12 Angry Men

 Year of Release: 1957

Director:  Sidney Lumet

Screenplay:   Reginald Rose

Starring:  Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, Jack Warden

Running Time:  96 minutes

Genre:  Courtroom drama

In a New York City courthouse, a young Puerto Rican man is on trial for the murder of his father.  As the all-male jury retire to consider their verdict it appears to be an open and shut case.  However one of the jurors (Fonda) is not so sure, and believes that there may be room for reasonable doubt.

Originally produced as a television play, this is one of the classic courtroom dramas, even though the trial itself is never actually shown.  Aside from some brief scenes at the beginning and end of the film, the entire story takes place in the cramped, claustrophobic confines of the jury room and, aside from a brief dialogue exchange at the film's conclusion, none of the characters are named.  The film brings up themes of racism and classism which are sadly still relevant today, as the characters' preconceptions and prejudices are revealed.  It's about men who are complete strangers to each other, who are forced together and have to reach an agreement, and we get the group dynamics, some characters are more dominant and some more passive, and alliances are formed and break apart.  The film is set during a swelteringly hot day, and there is a real sense of claustrophobia, heightened by the fact that the camera movies from wide angle images at the beginning of the film to increasingly tight close-ups in on the individuals as the story progresses.  It features some powerful performances from a talented, if not particularly diverse, cast.  Henry Fonda is fantastic in the lead role, as the reasonable juror who just wants his fellow jurors to discuss the case and not just immediately vote to convict.  The film has been referenced and parodied countless times since its release, and was remade in 1997.

   12 Angry Men

All the President's Men

Year of Release:  1976
Director:  Alan J. Pakula
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the book All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Starring:  Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards
Running Time:  138 minutes
Genre:  Political thriller, drama

This film tells the story of the investigation into the infamous Watergate scandal, in which five men burgled the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington DC, and the subsequent cover-up by then President Richard Nixon.  The film focuses on the investigation into the scandal by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman), and is based on the non-fiction book they subsequently wrote.

The film is one of the classic films about journalism.  The film contrasts the brightly lit, open plan offices of the Washington Post where characters are constantly in motion, followed by a constantly roving camera, with shadowy with shadowy, dimly lit homes, offices, and the underground garages where Woodward meets his mysterious informant (Holbrook).  This is about the day to day business of journalism, days spent on the phone and knocking on doors, desperately searching for anyone who will talk to them, pouring over reams of documents for scraps of information or verification.  This all could seem quite dry, and confusing, but as scripted by William Goldman, and directed by Alan Pakula, who made several political thrillers during the 1970s, it is quite gripping and fairly easy to follow, even if you are not particularly familiar with the case.  The story keeps moving along, with committed performances from the cast and a wealth of background detail.  In the scenes in the Post offices, both the foreground and the background are kept in focus. 
The film was released just a couple of years after the Watergate scandal concluded and so most of the original audience would probably have been aware of the case, but now it is kind of a historical case, even though it was one of the major American political scandals and one of the key events of the 1970s, although by today's standards it all seems rather quaint.

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in All the President's Men