1. 12 Angry Men
Having this film at number one feels a little bit like cheating, since it mostly takes place in a jury room rather than a courtroom, but I truly believe that Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, regardless of its location, stands as the greatest meditation on the ethical and moral dilemmas faced within the justice system, and how the system's imperfections may never truly be overcome. The film concerns 12 jurors who have just witnessed the trial of a 18 year old boy from the slums, who has been accused of stabbing his father to death. They reconvene in the jury room where they believe this is an open and shut case. They all vote guilty expect for one juror, Juror 8, played by Henry Fonda, who believes the boy may be innocent. This complicates matters and tempers begin to flare, particularly between Fonda and Lee J. Cobb's character, Juror 3, who seems to truly hate the boy. His hatred towards the boy is later revealed to be related to his complicated relationship with his own son. The film superbly shows how Juror 8 slowly begins to encourage the others to talk through the details of the case and discover small details that may prove the boy's innocence. When I first saw the film, which ends with the jurors finding the boy not guilty, I thought the ending was pretty straightforward. Now that I'm older, I view the ending of the film more ambiguously. Was the boy actually innocent, or did they let a murderer off? Was Juror 8 as emotionally biased as the other jurors? The film makes us think about the imperfections of the justice system, particularly regarding the idea of 12 ordinary people deciding another human being's life - as well as how difficult it is to determine innocence or guilt. I think the point of the film isn't whether the boy is innocent or guilty, but that they deliberated and thought things through. At the beginning, they all just want to get home. Juror 7 (Jack Warden) only cares about his baseball tickets. He's willing to throw the boy's life away just because he needs to get to a baseball game. These men needed to give the boy his due and put aside their own interests for a while. The film is full of great performances from Fonda, Cobb, Warden, as well as Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall and Jack Klugman. All these characters are brought vividly to life by the 12 actors. And for a film set in one location, it's as thrilling as any summer blockbuster.