# Movies in the style of "12 Angry Men" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961 "2007-03-29T12:56:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/1 "2007-03-29T12:56:06Z")
I just watched _12 Angry Men_ for the first time (and am now ten minutes into my second viewing - brilliant film). I love this kind of movie, where you put a bunch of good actors in a room and the movie consists of them talking to each other. The action is in the interaction of their characters, and the running time of the movie is equal to or close to equal to the amount of time that passes in the movie. _Conspiracy_ is another one and _Glengarry Glen Ross_ is close. How about some tips? What other movies like this would you recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/2 "2007-03-29T13:03:36Z")
“'Night Mother” with Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. Spacek plays a woman who’s decided to kill herself and Bancroft is her mother, desperate to talk her out of it. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/3 "2007-03-29T13:19:41Z")
Good question to run up the SDMB flagpole and see who salutes it?!? ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/4 "2007-03-29T13:28:49Z")
A fantastic question to put out on the porch and see what the cat licks up. – IG ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/5 "2007-03-29T13:30:24Z")
[QUOTE=Improv Geek] A fantastic question to put out on the porch and see what the cat licks up. [/QUOTE] You know what bothers me? We never find out what it was he wanted to put out on the porch. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/6 "2007-03-29T13:30:23Z")
Which “12 Angry Men” did you watch? Whichever one it was. . .I’d recommend watching the other one, too. People wrote off the new one, I think for two reason 1. Tony Danza 2. The original is iconic. But, the new one is good. It has Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Jack Lemmon, Hugh Cronyn, Edward James Olmos. Yeah, I’ll put them up against Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman, etc. Anyway, _Reservoir Dogs_ might sort of be what you’re looking for. Also, I’ve _heard_ good things about this movie called “Unknown” where “5 men wake up in a locked-down warehouse. . .” It has Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Pantoliano, Barry Pepper. I haven’t seen it though. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/7 "2007-03-29T13:32:18Z")
**Trunk** , it was the 1957 one. _Reservoir Dogs_ is kinda close, but there’s still quite a bit of action and the movie isn’t very confined in time or space. ---
**Author:** ![STEVEHOLT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@STEVEHOLT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/STEVEHOLT)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/8 "2007-03-29T13:43:27Z")
**The Big Kahuna** was one of these with only three main characters with Danny Devito, Kevin Spacey and some other guy (don’t remember) where they are all waiting in a hotel room for a businees meeting with a “Big Kahuna”. Totally self contained, but not nearly in **12 Angry Men Class**. Another interesting, really cheap DV indie movie was **Tape**. It stars Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman. It takes place in real time in a crappy motel room in Lansing, Michigan. Thurman is only in it for about 10 min and other than that it is only Hawke and Leonard talking/arguing back and forth about a prior “misdeed”. Pretty captivating if you don’t mind DV. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/9 "2007-03-29T13:50:52Z")
Well _Sleuth_ of course and _Rope_ and _Deathtrap_ (I think) and _Rear Window_ ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/10 "2007-03-29T14:01:43Z")
You’ll have to let _My Dinner With Andre_ work on you a little, as it’s not as dramatic as 12AM. Still an engaging piece of movie-making. Another that goes beyond the confines of a single room but which is basically people talking and revealing progressively more information is [The Thin Blue Line (1988)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096257/). It’s been a long time since I saw this one, but my memory is that it works on you the way 12AM does. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/11 "2007-03-29T14:06:35Z")
How about _Before Sunrise_ and _Before Sunset_z? I thought _Before Sunset_ was one of the best movies of 04(?). Sunrise hasn’t aged great, but it is still good, and definitely worth watching because you need to see it before _Before Sunset_. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/12 "2007-03-29T14:09:55Z")
Alfred Hitchcock’s _[Lifeboat](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037017/)_. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/13 "2007-03-29T14:19:30Z")
I think **Clerks** fits into this mold fairly well. Almost the entire movie takes place in the convenience store. For the most part, just the two main characters talking to each other and interacting with the stream of customers that come in. Even if it doesn’t fit your mold exactly, you should still watch it. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/14 "2007-03-29T14:23:19Z")
Go to your local university or college and watch some of the small productions the drama classes put on. They usually opt for these type of plays where they are dialouge/character driven with minimal set changes and sparce sets. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/15 "2007-03-29T14:23:21Z")
_Lifeboat_ should qualify. -Damn - could have sworn no one had mentioned it when I decided to post it. Sorry - ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/16 "2007-03-29T14:34:44Z")
[QUOTE=shamrock227] I think **Clerks** fits into this mold fairly well. Almost the entire movie takes place in the convenience store. For the most part, just the two main characters talking to each other and interacting with the stream of customers that come in. Even if it doesn’t fit your mold exactly, you should still watch it. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. [/QUOTE] I’ve seen _Clerks_ (about a dozen times) and it’s an excellent film, but no, it’s not really the kind of film I’m talking about here. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/17 "2007-03-29T16:15:00Z")
It’s not in the style of “12 Angry Men,” but “The Lion in Winter” certainly has great actors talking to each other. For the same kind of tone as “12 Angry Men,” maybe “The Hustler?” Fantastic dialogue, although the persons involved (outside of Eddie), change. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/18 "2007-03-29T16:17:58Z")
Same Time Next Year Deathtrap ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/19 "2007-03-29T16:22:20Z")
How about **The Breakfast Club**? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961/20 "2007-03-29T16:32:28Z")
Hmmmm - would _Gosford Park_ qualify? There are plenty of scenes of terrific actors just speaking to each other in an English country home. Not in one room for the entire movie, but different assortments of them in different rooms discussing different subjects. And if Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Stephen Frye and other artists are your idea of good actors, then this movie might suit. Ditto to _Remains of the Day_. Most scenes involve Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson relating to each other, and each of them is a heavyweight contender in the “excellent actor” contest. I also like _Big Night_, starring Ian Holm, Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, and others. Most of the drama takes place in one small restaurant, and every scene is a gem. The best scene, however, involves hardly any talking at all and no editing. People who have seen the movie know which scene I’m describing! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-in-the-style-of-12-angry-men/397961.md?page=2)