12 Angry Men

In "12 Angry Men" (easily one of the best courtroom dramas of the twentieth century) Juror #3 declares this to be an “open and shut case” but in actual fact that is far from the truth. Sidney Lumet adapts Reginald Rose’s teleplay to the big screen to bring us a fascinating tale of personal prejudice, moral judgement and the issues with the criminal justice system.

Juror #3: "What's the matter with you guys? You all know he's guilty! He's got to burn! You're letting him slip through our fingers!"

Brief Plot Overview:

The film begins with the judge giving his final remarks to the jury before they go to decide the verdict of the trial, making them aware that a guilty verdict will result in the death sentence. It is indirectly told to the viewer that the trial is about a teenage boy from slum origins who is accused of murdering his father. Once the 12 men are settled in the juror room it becomes obvious that they all think he is guilty and decide to immediately take a vote. However a single juror - juror #8 (Henry Fonda) votes not guilty, believing that they should not send the boy off to die without discussing the case first. From then onwards, Fonda's character methodically criticises and analyses every piece of evidence in the case in an attempt to change the minds of the rest of the jury to a not guilty verdict or at least think about their choice first. As the film progresses, it becomes apparent that the major opposition to Fonda comes from juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb) - an aggressive, lose-tempered man who has fallen out with his son, juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) - a calm, intelligent stockbroker who bases his judgements on facts rather coincidences and juror #10 (Ed Begley) - a loud, disrespectful man who is controlled by his own prejudices rather than the evidence of the case. The film comes to a close as the jury comes to a unanimous verdict of not guilty and all the men go their separate ways out of the courthouse, back to their normal lives.

Juror #10: "He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English."
Juror #11: "He doesn't speak good English"

One of the film's many heated arguments between juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb) and juror #8 (Henry Fonda)

Verdict:
Henry Fonda is excellent as one his most iconic and beloved characters. The fact that almost the entire film takes place in one room creates a deeply tense a claustrophobic atmosphere. This, along with the changing weather outside, expresses the attitudes and emotions of the men as the film progresses. The weather progressively gets worse as the film goes on and the men become more exhausted, angry and agitated which eventually results in the outbreak of a thunderstorm and outbursts of rage from some jury members. Despite some underlying sentimentality, one of the genius aspects of this film is that we never find out who committed the murder, only that the jury is unsure of the boy's guilt , leaving the ending somewhat open to interpretation as the boy might have still killed father or the true murderer is still at large. Nevertheless, "12 Angry Men" highlights the problems with eyewitness testimony and emphasises the importance of the principle "Innocent until proven guilty". Additionally the film raises issues with the jury system with some of the juror's attitudes being counter-productive and even immoral. One such juror is #7 who votes with the majority in order to hurry along the proceedings so that he can go to a baseball game that evening. What the jury lacks in diversity of race and gender, it makes up for in diversity of ideas and opinions. Each of the twelve represents a different character that could appear in a jury and all the actors portray them perfectly. Standouts are Ed Begley as juror #10 and Lee J. Cobb who so brilliantly portrays the aggressive, troubled father juror #3 that the film (or at least in the eyes of Cobb's character) becomes a power struggle between his belligerent brute force and Fonda's respectful and rational juror #8. Although, clearly representing different types of people, none of the actors go over the top with their characters to the point where it becomes unrealistic. Staying in one room means that there is no real physical action and instead relies on the actors to keep the audience gripped with dialogue and gestures which results in some brilliant scenes including juror #10 long, intolerant speech which disgusts the rest of the jury and juror #3's outburst of rage stating that it is imperative that the boy be put to death after one of the key pieces of evidence (the testimony of the elderly neighbour) is found to be inadequate. Nearly 60 years after its initial release, "12 Angry Men" still holds up today with its intriguing plot, important moral messages and wonderful acting, cementing its place as one of the all-time Hollywood greats.

Born on the Fourth of July

Born on the Fourth of July (adapted from the book of the same name) was Oliver Stone’s second movie in his dramatic Vietnam War trilogy and in my opinion the best. The film is also notable for showing that Tom Cruise could be a serious contender when it comes to acting.

"People say that if you don't love America, then get the hell out. Well, I love America."

Brief Plot Overview:

The film follows Tom Cruise as Ron Kovic, a New York teenager who is very patriotic. This leads him to enlist in the Marines Corps as he wants to fight for his country. After signing up, the film jumps to Kovic in Vietnam where several traumatic events occur including friendly fire and the death of civilians. Later, Ron is badly wounded and becomes paralyzed from the waist down. He is then sent to a Veterans hospital where despite trying relentlessly to try and walk again, it becomes apparent that he will be permanently wheelchair bound. Although returning home in 1969, Kovic is probably more detached from his family than ever. After going to Mexico to “The Village of the Sun” he visits the family of Wilson, (a private he shot in Vietnam) to clear himself of guilt. The film then jumps to 1972 at the Republican National Convention where Ron and other protesters fight to get their voices heard. The film ends with Kovic’s speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, shortly after the publication of his autobiography, Born on the Fourth of July.

Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) speaks out against the Vietnam War at the 1972 Republican National Convention.

Despite having some scenes in Vietnam, the film, rather than focusing on the brutality of the actual warfare (which Stone had previously done very well with Platoon in 1986), focused on the effect this had on the soldiers as veterans and the impact and opinions of different societal groups back in the United States.

"God does not exist! He died as my legs! There is no god! There's no country!"

Verdict:

This is a landmark Vietnam War film, its ability to stand out in an era full of them shows that it is worthy of recognition. The film shows the innocence and ignorance of youth and how war takes this away. Tom Cruise (Oscar nominated for his role) gives his first truly great performance of his career as a teenage boy devoted to his country and “protecting it” who turns into a man who is determined to oppose it and its questionable war in South East Asia. A very powerful and thought–provoking movie that tackles a very turbulent time in American history with precision and care. Although tackling very similar topics to Oliver Stone’s other pictures, most notably Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July is less preachy and in your face but some scenes might get quite repetitive for some viewers and with a run-time of almost two and a half hours, it may be difficult for some people to stay focused. However Tom Cruise’s performance in my opinion is enough to keep most captivated. The message may seem dated but actually with the continued conflicts in the Middle East, Stone’s second Vietnam movie is still surprisingly relevant.

Jaws

It has been 40 years since Jaws first hit the cinemas and to this day, Spielberg’s classic thriller is the benchmark for what a successful summer blockbuster should be.

"You yell, "Shark!"...We've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July"

Brief Plot Overview

Roy Scheider stars as Martin Brody, a modest police chief of a resort island called Amity on the east coast of the USA that starts to suffer frequent and fatal shark attacks. Coming into repeated dispute with the island’s mayor (played by Murray Hamilton) over closing the beaches, Brody and oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) finally convince the mayor to take action after a man is killed on the Fourth of July weekend in full view of a mass of tourists. The decision is made to hire (Robert Shaw’s) Quint, a local shark hunter. The final act consists of Brody, Hooper and Quint facing off against the Great White in the open water.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat"

From left to right: Shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), police chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss)

Verdict:

The film’s thrills and scares don’t come from the brief, gruesome shark attacks themselves but from what you don’t see. Playing on the fear of the unknown, the killer shark is not properly revealed until almost two thirds of the way through the movie and even after that its screen time is limited. The absence of the shark on screen was not the original idea and came about after trouble getting the mechanical shark to work properly and the model used was more convincing the less you looked at it. This technical difficulty changed the mood of the film completely and surprisingly elevates the film from a standard monster movie to an intelligent suspense thriller. Yet the standout aspect of this movie that really makes it an enduring classic is the relationship between the three leads which mostly develops in the final act of the movie. All three performances are solid but Robert Shaw’s portrayal of Quint is superb and encapsulates his tough, gritty demeanour perfectly, especially during the famous Indianapolis speech which he partly wrote. Furthermore, the rivalry between “working-class hero” Quint and “college boy” Hooper make for some entertaining scenes. The only real criticism of the film comes from the underdevelopment of certain minor characters such as Brody’s wife. Accompanied by an iconic John Williams score that heightens the suspense and elevates the storytelling, so much so that the music becomes a character in and of itself, “Jaws” broke box office records, laid the foundation for Spielberg’s hugely successful career and ultimately transformed the way Hollywood viewed the summer season.