12 Angry Men

Based on a television play by Reginald Rose about a lone juror holding out for a not guilty verdict with the remaining 11 ready to convict, this marvellous movie has become part of life's currency: there's no courtroom in the world where 12 Angry Men is not either invoked or recalled. Henry Fonda stars as juror eight, and he also co-produced the movie. Although acclaimed as an instant classic, the film made no money on release and Fonda wasn't able to pay himself his deferred acting fee. Fonda's integrity illuminates the film, which benefits immeasurably from debut director Sidney Lumet's masterly sense of cinema: the action takes place on a single claustrophobic set (an actual New York jury room), yet Lumet finds an infinite variety of visual set-ups and angles within the confines. It was Oscar-nominated for best picture, direction and screenplay, but won nothing in the year that Bridge on the River Kwai took most of the major awards. Few films can genuinely be called brilliant, but this is certainly one of them.