Film Specials: Classics

Together with ESN-Rotterdam, SG Erasmus hosts these monthly film specials. Watch a real must-see film, introduced by an expert on the topic or the origin of the film. This edition we will be screening the critically acclaimed: 12 Angry Men (1957).

A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been admonished that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons of his own. The sole holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda. As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we learn the backstory of each of the jurors’ prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.