|
|
 |
12 Angry Men: The Criterion Collection
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Criterion Collection Review written by and copyright: Peter Sime & Noor Razzak (11th January 2012). |
|
The Film
 The chief advantage of going to a movie instead of going to a play is in the production values. Generally speaking, the sets are more elaborate, the acting more polished and the special effects are more impressive. But there are some films that look like they could quite easily be performed as plays. Alfred Hitchcock’s "Rear Window" (1954) is one example – most of the action takes place on one set. Another is Sidney Lumet’s "12 Angry Men". In fact, I went to a stage production of "12 Angry Men" in 2004. While I enjoyed it, it paled in comparison to the film version. "12 Angry Men" is deceptively simple. In this black and white film, twelve people are locked away in a jury room. We only learn the names of two of the jurors, and even then only at the end of the film. The jurors’ task is to come up with a verdict in a murder trial. If they reach a guilty verdict, the judge has no choice but to impose the death penalty. The case seems like it is open and shut. Through the deliberations, a character study emerges for every individual in the room. We see the mild-mannered man, the elderly sage, the bigot, the young executive and so on. Despite the title of the film, there are really only two angry men – the previously mentioned bigot and Juror #3 (Lee J .Cobb). Cobb puts in a brilliant performance as a man who is struggling with his personal life and refuses to set aside his own emotional interpretation of the case in order to judge it fairly. Juror #3’s antithesis is Juror #8 (Henry Fonda). Juror #8 is the only man at the beginning of the film that is prepared to look at the evidence and examine it piece by piece. In fact, the jury votes 11:1 to convict in the first vote. Fonda portrays Juror #8 as a cautious and methodical man. Like the rest of the jury he has no vested interest in the outcome of the case – but he is concerned with the process. To Juror #8 the procedural fairness is the most important part of a juror’s duty. Ultimately the film stands as an endorsement of the rule of law and the role that every citizen in a free country can play in it. It hammers home the idea that such a role is precious and is not to be taken on lightly. Perhaps the most important idea we see in the film is that you can be a dissenter from popular opinion and yet remain loyal to certain foundational principles. This was an important lesson in the aftermath of McCarthyism. "12 Angry Men" is a reasonably short film – just over one and a half hours, but it is a film that sticks with you. So many movies depict courage in battle or in times of mortal danger. This one shows the importance of having the courage to stand by your convictions in circumstances that any one of us will possibly – maybe even probably – face at some point in our lives. I highly recommend this film.
Video
What a pleasant surprise, I certainly didn't expect "12 Angry Men" to make its Blu-ray debut this year, I expected, but not so soon, thanks to The Criterion Collection (spine number 591) we can add this wonderful classic to our collections. Preserving the film's original ratio of 1.66:1 this HD image is presented in 1080p 24/fps mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression. Criterion have minted a new transfer from the original 35mm print, the image (as mentioned in the liner notes) has been extensively remastered and clean with thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed in a painstaking process that helps bring this film to Blu-ray with the best possible presentation. I would have loved to have seen this film theatrically (sadly I wasn't even born when this film was originally released) but I'm almost certain this disc looks as good if not better than it originally did. The black and white balance is excellent with deep and inky blacks, subdued greys and lush and bold white levels. The textures and detail look as good as a 55 year-old film can with its limited 35mm film abilities available to filmmakers at the time. Grain is heavy at certain times and light at others depending on the lighting levels, and adds weight to the overall picture. Once again Criterion have spent time offering film fans the absolute benchmark in restoration and presentation making "12 Angry Men" a pleasant viewing experience.
Audio
A single English LPCM 1.0 Mono (48kHz/24-bit) audio track is presented here, the film's original audio format, no expanding into a useless 5.1 track that other studios tend to do, Criterion are purists and only the original way a film is presented is the only way to show it. Much like the picture the audio is given just as much attention with instances of hiss and pops removed and the audio restored. The film is entirely dialogue driven and that's where this track shines presenting the dialogue well, front heavy, lacking a little depth but this is to be expected from a film of its age. The overall result is nothing you'd use to show off your home theater but is a marvel that Criterion are able to rescue a aged audio track and present it as if it were recorded yesterday. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired only.
Extras
The Criterion Collection have brought "12 Angry Men" to Blu-ray with a spectacular image and audio presentation and the goods don't stop there, for years fans had to make due with MGM's lackluster bare-bones DVD and now we finally have the supplements this film is worthy of. Included here is a television version of the film, a newly produced featurette, archival interviews, new additional interviews, a teleplay and the film's original theatrical trailer. Below is a closer look at these supplements. "12 Angry Men" Westinghouse Presents, an episode by Franklin J. Schaffner (with introduction by Ron Simon, curator at the Paley Center for Media) is a television version which runs for 50 minutes 41 seconds. This is essentially a televised play originally aired on CBS in 1954, this Emmy winning program makes for a fascinating comparison to the feature film, the reduced timeframe shows off the flaws as it feels hurried, still it makes for interesting viewing. The introduction with Ron Simon "Ron Simon introduces the kinescope of the TV version" which runs for 14 minutes 59 seconds, he takes a look at the program's impact, a look at the casting and on the golden age of television broadcasting. "12 Angry Men: From TV to The Big-Screen" is a featurette that runs for 25 minutes 33 seconds, this is a look at the process of developing the feature film version from the original TV special, Professor of Film and Director of The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Vance Kepley takes viewers through the history of the production in this insightful clip from the TV production, Hollywood taking notice and adapting the TV production into a film produced and starring Henry Fonda. A compilation of Sidney Lumet interviews which runs for 22 minutes 58 seconds, discussing a wide range of topics the director shares some memories of growing up and on making film in a series of complied interviews. Insightful and informative, these clips should be treasured. "Reflections on Sidney" runs for 9 minutes 28 seconds, friend, collaborator and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein takes time to reflect on Lumet's career and on working with the iconic filmmaker. "On Reginald Rose" features an interview that runs for 14 minutes, 59 seconds with Paley Center for Media curator Ron Simon discusses story/screenwriter Reginald Rose. He discusses his life and career. Next is "John Bailey discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman" is an interview with cinematographer John Bailey which runs for 38 minutes 21 seconds, Bailey talks about the influence of Boris Kaufman who shot "12 Angry Men" and his other incredible works. It provides a great look at the man and his career that includes "On the Waterfront" (1954), "The Fugitive Kind" (1959), and "Long Day's Journey Into Night " (1962) among other classics. Following that is the "Tragedy in a Temporary Town" Alcoa Hour episode directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Reginald Rose which runs for 55 minutes 25 seconds. This TV special tells the story of a lynch mob out to avenge a teenage girl who was attacked. From this work aired in 1956 shows more of Lumet's take on morality and justice that informed a lot of his later feature-films based on the law. There's also the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 15 seconds. The package also features a liner notes booklet that includes the essay "Lumet's Faces" by novelist/essayist/law professor Thane Rosenbaum.
Overall
|
|||||
|