I didn't expect to love this movie. I can't help but compare it to Reservoir Dogs, which makes me feel silly, but I must. They're good for similar reasons. You enter a room knowing nothing, and through dialogue the characters slowly reveal the back story, constantly shifting it or refining it depending on the point of view. I love Reservoir Dogs, but 12 Angry Men is a much better, and purer, version of this. Really, it's one of the most brilliant movies ever made. Required Viewing, period.

Reginald Rose - Dialogue tutorial - A+

What a movie. Even folks I know who refuse anything in black and white or before nineteen sixty eight love this film. The dialog is crisp and like all great plays the trajectory of the ideas can be traced with relish in the human speech. But the camera is also busy picking everything up in an evolving pictorial design as camera levels and lens lengths gradually change to match the course of the deliberating. This is a resonant movie with ambiguous stances that push it to high art.

A masterpiece of both writing, directing and actor. It takes a lot of talent to make a film about 12 guys arguing so damn exciting. The writing is fantastic, Lumet's direction is perfect (Maybe the most underrated director ever?) and the performances are BRILLIANT. You must see this movie.

Wonderful performances, script, and direction--making a full-length feature that, for all but three or so minutes, takes place exclusively in one room this intense and gripping is pretty incredible.

Sidney Lumet's debut was a very promising one

Straight, simple, and yet stunningly beautiful. 12 Angry Men is nothing short of an achievement. Who would have imagined 12 jurors thrown together in a single room can result into such explosive drama? It is a 90-minute masterclass in filmmaking. Truly one of the five greatest motion pictures ever made.

this movie is the very definition of "classic". it has an elegant simplicity, and conveys some universal ideas which will probably be discussed while watching this 4000 years from now, on a galaxy far away. Lumet has pulled off an almost impossible stunt, with the help of brilliant cast.

Fantastic movie

Marvellous acting, a good script and a good mixture of opinions and characters make this first feature by Sidney Lumet a very entertaining yet thoughtful masterpiece of film history.

Classic film. Proves that all you need is good acting, script, and a tiny cramped room.

How do you like this guy? Huh. How do you like this guy?

Emotionally gripping, thought provoking and superbly crafted. This film is definitely my favourite Crime film, and judging from this mark, one of my favourite film of all time. It's amazing how a room of 12 people with no names for the core of the film, can be so colourful as characters and put on such great performances. This film really makes you see how many guilty/innocent people have been wrongly sentenced due to these subtle case-deciding facts that people think are insignifcant. Amazing!

These 12 Angry Men could be from any time in history. Caught between a desire for justice and compassion; struggling to find an ethical code in an imperfect world. This film's message is timeless in a truly profound way, and it never becomes dry as the director fully engages the viewer with only the bare bones, the most essential components of film making. There is no better example of cinema's potential force as a moral guide in our culture.

While the characters in this film are concerned only with the question of whether or not there is a reasonable doubt, as a viewer I am enthralled by the reasoning behind their beliefs. Watching these petty prejudices tumble in the face of introspection and consideration is fascinating, and the depiction of the various juror's reactions as they each realize they may be incorrect are superb. Aspects of this film feel a little too much like theatre, but that does not make it any less enjoyable.

The script is about the most airtight and perfect I've seen. The actors each create characters that are unique, real, and memorable. Hell, I've only seen it once now and I could name who each of the 12 jurors was and at which position he sat at the table. Lumet's direction is brilliant. His use of closeups when necessary and his ability to shoot clearly within the confines of a small juror's room is beyond impressive. The amount of control and meticulousness is amazing. I love this movie.