12 Angry Men (1957)

A fine courtroom drama, this 1957 film focuses on the battle of one man (brilliantly acted by Henry Fonda), who tries to convince his 11 peers that their impulsive decision to convict a tenement-dwelling Puerto Rican teenager for the murder of his father should be reconsidered.

The cast includes many actors who were to become all-time stars, including Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, E.G. Marshall and Martin Balsam.

The first feature film directed by Sidney Lumet, it's an adaptation of Reginald Rose's play that Lumet had first directed on TV. With cinematographer Boris Kaufman, they flouted some previously sacred rules in film (notably the rule which demands constant and varied camera movement).

By keeping the cameras focused on or around the jury table, they could have created monotony, especially as 90 per cent of the film is shot in the one room, but instead captured the authentic atmosphere of the small jury room in a critically acclaimed decision.