Release Date:
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
This classic about the most boring of civil obligations, jury duty, may be dated in look and feel, but the story still holds up 50 years later. It's packed with a cast of superstars of their time and directed by Sidney Lumet. The film starts with 11 jurors adamantly believing a defendant is guilty of murder and one guy believing the accused could be innocent. From there they dissect the case piece by piece until it's clear that most of the men aren't judging the case on the facts but rather assumptions and their own personal prejudices. It's a lesson in the power of persuasion and getting strangers to listen to your side of the story even when you're completely outnumbered. Granted, if you've ever served jury duty this would be a complete nightmare. There's nothing worse than a self-important asshole trying to be the voice of reason in the face of futility, and we're sure this movie inspired many of those. But don't let that, the fact that it's in black and white, the extras being lame, or that there's nothing but a bunch of guys arguing in a room for 90 minutes dissuade you from doing your civic duty and watching it over and over again till the message sinks in.