Twelve Angry Men
Lecture notes on 12 Angry Men
1) Except for 2 short scenes, one in the beginning and one in the end, the entire flick is shot in one room. This posed cinematographic and dramatic problems: How do you sustain visual interest? Will visual monotony set in? What do you use for contrast between foreground and background? How will the passage of time be conveyed?
2) Lumet and his cinematographer, Boris Kaufman, turned this seeming shortcoming to their story’s advantage. Lumet wanted to depict the gradual increase of “entrapment” that the characters underwent in the jury room. The psychologically tense atmosphere was compounded by the physical circumstances: an overly hot, stuffy room, , minimal space for comfortable movement, and virtually nothing pleasant to attract or divert one’s attention from the increasing tense environment.
3) – Here is Lumet’s descriptive analysis of the cinematographic strategy:
One of the most important dramatic elements for me was the sense of entrapment those men must have felt in that room. Immediately, a lens plot occurred to me. As the picture unfolded, I wanted the room to seem smaller and smaller. That meant that I would slowly shift to longer lenses as the picture continued. Starting with the normal range (28 mm to 40 mm), we progressed to 50 mm, 75 mm, and 100 mm lenses. In addition, I shot the first third of the movie above eye level, and then by lowering the camera, shot the second third at eye level, and the last third from below eye level. In that way, toward the end, the ceiling began to appear. Not only were the walls closing in, the ceiling was as well. The sense of increasing claustrophobia did a lot to raise the tension of the last part of the movie. On the final shot, an exterior that showed the jurors
leaving the courtroom. I used a wide-angle lens, wider than any lens that had been used in the entire picture. I also raised the camera to the highest above-eye-level position. The intention was to literally give us all air, to let us finally breathe, after two increasingly confined hours.(Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. Alfred Knopf publisher, New York, 1995, p. 81)
A unique feature about tonight’s professionals is that all of them have been regarded as exceptional character actors, parts that demanded substantive analyses. Even Mr. Fonda, an established star in Hollywood’s Golden Era, performed brilliantly in character-based roles, from his very early performance of young Abraham Lincoln to his final performance as the old, persnickety father of his true daughter in “On Golden Pond”. Character actors develop “business” or bits of action that contribute to their bringing to life the characters they’re playing. Just as a violinist adapts to playing a violin in his or her own unique manner that distinguishes him or her from others, so, too does an actor worth his salt find ways to bring a character to individual uniqueness. Instead of adapting to a violin, the actor relies on voice, body gestures, movements; in short, the actor’s body is the violin that must be played. Here, then, are some question to consider in trying to understand how any of the actors are playing their violin:
A) Physical body behavior:
In what manner does he sit (slouch, erect, stiff, assured, cozy)?
How does he walk (aggressive, slow, deliberate, meek,)?
What kind of gestures does he use? (open, closed, choppy, short, broad,
methodical, wild)?
How does he handle objects? (careless, careful, intentional, unintentional)?
What are his hands doing when he’s sitting? (fidgety, still, folded)?
When does he perspire?
How does manage his perspiration?
B) Vocal behavior
Is it loud?
Does he mumble?
Is it gruff/ menacing?
How does he speak in a calm manner?
How does he speak in an agitated manner?
How does he use pauses?
How does he use voice to intimidate?
How does he use voice to reason?
C) Eye Behavior
When close-ups permit, check: where are his eyes directed (at the character
he’s addressing, at the camera, at the floor, etc.)?
Are they partially opened, fully opened?
Do they look relaxed?
Do they suggest a stare?
