![12 Angry Men (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RtHhtLvkL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
This star-studded, beautifully scripted movie is about the famous Scopes trial in 1925 over the issue of teaching evolution in the public schools. This film initially comes across as old-fashioned and hokey, especially in the beginning with a lot of humorous caricaturing. But toward the end, focusing on courtroom drama, the film becomes very modern and thoughtful, particularly the exchange between the prosecution and defense, where gradually there emerges grounds for reconciliation between faith and science. It is reported on one website that this portion of the trial was faithfully reproduced by the movie.
The climax comes when a famous private lawyer, William Jennings Bryan, aiding the public prosecutor, uncoventionally agrees to be questioned on the stand as a biblical authority by the equally celebrated private lawyer for the defense, Clarence Darrow . The prosecuting attorney sees it as an opportunity to boost his reputation as a creationist and evangelical orator, but his presentation devolves into buffoonery.
Darrow was a leading member of the ACLU, famous for having recently used a successful psychological defense in a kidnapping-and-murder case to get life sentences for Leopold and Loeb, instead of an execution.
Bryan was famous for his progressive political stands, which included opposition to imperialism and the gold standard of currency and his support of the vote for women and grass-roots democracy in the form of initiative & referendum and the direct election of U.S. Senators to replace their selection by a state’s legislature. Bryan served as U.S. Secretary of State and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Presidency as a Democrat three times.
The following is the stirring conclusion of Bryan’s famous “Cross of Gold” speech, which, in 1896, helped catapult him to candidacy for the U.S. Presidency:
"You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."
Over the centuries, many Americans have held the belief that our nation, starting with its hard-won independence over powerful England, has been blessed with divine providence. With such a wind beneath their wings, many of our politicians have served up a heapful of evangelical oratory, sometimes flirting with demagoguery. Such an aura surrounded the charismatic William Jennings Bryan in real life, as in the movie, "Inherit the Wind." The rise and fall of such hubris-afflicted, larger-than-life characters has been the dramatic arc of many famous films.
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October 17, 2023 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $13.99 | $15.04 |
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December 11, 2001 "Please retry" | DVD Video | 1 | $13.95 | $3.34 |
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July 24, 2007 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023
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Top reviews from other countries
Etienne Dé, créateur numérique
Indispensable pour se reconnecter aux valeurs humaines
Reviewed in France on July 4, 2015Gloria
Es como un documental sobre la evolución del pensamiento humano
Reviewed in Spain on February 17, 2013