OT: 12 Angry Men. What a great film.

[speedoo]

It's on TCM tonight. Great cast. And wow do they perform.. And a fabulous job directing by Sidney Lumet, one of the truly great directors.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Definitely a classic worth watching.

 

[speedoo]

I missed the very beginning tonight. Never have actually seen the entire film, but I have a dvd and will take the time to see it soon, just too good not to.

 

[Kibitzer]

There are two versions of this classic. The early BW version had a fabulous cast and featured Henry Fonda and Lee Cobb. More recent was in color and Jack Lemmon took honors.

I keep both on the shelf next to "Inherit the Wind," BW film starring Spencer Tracy (in the Clarence Darrow role) vs. Frederic March (William Jennings Bryan). And I saw the play on Broadway a few years ago with George Scott and Charles Durning as the antagonists. Wow!

 

[speedoo]

I didn't know of the Jack Lemmon version before. How does it compare to the original?

 

[HuskyNan]

Amazingly (to me, anyway) the full version of the Jack Lemmon remake is available on YouTube as is the original version. Pretty good cast in the remake - George C Scott, Ozzie Davis, James Gandolfini...and Tony Danza, lol.

 

[Icebear]

12 Angry Men is one of the few films where I truly enjoy both versions.

 

[Kibitzer]

I didn't know of the Jack Lemmon version before. How does it compare to the original?

Allow for a little bias. I liked the original supporting cast better. The characters seemed a bit more credible.

And though Jack Lemmon is excellent, Henry Fonda was superlative.

Close enough that I won't debate if you have a different view.

 

[speedoo]

Allow for a little bias. I liked the original supporting cast better. The characters seemed a bit more credible.

And though Jack Lemmon is excellent, Henry Fonda was superlative.

Close enough that I won't debate if you have a different view.

Have not seen the TV remake yet, but the cast is impressive. But it's hard to imagine anyone matching Fonda, Cobb, Marshall and the rest.

 

[Frodo]

There are two versions of this classic. The early BW version had a fabulous cast and featured Henry Fonda and Lee Cobb. More recent was in color and Jack Lemmon took honors.

I keep both on the shelf next to "Inherit the Wind," BW film starring Spencer Tracy (in the Clarence Darrow role) vs. Frederic March (William Jennings Bryan). And I saw the play on Broadway a few years ago with George Scott and Charles Durning as the antagonists. Wow!

One of my all-time favorites. Off the top of my head I can't think of another film that had two such extraordinary performances as Tracy and March...so many memorable lines too.

 

[semper]

The Henry Fonda version is amazing. I have to see Inherit the Wind, after this rec.

 

[Kibitzer]

One of my all-time favorites. Off the top of my head I can't think of another film that had two such extraordinary performances as Tracy and March...so many memorable lines too.

Permit a suggestion of a courtroom film that is one of my all-time favorites: "Judgment at Nuremburg." It is a sort of a re-creation of the Post-WW II war crimes trials.

Spencer Tracy is the central character (fabulous performance as the presiding judge). Maxmilian Schell won an Academy Award as the defense attorney. Burt Lancaster is a stoic accused Nazi sympathizer. Richard Widmark is ok as the brusque prosecutor and William Shatner is okay as an aide. Marlene Dietrich is gorgeous and captivating. But the most riveting once-in-a-lifetime performances are by Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland in supporting roles. Simply unbelievable acting by both.

Give it a try. It will command your attention like very few films can.

 

[speedoo]

A few other notable courtroom dramas:

The Verdict, starring Paul Newman
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington (not a long courtroom scene but very powerful)
Breaker Morant - excellent Australian film. Aussies are great with films, I have several favorites.
A Few Good Men.

And, on the lighter side... My Cousin Vinny... So entertaining.

 

[Kibitzer]

A few other notable courtroom dramas:

The Verdict, starring Paul Newman
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington (not a long courtroom scene but very powerful)
Breaker Morant - excellent Australian film. Aussies are great with films, I have several favorites.
A Few Good Men.

And, on the lighter side... My Cousin Vinny... So entertaining.

Great list. Newman's greatest role, Bogey with those little balls, "You can't handle the truth!" and Vinnie's "youts."

But you forgot one. "To Kill a Mockingbird."

 

[speedoo]

Great list. Newman's greatest role, Bogey with those little balls, "You can't handle the truth!" and Vinnie's "youts."

But you forgot one. "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Pretty sure I forgot a lot more than one.. But that's one of the best.

Bogey played Cdr. Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, which featured wonderful courtroom scenes also starring Jose Ferrer as Barney Greenwell, the defense attorney.

The Caine Mutiny Court Martial was originally a play that was adapted very well for TV, starring Eric Bogosian in the Greenwell role, and Brad Davis as Queeg.. The play's broadway version starred Lloyd Nolan as Queeg and... Henry Fonda as Greenwell. It was actually directed by Charles Laughton.

For more on the Court Martial play, see a very good wiki article.

 

[HuskyNan]

Great list. Newman's greatest role,

The Hustler was pretty good, too.

 

[Kibitzer]

The Hustler was pretty good, too.

Indeed. Legend has it that Newman needed to take extensive private lessons to learn to shoot pool, but Jackie Gleason just chalked up his cue when the cameras started to hum.

Butch Cassidy.

There was also Cool Hand Luke. [I leave it to one of our esteemed mods to recall the one great line from that movie: "What we have here is. . . ."]

And who else could have played Henry Gondorff like Paul Newman did in "The Sting"?

 

[JimGunther]

Is it me or was the political viewpoint of the mentioned films, a more American middle-of-the-road perspective?