MovieChat Forums > 12 Angry Men (1997) Discussion > dialogue outdated

dialogue outdated

posted 14 years ago by mk72206
6 replies | jump to latest

The original 12 Angry Men is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. And what makes the movie great is the quality of the acting and the truly believable delivery of the script. The problem with the remake is that they essentially kept the same script, but the slang and colloquialisms don't stand the test of time. It just doesn't make the emotion believable when 90s personas are using 50s jargon. If they were going to attempt to remake a classic, I would have liked to have seen the characters act as they would have naturally acted in a 1990s setting.

[–] card53 14 years ago

Other anachronisms:

-The death penalty for this crime would not have been mandatory in New York in 1997.

-Juror #5 states that he watched plenty of knife fights from his back porch as he was growing up, as if switch blades were still a common weapon of choice among today's gang members.

-For that matter, who uses the term "slums" any more?

-From an electric fan in the original to a room air conditioner in the remake sort of makes sense, but what modern court building would be without central air?

A decent remake overall, nevertheless.

[–] dab6 14 years ago

-They do mention in the remake that the death penalty isn't for certain, but you're right that it doesn't have the same feel without that certainty at stake.

-Good point

-Well, unlike the original almost half the actors here were senior citizens.

-Good point. Even at the time of the original movie, Juror #6 says that it's odd the building isn't air conditioned.

[–] jgroub 11 years ago

I'll just address your last point. Courthouses don't get modernized. They keep using the same old courthouse forever. The courthouses I practice law in here in Manhattan - the very same ones where this jury deliberation is supposed to take place - still have individualized air conditioners for each room.

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] DJMan-51 9 years ago

New York hasn't executed anybody since 1963. This must be in Ohio, as the fellow had tickets to see the Yankees play the Cleveland Indians, right? ;)

[–] Judger 9 years ago

The tickets had the Yankee log on them, so it was a home game.

I was born in the house my father built

[–] Ithilfaen 8 years ago

Honestly, seeing how weak the added dialog was, I was glad they kept the old dialog as much as possible.

But yeah I agree it felt odd with the mix and match of sayings and slang, and the added psychiatric mumbo jumbo (if they make another remake, we'll get CSI BS for sure lol) and other nonsense... all the while having no women on the jury... out of 12 people? right.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco