"courtroom"

1957 · Sidney Lumet · 96 min · Drama

12 Angry Men proves that a single room, a dozen actors, and a great script can be more gripping than any blockbuster. Sidney Lumet's debut remains one of the most effective pieces of filmmaking ever assembled, a 96-minute pressure cooker that loses none of its power nearly seven decades later. The lack of diversity among the jurors is a legitimate limitation, and the staginess won't appeal to everyone. But as a study of how bias, laziness, and groupthink can corrupt the pursuit of justice, nothing else comes close.

1957 · Stanley Kubrick · 88 min · War

Paths of Glory is 88 minutes of cold fury aimed at the machinery of war, and every second counts. Kubrick strips the anti-war film down to its essential argument: the real enemy isn't the opposing army but the institution that treats soldiers as expendable arithmetic. Kirk Douglas anchors the film with controlled outrage, the trench sequences are technically stunning, and the courtroom scenes carry more tension than most action films manage. It was banned in France for nearly two decades, which tells you everything about how effectively it hits its target. Nothing about it has aged.