secret ballot, he cast quick glances at each juror, quietly wondering who would support him. deep down, he was revealing which of them would back him despite his evident frustration. When he heard the word 'not guilty,' his expression was as if a breath of fresh air had been given to someone who was gasping for their last breath.
As for juror number nine, he was a man who respected others and their motives, and this was evident in his words and manner. This is what led him to change his mind, and he also realized that a man’s life was at stake, so the issue needed to be discussed more thoroughly than the other jurors wanted by simply summarizing it.
Number two
When they presented the apartment plan and recounted what one of the witnesses, who was the neighbor of the deceased man living directly below his apartment, had told him, and after proving in practice that his testimony was far from the actual reality, Juror Number Three became unnaturally revolted against them. He described them as old ladies and claimed that the boy deserves to be burned because he is guilty, and they will let him escape from their grasp. When Juror Number Eight was astonished by what he said, he asked him, “Are you the executioner?” He replied that he was one of them, and Number Eight then said that he might want to personally carry out the death sentence on this boy.
Number Three said that he really wanted this for that boy specifically, so Number Eight told him he felt sorry for him and also said he saw him positioning himself as a general avenger. He also mentioned that he wanted to see the boy dead anyway because he wanted to, not because of the facts of the case, and then finally described him as a sadist.
This last word prompted Number Three to attack Number Eight as he shouted forcefully, “I will kill you,” which caused Number Eight to respond calmly with a smile on his lips. He asked, “You don’t really mean to kill me, do you?” The man was shocked and realized at that moment that Number Eight had managed to provoke him enough to reach that point, when the neighbor witness heard the son yelling at his father that he was going to kill him. This was a matter of concern because many say that, but that does not definitively mean they will carry out the threat.
Number Three moved to the middle of the room, turned his back to everyone, and noticed their astonished eyes fixed on him. Each of them wondered deep down if his unusual reaction had a personal significance for him.
The scene revealed the sharpness with which Number Eight handled things, as well as his attention to what was happening deep inside Number Three, considering the matter personally. He performed the scene very skillfully, but Number Three was better at coming up with reactions, of course. It made me feel very nervous, and it made me wonder whether it's possible to set aside personal bias in a situation like this, which is seen as the deciding factor in a person’s life.
Number three
When Juror Number Ten shouted at the jurors who had changed their votes to not guilty and blamed them for it, he was extremely agitated, as if it were a personal matter. His emotions were very clear as they stood up one by one, beginning to turn their backs to him in a way that suggested boredom and dissatisfaction with his behavior. The frequency of his screaming gradually decreased until he found himself speaking to no one, and one of them told him to be silent and not to open his mouth again. He then slowly moved away from the table where they were sitting and sat in despair and frustration on a chair in the corner of the room.
It was a very powerful scene that showed how much the constant screaming from this person affected them. Their reaction was even more intense than ripping out his tongue, and they performed the scene brilliantly, proving they are a very talented cast.
Number four
The final scene of the movie, which is the most incredible of all, is lengthy but conveys the movie's underlying message. As one of the jurors pointed out, the woman who witnessed the crime was not wearing her glasses in court to look younger, and she claimed to see the crime through passing train cars. It was also late at night, and she was in her bed getting ready to sleep when she saw the crime; no one wearing glasses was about to sleep.
This remark shocked everyone, especially juror number four, because he was wearing glasses and understood this better than anyone, which actually convinced him that the boy was innocent. Testimony from someone like this cannot be trusted, which led everyone to emphasize the importance of this point in their discussion.
Juror number four's change in position caused Juror number three to become agitated again. He shouted at them that they pitied a murderer and that they were bending the neck of the truth. They left him in this extreme agitation while they looked at him in silence. He shouted at them that they would not dissuade him from his stance, and when he asked, "What will we do now?" Juror number eight responded that he was alone now, meaning that he believed the boy was guilty, so he replied that it was his right.
Juror number eight told him that they wanted to hear his argument on that, so he replied that he had already told them about it. Then he asked him to tell them again because they were not convinced. He stood up and started speaking again, very excited. Anger filled him and ravaged his being. He took out his wallet and indicated that the points were written inside.
A small piece of paper fell from it onto the table due to his extreme excitement, and a picture of him with his son, whom he had abandoned two years ago, slipped out. They looked at him in silence, so he shouted for them to speak and say anything, but they did not respond. He told them they were people with compassionate hearts and fools. His eyes fell on a picture of himself with his son from that time. His eyes revealed what was inside him—an intense and remarkable scene.
He said they were corrupt children and that a person would waste his life for them. Suddenly, he grabbed the picture violently and tore it apart, trembling with emotion. His face showed uncontrollable anger, which was normal. Then he suddenly collapsed, closed his eyes, sobbed, and said he was not guilty. He sank into his chair, covering his face and eyes with his arm, crying and trembling.
Then it was time for them to stand up and prepare to enter the courtroom and declare that the boy was not guilty. However, they were in deep psychological pain because of what Juror Number Three was feeling. Juror Number Eight handed the jacket to Number Three and helped him put it on while looking at him with pity. Then they left the room.
my words
- One of the most incredible and exciting scenes in movie history. The faces and emotions of everyone there were very expressive, and their silence during his outburst and anger was the perfect reaction. They allowed him to vent his negative feelings and reveal the real reason behind his insistence on his opinion. His features and eyes... His mouth and voice tone perfectly matched his bad feelings toward his son, who had abandoned him, and all of this was reflected in the case of the boy accused of killing his father. I am almost certain that at that moment, he felt that his son had also killed him without a weapon.
- What a wonderful scene and a beautiful movie, as it portrayed characters who suffer greatly in life, each with their own kind of suffering. But what’s important is how this affects others.
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