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12 Years a Slave (film)

October 03, 2023

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by John Ridley, based on the 1853 slave memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, an African American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. He was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released. The first scholarly edition of David Wilson's version of Northup's story was co-edited in 1968 by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon.[7]

12 Years a Slave
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteve McQueen
Screenplay byJohn Ridley
Based onTwelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySean Bobbitt
Edited byJoe Walker
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 30, 2013 (2013-08-30) (Telluride Film Festival)
  • November 8, 2013 (2013-11-08) (United States)
  • January 10, 2014 (2014-01-10) (United Kingdom)
Running time
134 minutes[4]
CountriesUnited Kingdom[3]
United States[1]
Luxembourg[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20–22 million[5][6]
Box office$187.7 million[5]

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup. Supporting roles are portrayed by Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Scoot McNairy, Lupita Nyong'o, Adepero Oduye, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Alfre Woodard. Principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, from June 27 to August 13, 2012. The locations used were four historic antebellum plantations: Felicity, Bocage, Destrehan, and Magnolia. Of the four, Magnolia is nearest to the actual plantation where Northup was held.

12 Years a Slave received widespread critical acclaim and was named the best film of 2013 by several media outlets and critics, and it earned over $187 million on a production budget of $22 million. The film received nine Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Ridley, and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong'o. The Best Picture win made McQueen the first black British producer to ever receive the award and the first black British director of a Best Picture winner.[8][9] The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts recognized it with the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best Actor for Ejiofor.[10] Since its release, the film has been cited as among the best of the 2010s and of all time, with it being named the 44th greatest film since 2000 in a BBC poll of 177 critics in 2016.[11][12]

Plot Edit

 
The Edwin Epps House, now located on the ground of Louisiana State University, is a stop along Northup's Trail. Solomon Northup and Samuel Bass helped build the house that was completed in 1852.

Solomon Northup is a free African-American man in 1841, working as a violinist and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two white men, Brown and Hamilton, offer him short-term employment as a musician in Washington, D.C.; instead, they drug Northup and deliver him to James H. Birch, who owns a slave pen. Northup is savagely beaten when he proclaims his freedom.

He is shipped to New Orleans with other captives, who tell him he must adapt if he wants to survive in the South. Slave trader Theophilus Freeman gives Northup the identity of "Platt", a runaway slave from Georgia, and sells him to plantation owner William Ford. Ford takes a liking to Northup and gives him a violin. Tensions between Northup and plantation carpenter John Tibeats break when Northup defends himself from Tibeats and beats him with his own whip. Tibeats and his men prepare to lynch Northup but are stopped by the overseer. Northup is left on tiptoes with the noose around his neck for hours before Ford arrives and cuts him down. Northup attempts to explain his situation, but Ford sells him to plantation owner Edwin Epps.

Epps, unlike Ford, is ruthless and sadistic to his slaves. Northup meets Patsey, a favored slave and Epps' top cotton picker. Epps regularly rapes Patsey, and his jealous wife abuses her. Cotton worms destroy Epps' crops, so he leases his slaves to neighbor Judge Turner's plantation for the season. Turner favors Northup and allows him to play fiddle at a celebration and keep his earnings. Northup returns to Epps and pays white field hand and former overseer Armsby to mail a letter to his friends in New York. Armsby takes Northup's money but betrays him. Epps questions Northup at knifepoint, but Northup convinces him Armsby is lying. Northup burns the letter. Patsey is caught by Epps going to a neighboring plantation to acquire soap, as Mrs. Epps will not let her have any. Epps orders Northup to whip Patsey, which he does, but Epps demands he strike her harder, eventually taking the whip and beating Patsey nearly to death. Enraged, Northup destroys his violin.

Northup begins constructing a gazebo with Canadian laborer Samuel Bass. Bass, citing his Christian faith, strongly opposes slavery and castigates Epps, earning his enmity. Northup reveals his kidnapping to Bass and asks for help sending his letter. Bass hesitates because of the risk but agrees. The local sheriff arrives, and Northup recognizes his companion as Mr. Parker, a shopkeeper he knew in New York. As they embrace, Epps furiously protests and tries to prevent Northup from leaving but is rebuffed. Northup bids farewell to Patsey and rides off to his freedom.

Northup returns home to reunite with his wife and children. His daughter, who is now married, presents his grandson and namesake, Solomon Northup Staunton. He apologizes for his long absence while his family comforts him.

The epilogue titles recount Northup's unsuccessful lawsuits against Brown, Hamilton, and Birch; the 1853 publication of Northup's slave narrative memoir, Twelve Years a Slave; his role in the abolitionist movement; and the absence of information regarding his death and burial.

Cast Edit

Historical accuracy Edit

African-American history and culture scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. was a consultant on the film.[15] Researcher David Fiske, a co-author of Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave, provided some material used to market the film.[16][17]

Emily West, an associate professor of history at the University of Reading who specializes in the history of slavery in the U.S., said she had "never seen a film represent slavery so accurately".[18] Reviewing the film for History Extra, the website of BBC History Magazine, she wrote: "The film starkly and powerfully unveiled the sights and sounds of enslavement – from slaves picking cotton as they sang in the fields, to the crack of the lash down people's backs. We also heard a lot about the ideology behind enslavement. Masters such as William Ford and Edwin Epps, although very different characters, both used an interpretation of Christianity to justify their ownership of slaves. They believed the Bible sanctioned slavery, and that it was their 'Christian duty' to preach the scriptures to their slaves."[18]

Scott Feinberg wrote in The Hollywood Reporter about a September 22 article in The New York Times that "dredged up and highlighted a 1985 essay by another scholar, James Olney, that questioned the 'literal truth' of specific incidents in Northup's account and suggested that David Wilson, the white amanuensis to whom Northup had dictated his story, had taken the liberty of sprucing it up to make it even more effective at rallying public opinion against slavery."[19][20] Olney had observed that "slave autobiographies, when read one next to another, display an "overwhelming sameness." That is, though the autobiography by definition suggests a unique and personal story, that slave narratives present a genre of autobiographies that tell essentially the same story. When read in conjunction, as in this anthology, there is a distinct repetitiveness. While this repetitiveness disallows the creativity and shaping of one's personal story, as Olney argues, it was equally important for slave narratives to follow a form that corroborated with the stories of others to create a collective picture of slavery as it then existed. In fact, the "same" form presented in all of these unique and individual stories created a powerful and resounding message of the consistent evils of slavery and the necessity of its demise.[21]

A journal article published by The Johns Hopkins University Press and written by Sam Worley states that "Northup's narrative, though well known, has often been treated as a narrative of the second rank, albeit one with an unusually exciting and involving story as well as, thanks to the research of its modern editors, Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon, one with considerable historical value."[22]

Noah Berlatsky wrote in The Atlantic about a scene in McQueen's adaptation. Shortly after Northup's kidnapping, he is sent on a slave ship. One of the sailors attempts to rape a female slave, but is stopped by a male slave. "The sailor unhesitatingly stabs and kills [the male slave]," he wrote, stating that "this seems unlikely on its face – slaves are valuable, and the sailor is not the owner. And, sure enough, the scene is not in the book." Berlatsky also states, "the sequence is an effort to present nuance and psychological depth – to make the film's depiction of slavery seem more real. But it creates that psychological truth by interpolating an incident that isn't factually true."[23]

The visual blog Information is Beautiful deduced that, while taking creative license into account, the film was 88.1% accurate when compared to real-life events, summarizing: "While there are a touch of dramatic license here and there, the most gut-wrenching scenes really happened".[24]

Forrest Wickman of Slate wrote of Northup's book giving a more favorable account of the author's onetime master, William Ford, than the McQueen film. In Northup's own words, "There never was a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford," adding that Ford's circumstances "blinded [Ford] to the inherent wrong at the bottom of the system of Slavery." The movie, however, according to Wickman, "frequently undermines Ford."[25] McQueen undercuts Christianity itself as well, in an effort to update the ethical lessons from Northup's story for the 21st century, by holding the institutions of Christianity up to the light for their ability to justify slavery at the time.[26] Northup was a Christian of his time, writing of his former master being "blinded" by "circumstances"[25] that in retrospect meant a racist acceptance of slavery despite being a Christian, a position untenable to Christians now[27] and to Christian abolitionists of the 19th century but not contradictory to Northup himself. Valerie Elverton Dixon in The Washington Post characterized the Christianity depicted in the movie as "broken".[26]

Production Edit

Development Edit

 
John Ridley in 2013

After meeting screenwriter John Ridley at a Creative Artists Agency screening of Hunger in 2008, director Steve McQueen got in touch with Ridley about his interest in making a film about "the slave era in America" with "a character that was not obvious in terms of their trade in slavery."[28] Developing the idea back and forth, the two did not strike a chord until McQueen's partner, Bianca Stigter, found Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir Twelve Years a Slave. McQueen later told an interviewer:

I read this book, and I was totally stunned. At the same time, I was pretty upset with myself that I didn't know this book. I live in Amsterdam where Anne Frank is a national hero, and for me, this book read like Anne Frank's diary but written 97 years before – a firsthand account of slavery. I basically made it my passion to make this book into a film.[29]

After a lengthy development process, Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment backed the project, which eventually helped get financing from various other film studios. The film was officially announced in August 2011 with McQueen to direct and Chiwetel Ejiofor to star as Solomon Northup, a free African-American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South.[30] McQueen compared Ejiofor's conduct "of class and dignity" to that of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.[31] In October 2011, Michael Fassbender (who starred in McQueen's previous films Hunger and Shame) joined the cast.[32] In early 2012, the rest of the roles were cast, and filming was scheduled to begin at the end of June 2012.[33][34]

To capture the language and dialects of the era and regions in which the film takes place, dialect coach Michael Buster assisted the cast in altering their speech. The language has a literary quality related to the style of writing of the day and the strong influence of the King James Bible.[35] Buster explained:

We don't know what slaves sounded like in the 1840s, so I just used rural samples from Mississippi and Louisiana [for actors Ejiofor and Fassbender]. Then for Benedict [Cumberbatch], I found some real upper-class New Orleanians from the '30s. And then I also worked with Lupita Nyong'o, who is Kenyan but she did her training at Yale. So she really shifted her speech so she could do American speech.[36]

After both won Oscars at the 86th Academy Awards, it was reported that McQueen and Ridley had been in an ongoing feud over screenplay credit. McQueen reportedly had asked Ridley for shared credit, which he declined. McQueen appealed to Fox Searchlight, which sided with Ridley. Neither thanked the other during their respective acceptance speeches at the event.[37] Since the event, Ridley has noted his regret for not mentioning McQueen[38][39] and denied the feud.[40][41] He spoke favorably of working with McQueen, and explained that his sole screenplay credit was due to the rules of the Writers Guild of America.[42] McQueen has not commented on the alleged feud.[37][39][40][41]

Filming Edit

 
Director Steve McQueen at the premiere of 12 Years a Slave at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival

With a production budget of $22 million,[43] principal photography began in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 27, 2012. After seven weeks,[44] filming concluded on August 13, 2012.[45] As a way to keep down production costs, a bulk of the filming took place around the greater New Orleans area – mostly south of the Red River country in the north of the state, where the historic Northup was enslaved.[46] Among locations used were four historic antebellum plantations: Felicity, Bocage, Destrehan, and Magnolia.[47] Magnolia, a plantation in Schriever, Louisiana, is just a few miles from one of the historic sites where Northup was held. "To know that we were right there in the place where these things occurred was so powerful and emotional," said actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. "That feeling of dancing with ghosts – it's palpable."[48] Filming also took place at the Columns Hotel and Madame John's Legacy in the French Quarter of New Orleans for the scenes set in Washington D.C.[49]

Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, the film's primary camera operator,[50] shot 12 Years a Slave on 35 mm film with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio using both an Arricam LT and ST. "Particularly for a period piece, film gives the audience a definite sense of period and quality," said Bobbitt. "And because of the story's epic nature, widescreen clearly made the most sense. Widescreen means a big film, an epic tale – in this case an epic tale of human endurance."[51]

The filmmakers avoided the desaturated visual style that is typical of a more gritty documentary aesthetic.[52] Deliberately drawing visual comparisons in the filming to the works of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, McQueen explained:

When you think about Goya, who painted the most horrendous pictures of violence and torture and so forth, and they're amazing, exquisite paintings, one of the reasons they're such wonderful paintings is because what he's saying is, 'Look – look at this.' So if you paint it badly or put it in the sort of wrong perspective, you draw more attention to what's wrong with the image rather than looking at the image.[53]

Design Edit

To accurately depict the time period of the film, the filmmakers conducted extensive research that included studying artwork from the era.[54] With eight weeks to create the wardrobe, costume designer Patricia Norris collaborated with Western Costume to compile costumes that would illustrate the passage of time while also being historically accurate.[55] Using an earth-toned color palette, Norris created nearly 1,000 costumes for the film. "She [Norris] took earth samples from all three of the plantations to match the clothes," McQueen said, "and she had the conversation with Sean [Bobbitt] to deal with the character temperature on each plantation, there was a lot of that minute detail."[56] The filmmakers also used some pieces of clothing discovered on set that were worn by slaves.[57]

Music Edit

Main articles: 12 Years a Slave (score) and 12 Years a Slave (soundtrack)

The musical score to 12 Years a Slave was composed by Hans Zimmer, with original on-screen violin music written and arranged by Nicholas Britell and performed by Tim Fain.[58] The film also features a few pieces of western classical and American folk music such as Franz Schubert's "Trio in B-flat, D471", Daniel Dow's "Money Musk", and John and Alan Lomax's arrangement of "Run, Nigger, Run".[59] A soundtrack album, Music from and Inspired by 12 Years a Slave, was released digitally on November 5 and received a physical format release on November 11, 2013, by Columbia Records.[60] In addition to Zimmer's score, the album features music inspired by the film by artists such as John Legend, Laura Mvula, Alicia Keys, Chris Cornell, and Alabama Shakes.[61] Legend's cover of "Roll, Jordan, Roll" debuted online three weeks prior to the soundtrack's release.[62]

Release Edit

Initial screenings Edit

 
Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o at the 2013 New York Film Festival

On November 15, 2011, Summit Entertainment announced that it had closed deals for the distribution of 12 Years a Slave in most international markets.[2] In April 2012, a few weeks before principal photography, New Regency Productions agreed to co-finance the film.[63] Because of a distribution pact between 20th Century Fox and New Regency, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film's American and Canadian distribution rights.[64] However, instead of paying for the distribution rights, Fox Searchlight made a deal in which it would share box-office proceeds with the financiers of the independently financed film.[65] 12 Years a Slave premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2013;[66] it was later screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6[67] where it was given the top People's Choice Award,[68] the New York Film Festival on October 8,[69] the New Orleans Film Festival on October 10,[70] and the Philadelphia Film Festival on October 19.[71] The film was commercially released on October 18, in the United States for a limited release of 19 theaters, with a wide release in subsequent weeks.[72] The film was initially scheduled to be released in late December, but "some exuberant test screenings" led to the decision to move up the release date.[73] The film was distributed by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom.[74]

Marketing Edit

Due to both the film's explicit nature and award contender status, 12 Years a Slave's financial success was being watched closely. Many analysts compared the film's content to other drama films of a similar vein such as Schindler's List (1993) and The Passion of the Christ (2004), which became box office successes despite their respective subject matters.[48][65] "It may be a tough subject matter, but when handled well ... films that are tough to sit through can still be commercially successful," said Phil Contrino of Boxoffice Magazine.[75] Despite its content, the film's critical success has assisted its domestic distribution by Fox Searchlight that began with a limited release aimed primarily towards art house and African-American patrons.[76] The film's release was gradually widened in subsequent weeks, similarly to how the studio had successfully done in previous years with films such as Black Swan and The Descendants.[77] International release dates for 12 Years a Slave were largely delayed to early 2014 in order to take advantage of the attention created by awards seasons.[78]

During its marketing campaign, 12 Years a Slave received unpaid endorsements by celebrities such as Kanye West and P. Diddy.[79] In a video posted by Revolt, Combs urged viewers to see 12 Years a Slave by stating: "This movie is very painful but very honest, and is a part of the healing process. I beg all of you to take your kids, everybody to see it. ... You have to see this so you can understand, so you can just start to understand."[80]

Home media Edit

Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on March 4, 2014. Special features for the DVD include; a Closed Caption option, The Team – Meet the Creative Minds Assembled by Director Steve McQueen and Bring Solomon Northup's Journey to Life bonus selection, and The Score – Follow Film Composer Hans Zimmer Creating His Dramatic Score feature.[81] In supplemental fashion, a widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was also released on the same day. Special features include; a historical portrait from Director Steve McQueen's documentary feature, cast and crew interviews, The Team special feature, and The Score selection.[82] An additional viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand has been made available as well.[83]

Reception Edit

Box office Edit

12 Years a Slave earned $187.7 million, including $56.7 million in the United States.[5] During its opening limited release in the United States, 12 Years a Slave debuted with a weekend total of $923,715 on 19 screens for a $48,617 per-screen average.[84] The following weekend, the film entered the top ten after expanding to 123 theatres and grossing an additional $2.1 million.[85] It continued to improve into its third weekend, grossing $4.6 million at 410 locations. The film release was expanded to over 1,100 locations on November 8, 2013.[5][86] In 2014, 12 Years a Slave was the 10th most-illegally downloaded movie, with 23.653 million such downloads, according to Variety.[87]

Critical response Edit

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 379 reviews, with an average score of 8.90/10. The site's consensus states, "It's far from comfortable viewing, but 12 Years a Slave's unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant – and quite possibly essential – cinema."[88] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 57 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It is currently one of the site's highest-rated films, as well as the best-reviewed film of 2013.[89] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade.[90]

Richard Corliss of TIME wrote: "McQueen's film is closer in its storytelling particulars to such 1970s exploitation-exposés of slavery as Mandingo and Goodbye, Uncle Tom. Except that McQueen is not a schlockmeister sensationalist but a remorseless artist". Corliss draws parallels with Nazi Germany, saying, "McQueen shows that racism, aside from its barbarous inhumanity, is insanely inefficient. It can be argued that Nazi Germany lost the war both because it diverted so much manpower to the killing of Jews and because it did not exploit the brilliance of Jewish scientists in building smarter weapons. So the slave owners dilute the energy of their slaves by whipping them for sadistic sport and, as Epps does, waking them at night to dance for his wife's cruel pleasure."[91] Gregory Ellwood of HitFix gave the film an "A−" rating, stating, "12 Years is a powerful drama driven by McQueen's bold direction and the finest performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor's career." He continued by praising the performances of Fassbender and Nyong'o, citing Nyong'o as "the film's breakthrough performance [that] may find Nyong'o making her way to the Dolby Theater next March". He also admired the film's "gorgeous" cinematography and the musical score, as "one of Hans Zimmer's more moving scores in some time".[92] Paul MacInnes of The Guardian scored the film five out of five stars, writing, "Stark, visceral and unrelenting, 12 Years a Slave is not just a great film but a necessary one."[93] The Guardian's Andrew Pulver said, in 2017, that 12 Years a Slave is "one of the most important films about the African-American experience ever".[94]

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised it as "a new movie landmark of cruelty and transcendence" and as "a movie about a life that gets taken away, and that's why it lets us touch what life is". He also commented very positively about Ejiofor's performance, while further stating, "12 Years a Slave lets us stare at the primal sin of America with open eyes, and at moments it is hard to watch, yet it's a movie of such humanity and grace that at every moment, you feel you're seeing something essential. It is Chiwetel Ejiofor's extraordinary performance that holds the movie together, and that allows us to watch it without blinking. He plays Solomon with a powerful inner strength, yet he never soft-pedals the silent nightmare that is Solomon's daily existence."[95] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, gave the film a four-star rating and said: "you won't be able to tuck this powder keg in the corner of your mind and forget it. What we have here is a blistering, brilliant, straight-up classic." He later named the film the best movie of 2013.[96]

 
 
 
The performances of (left to right) Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michael Fassbender were all lauded by critics and nominated for Academy Awards, with Nyong'o winning.

Manohla Dargis wrote, in her review for The New York Times, "the genius of 12 Years a Slave is its insistence on banal evil, and on terror, that seeped into souls, bound bodies and reaped an enduring, terrible price".[97] The Daily Telegraph's Tim Robey granted the film a maximum score of five stars, stating that "it's the nobility of this remarkable film that pierces the soul", while praising Ejiofor and Nyong'o's performances.[98] Tina Hassannia of Slant Magazine said that "using his signature visual composition and deafening sound design, Steve McQueen portrays the harrowing realism of Northup's experience and the complicated relationships between master and slave, master and master, slave and slave, and so on".[99] David Simon, the creator of the TV series The Wire, highly praised the movie, commenting that "it marks the first time in history that our entertainment industry, albeit with international creative input, has managed to stare directly at slavery and maintain that gaze".[100]

The film was not without its criticisms. Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice was more critical of the film. While praising Ejiofor's work, she stated: "It's a picture that stays more than a few safe steps away from anything so dangerous as raw feeling. Even when it depicts inhuman cruelty, as it often does, it never compromises its aesthetic purity."[101] Peter Malamud Smith of Slate criticized the story, saying, "12 Years a Slave is constructed as a story of a man trying to return to his family, offering every viewer a way into empathizing with its protagonist. Maybe we need a story framed on that individual scale in order to understand it. But it has a distorting effect all the same. We're more invested in one hero than in millions of victims; if we're forced to imagine ourselves enslaved, we want to imagine ourselves as Northup, a special person who miraculously escaped the system that attempted to crush him." Describing this as "the hero problem", Malamud Smith concluded his review explaining, "We can handle 12 Years a Slave. But don't expect 60 Years a Slave any time soon. And 200 Years, Millions of Slaves? Forget about it."[102] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club opined that McQueen is "essentially tone-deaf when it comes to performance, and skirts by on casting". The film "lacks a necessary emotional continuity. I don't think it's something the movie is denying in the way it intentionally denies so many other conventions; it's still structured around an ending that's supposed to function as a release, but because it can't organize that sense of catharsis it so badly needs, it just feels as though McQueen is scurrying for an exit. Also: The cast is wildly uneven."[103]

Some critics identified 12 Years a Slave as an example of the white savior narrative in film.[104] Timothy Sneed said in U.S. News & World Report the year after the film was released, "Doubts still lingered about its ability to truly bring about a newfound racial consciousness among a national, mainstream audience ... The film also was a period piece that featured a happy ending ushered in by a 'white savior' in the form of Brad Pitt's character."[105] At The Guardian, black Canadian author Orville Lloyd Douglas said he would not be seeing 12 Years a Slave, explaining: "I'm convinced these black race films are created for a white, liberal film audience to engender white guilt and make them feel bad about themselves. Regardless of your race, these films are unlikely to teach you anything you don't already know."[106] A Black writer, Michael Arceneaux, wrote a rebuttal essay "We Don't Need To Get Over Slavery... Or Movies About Slavery". Arceneaux criticized Douglas for being ignorant and having an apathetic attitude towards black Americans and slavery.[107]

Accolades Edit

Main article: List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave (film)

12 Years a Slave has received numerous awards and nominations. It earned three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress.[108] It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.[109] The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, while Ejiofor received the Best Actor award.[10] In addition, the motion picture has been named as one of the best films of 2013 by various ongoing critics, appearing on 100 critics' top-ten lists in which 25 had the film in their number-one spot. This is both the most of any film released in its production year.[110]

See also Edit

References Edit

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  2. ^ a b c McNary, Dave (November 15, 2011). "Summit inks int'l deals on 2 pics". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "12 Years a Slave (2013)". British Film Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "12 Years a Slave (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d "12 Years a Slave (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  6. ^ (PDF). The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Toplin, Robert Brent (1969). "Twelve Years a Slave (review)". Civil War History. 15 (1): 66. doi:10.1353/cwh.1969.0065. S2CID 144769266.
  8. ^ "Sign of the times". The Hindu. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  9. ^ Lacob, Jace (March 2, 2014). "'12 Years A Slave' Wins Best Picture Oscar At 86th Annual Academy Awards". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Baftas: Gravity and 12 Years a Slave share glory". BBC News. February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  11. ^ "The 21st Century's 100 greatest films". BBC. August 23, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  12. ^ Debruge, Peter; Gleiberman, Owen; Kennedy, Lisa; Kiang, Jessica; Laffly, Tomris; Lodge, Guy; Nicholson, Amy (December 21, 2022). "The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time".
  13. ^ Chitwood, Adam (August 2, 2012). "Set Photo Confirms Beasts of the Southern Wild Star Quvenzhane Wallis Has Joined Steve McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave". Collider. Collider.com. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  14. ^ Billington, Alex (June 26, 2012). "Beasts Star Dwight Henry Also in McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave". Collider.com. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  15. ^ "Henry Louis Gates Jr". aaas.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "David Fiske". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Cieply, Michael (September 22, 2013). "An Escape From Slavery, Now a Movie, Has Long Intrigued Historians". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Historian at the Movies: 12 Years a Slave reviewed". History Extra. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  19. ^ Feinberg, Scott (October 23, 2013). "Oscar Whisper Campaigns: The Slurs Against '12 Years,' 'Captain Phillips,' 'Gravity' and 'The Butler'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  20. ^ Cieply, Michael (September 22, 2013). "An Escape From Slavery, Now a Movie, Has Long Intrigued Historians". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  21. ^ "Introduction". Every Tone a Testimony: An Anthology of Slave Narratives. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Worley, Sam (1997). "Solomon Northup and the Sly Philosophy of the Slave Pen". Callaloo. 20 (1): 243–259. doi:10.1353/cal.1997.0035. ISSN 0161-2492. JSTOR 3299309. S2CID 161975602.
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External links Edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to 12 Years a Slave (film).

October 03, 2023
years, slave, film, years, slave, 2013, biographical, drama, film, directed, steve, mcqueen, from, screenplay, john, ridley, based, 1853, slave, memoir, twelve, years, slave, solomon, northup, african, american, kidnapped, washington, conmen, 1841, sold, into,. 12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by John Ridley based on the 1853 slave memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup an African American man who was kidnapped in Washington D C by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery He was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released The first scholarly edition of David Wilson s version of Northup s story was co edited in 1968 by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon 7 12 Years a SlaveTheatrical release posterDirected bySteve McQueenScreenplay byJohn RidleyBased onTwelve Years a Slaveby Solomon NorthupProduced byBrad Pitt Dede Gardner Jeremy Kleiner Bill Pohlad Steve McQueen Arnon Milchan Anthony KatagasStarringChiwetel Ejiofor Michael Fassbender Benedict Cumberbatch Paul Dano Paul Giamatti Lupita Nyong o Sarah Paulson Brad Pitt Alfre WoodardCinematographySean BobbittEdited byJoe WalkerMusic byHans ZimmerProductioncompaniesPlan B Entertainment 1 River Road Entertainment 1 Film4 1 Regency Enterprises 1 Distributed byEntertainment One United Kingdom 2 Fox Searchlight Pictures United States and Canada 1 Summit Entertainment International 3 2 Release datesAugust 30 2013 2013 08 30 Telluride Film Festival November 8 2013 2013 11 08 United States January 10 2014 2014 01 10 United Kingdom Running time134 minutes 4 CountriesUnited Kingdom 3 United States 1 Luxembourg 3 LanguageEnglishBudget 20 22 million 5 6 Box office 187 7 million 5 Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup Supporting roles are portrayed by Michael Fassbender Benedict Cumberbatch Paul Dano Garret Dillahunt Paul Giamatti Scoot McNairy Lupita Nyong o Adepero Oduye Sarah Paulson Brad Pitt Michael Kenneth Williams and Alfre Woodard Principal photography took place in New Orleans Louisiana from June 27 to August 13 2012 The locations used were four historic antebellum plantations Felicity Bocage Destrehan and Magnolia Of the four Magnolia is nearest to the actual plantation where Northup was held 12 Years a Slave received widespread critical acclaim and was named the best film of 2013 by several media outlets and critics and it earned over 187 million on a production budget of 22 million The film received nine Academy Award nominations winning for Best Picture Best Adapted Screenplay for Ridley and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong o The Best Picture win made McQueen the first black British producer to ever receive the award and the first black British director of a Best Picture winner 8 9 The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts recognized it with the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best Actor for Ejiofor 10 Since its release the film has been cited as among the best of the 2010s and of all time with it being named the 44th greatest film since 2000 in a BBC poll of 177 critics in 2016 11 12 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Historical accuracy 4 Production 4 1 Development 4 2 Filming 4 3 Design 4 4 Music 5 Release 5 1 Initial screenings 5 2 Marketing 5 3 Home media 6 Reception 6 1 Box office 6 2 Critical response 6 3 Accolades 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksPlot Edit nbsp The Edwin Epps House now located on the ground of Louisiana State University is a stop along Northup s Trail Solomon Northup and Samuel Bass helped build the house that was completed in 1852 Solomon Northup is a free African American man in 1841 working as a violinist and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs New York Two white men Brown and Hamilton offer him short term employment as a musician in Washington D C instead they drug Northup and deliver him to James H Birch who owns a slave pen Northup is savagely beaten when he proclaims his freedom He is shipped to New Orleans with other captives who tell him he must adapt if he wants to survive in the South Slave trader Theophilus Freeman gives Northup the identity of Platt a runaway slave from Georgia and sells him to plantation owner William Ford Ford takes a liking to Northup and gives him a violin Tensions between Northup and plantation carpenter John Tibeats break when Northup defends himself from Tibeats and beats him with his own whip Tibeats and his men prepare to lynch Northup but are stopped by the overseer Northup is left on tiptoes with the noose around his neck for hours before Ford arrives and cuts him down Northup attempts to explain his situation but Ford sells him to plantation owner Edwin Epps Epps unlike Ford is ruthless and sadistic to his slaves Northup meets Patsey a favored slave and Epps top cotton picker Epps regularly rapes Patsey and his jealous wife abuses her Cotton worms destroy Epps crops so he leases his slaves to neighbor Judge Turner s plantation for the season Turner favors Northup and allows him to play fiddle at a celebration and keep his earnings Northup returns to Epps and pays white field hand and former overseer Armsby to mail a letter to his friends in New York Armsby takes Northup s money but betrays him Epps questions Northup at knifepoint but Northup convinces him Armsby is lying Northup burns the letter Patsey is caught by Epps going to a neighboring plantation to acquire soap as Mrs Epps will not let her have any Epps orders Northup to whip Patsey which he does but Epps demands he strike her harder eventually taking the whip and beating Patsey nearly to death Enraged Northup destroys his violin Northup begins constructing a gazebo with Canadian laborer Samuel Bass Bass citing his Christian faith strongly opposes slavery and castigates Epps earning his enmity Northup reveals his kidnapping to Bass and asks for help sending his letter Bass hesitates because of the risk but agrees The local sheriff arrives and Northup recognizes his companion as Mr Parker a shopkeeper he knew in New York As they embrace Epps furiously protests and tries to prevent Northup from leaving but is rebuffed Northup bids farewell to Patsey and rides off to his freedom Northup returns home to reunite with his wife and children His daughter who is now married presents his grandson and namesake Solomon Northup Staunton He apologizes for his long absence while his family comforts him The epilogue titles recount Northup s unsuccessful lawsuits against Brown Hamilton and Birch the 1853 publication of Northup s slave narrative memoir Twelve Years a Slave his role in the abolitionist movement and the absence of information regarding his death and burial Cast EditChiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup Platt Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps Benedict Cumberbatch as William Ford Paul Dano as John Tibeats Garret Dillahunt as Armsby Paul Giamatti as Theophilus Freeman Scoot McNairy as Merrill Brown Lupita Nyong o as Patsey Adepero Oduye as Eliza Sarah Paulson as Mary Epps Brad Pitt as Samuel Bass Michael Kenneth Williams as Robert Alfre Woodard as Mistress Harriet Shaw Chris Chalk as Clemens Ray Taran Killam as Abram Hamilton Bill Camp as Ebenezer Radburn J D Evermore as Chapin Christopher Berry as James H Birch Rob Steinberg as Mr Parker Bryan Batt as Judge Turner Tom Proctor as Biddee Jay Huguley as Sheriff Storm Reid as Emily Quvenzhane Wallis as Margaret Northup 13 Dwight Henry as Uncle Abram 14 Historical accuracy EditAfrican American history and culture scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr was a consultant on the film 15 Researcher David Fiske a co author of Solomon Northup The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave provided some material used to market the film 16 17 Emily West an associate professor of history at the University of Reading who specializes in the history of slavery in the U S said she had never seen a film represent slavery so accurately 18 Reviewing the film for History Extra the website of BBC History Magazine she wrote The film starkly and powerfully unveiled the sights and sounds of enslavement from slaves picking cotton as they sang in the fields to the crack of the lash down people s backs We also heard a lot about the ideology behind enslavement Masters such as William Ford and Edwin Epps although very different characters both used an interpretation of Christianity to justify their ownership of slaves They believed the Bible sanctioned slavery and that it was their Christian duty to preach the scriptures to their slaves 18 Scott Feinberg wrote in The Hollywood Reporter about a September 22 article in The New York Times that dredged up and highlighted a 1985 essay by another scholar James Olney that questioned the literal truth of specific incidents in Northup s account and suggested that David Wilson the white amanuensis to whom Northup had dictated his story had taken the liberty of sprucing it up to make it even more effective at rallying public opinion against slavery 19 20 Olney had observed that slave autobiographies when read one next to another display an overwhelming sameness That is though the autobiography by definition suggests a unique and personal story that slave narratives present a genre of autobiographies that tell essentially the same story When read in conjunction as in this anthology there is a distinct repetitiveness While this repetitiveness disallows the creativity and shaping of one s personal story as Olney argues it was equally important for slave narratives to follow a form that corroborated with the stories of others to create a collective picture of slavery as it then existed In fact the same form presented in all of these unique and individual stories created a powerful and resounding message of the consistent evils of slavery and the necessity of its demise 21 A journal article published by The Johns Hopkins University Press and written by Sam Worley states that Northup s narrative though well known has often been treated as a narrative of the second rank albeit one with an unusually exciting and involving story as well as thanks to the research of its modern editors Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon one with considerable historical value 22 Noah Berlatsky wrote in The Atlantic about a scene in McQueen s adaptation Shortly after Northup s kidnapping he is sent on a slave ship One of the sailors attempts to rape a female slave but is stopped by a male slave The sailor unhesitatingly stabs and kills the male slave he wrote stating that this seems unlikely on its face slaves are valuable and the sailor is not the owner And sure enough the scene is not in the book Berlatsky also states the sequence is an effort to present nuance and psychological depth to make the film s depiction of slavery seem more real But it creates that psychological truth by interpolating an incident that isn t factually true 23 The visual blog Information is Beautiful deduced that while taking creative license into account the film was 88 1 accurate when compared to real life events summarizing While there are a touch of dramatic license here and there the most gut wrenching scenes really happened 24 Forrest Wickman of Slate wrote of Northup s book giving a more favorable account of the author s onetime master William Ford than the McQueen film In Northup s own words There never was a more kind noble candid Christian man than William Ford adding that Ford s circumstances blinded Ford to the inherent wrong at the bottom of the system of Slavery The movie however according to Wickman frequently undermines Ford 25 McQueen undercuts Christianity itself as well in an effort to update the ethical lessons from Northup s story for the 21st century by holding the institutions of Christianity up to the light for their ability to justify slavery at the time 26 Northup was a Christian of his time writing of his former master being blinded by circumstances 25 that in retrospect meant a racist acceptance of slavery despite being a Christian a position untenable to Christians now 27 and to Christian abolitionists of the 19th century but not contradictory to Northup himself Valerie Elverton Dixon in The Washington Post characterized the Christianity depicted in the movie as broken 26 Production EditDevelopment Edit nbsp John Ridley in 2013After meeting screenwriter John Ridley at a Creative Artists Agency screening of Hunger in 2008 director Steve McQueen got in touch with Ridley about his interest in making a film about the slave era in America with a character that was not obvious in terms of their trade in slavery 28 Developing the idea back and forth the two did not strike a chord until McQueen s partner Bianca Stigter found Solomon Northup s 1853 memoir Twelve Years a Slave McQueen later told an interviewer I read this book and I was totally stunned At the same time I was pretty upset with myself that I didn t know this book I live in Amsterdam where Anne Frank is a national hero and for me this book read like Anne Frank s diary but written 97 years before a firsthand account of slavery I basically made it my passion to make this book into a film 29 After a lengthy development process Brad Pitt s production company Plan B Entertainment backed the project which eventually helped get financing from various other film studios The film was officially announced in August 2011 with McQueen to direct and Chiwetel Ejiofor to star as Solomon Northup a free African American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South 30 McQueen compared Ejiofor s conduct of class and dignity to that of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte 31 In October 2011 Michael Fassbender who starred in McQueen s previous films Hunger and Shame joined the cast 32 In early 2012 the rest of the roles were cast and filming was scheduled to begin at the end of June 2012 33 34 To capture the language and dialects of the era and regions in which the film takes place dialect coach Michael Buster assisted the cast in altering their speech The language has a literary quality related to the style of writing of the day and the strong influence of the King James Bible 35 Buster explained We don t know what slaves sounded like in the 1840s so I just used rural samples from Mississippi and Louisiana for actors Ejiofor and Fassbender Then for Benedict Cumberbatch I found some real upper class New Orleanians from the 30s And then I also worked with Lupita Nyong o who is Kenyan but she did her training at Yale So she really shifted her speech so she could do American speech 36 After both won Oscars at the 86th Academy Awards it was reported that McQueen and Ridley had been in an ongoing feud over screenplay credit McQueen reportedly had asked Ridley for shared credit which he declined McQueen appealed to Fox Searchlight which sided with Ridley Neither thanked the other during their respective acceptance speeches at the event 37 Since the event Ridley has noted his regret for not mentioning McQueen 38 39 and denied the feud 40 41 He spoke favorably of working with McQueen and explained that his sole screenplay credit was due to the rules of the Writers Guild of America 42 McQueen has not commented on the alleged feud 37 39 40 41 Filming Edit nbsp Director Steve McQueen at the premiere of 12 Years a Slave at the 2013 Toronto International Film FestivalWith a production budget of 22 million 43 principal photography began in New Orleans Louisiana on June 27 2012 After seven weeks 44 filming concluded on August 13 2012 45 As a way to keep down production costs a bulk of the filming took place around the greater New Orleans area mostly south of the Red River country in the north of the state where the historic Northup was enslaved 46 Among locations used were four historic antebellum plantations Felicity Bocage Destrehan and Magnolia 47 Magnolia a plantation in Schriever Louisiana is just a few miles from one of the historic sites where Northup was held To know that we were right there in the place where these things occurred was so powerful and emotional said actor Chiwetel Ejiofor That feeling of dancing with ghosts it s palpable 48 Filming also took place at the Columns Hotel and Madame John s Legacy in the French Quarter of New Orleans for the scenes set in Washington D C 49 Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt the film s primary camera operator 50 shot 12 Years a Slave on 35 mm film with a 2 35 1 widescreen aspect ratio using both an Arricam LT and ST Particularly for a period piece film gives the audience a definite sense of period and quality said Bobbitt And because of the story s epic nature widescreen clearly made the most sense Widescreen means a big film an epic tale in this case an epic tale of human endurance 51 The filmmakers avoided the desaturated visual style that is typical of a more gritty documentary aesthetic 52 Deliberately drawing visual comparisons in the filming to the works of Spanish painter Francisco Goya McQueen explained When you think about Goya who painted the most horrendous pictures of violence and torture and so forth and they re amazing exquisite paintings one of the reasons they re such wonderful paintings is because what he s saying is Look look at this So if you paint it badly or put it in the sort of wrong perspective you draw more attention to what s wrong with the image rather than looking at the image 53 Design Edit To accurately depict the time period of the film the filmmakers conducted extensive research that included studying artwork from the era 54 With eight weeks to create the wardrobe costume designer Patricia Norris collaborated with Western Costume to compile costumes that would illustrate the passage of time while also being historically accurate 55 Using an earth toned color palette Norris created nearly 1 000 costumes for the film She Norris took earth samples from all three of the plantations to match the clothes McQueen said and she had the conversation with Sean Bobbitt to deal with the character temperature on each plantation there was a lot of that minute detail 56 The filmmakers also used some pieces of clothing discovered on set that were worn by slaves 57 Music Edit Main articles 12 Years a Slave score and 12 Years a Slave soundtrack The musical score to 12 Years a Slave was composed by Hans Zimmer with original on screen violin music written and arranged by Nicholas Britell and performed by Tim Fain 58 The film also features a few pieces of western classical and American folk music such as Franz Schubert s Trio in B flat D471 Daniel Dow s Money Musk and John and Alan Lomax s arrangement of Run Nigger Run 59 A soundtrack album Music from and Inspired by 12 Years a Slave was released digitally on November 5 and received a physical format release on November 11 2013 by Columbia Records 60 In addition to Zimmer s score the album features music inspired by the film by artists such as John Legend Laura Mvula Alicia Keys Chris Cornell and Alabama Shakes 61 Legend s cover of Roll Jordan Roll debuted online three weeks prior to the soundtrack s release 62 Release EditInitial screenings Edit nbsp Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong o at the 2013 New York Film FestivalOn November 15 2011 Summit Entertainment announced that it had closed deals for the distribution of 12 Years a Slave in most international markets 2 In April 2012 a few weeks before principal photography New Regency Productions agreed to co finance the film 63 Because of a distribution pact between 20th Century Fox and New Regency Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film s American and Canadian distribution rights 64 However instead of paying for the distribution rights Fox Searchlight made a deal in which it would share box office proceeds with the financiers of the independently financed film 65 12 Years a Slave premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30 2013 66 it was later screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6 67 where it was given the top People s Choice Award 68 the New York Film Festival on October 8 69 the New Orleans Film Festival on October 10 70 and the Philadelphia Film Festival on October 19 71 The film was commercially released on October 18 in the United States for a limited release of 19 theaters with a wide release in subsequent weeks 72 The film was initially scheduled to be released in late December but some exuberant test screenings led to the decision to move up the release date 73 The film was distributed by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom 74 Marketing Edit Due to both the film s explicit nature and award contender status 12 Years a Slave s financial success was being watched closely Many analysts compared the film s content to other drama films of a similar vein such as Schindler s List 1993 and The Passion of the Christ 2004 which became box office successes despite their respective subject matters 48 65 It may be a tough subject matter but when handled well films that are tough to sit through can still be commercially successful said Phil Contrino of Boxoffice Magazine 75 Despite its content the film s critical success has assisted its domestic distribution by Fox Searchlight that began with a limited release aimed primarily towards art house and African American patrons 76 The film s release was gradually widened in subsequent weeks similarly to how the studio had successfully done in previous years with films such as Black Swan and The Descendants 77 International release dates for 12 Years a Slave were largely delayed to early 2014 in order to take advantage of the attention created by awards seasons 78 During its marketing campaign 12 Years a Slave received unpaid endorsements by celebrities such as Kanye West and P Diddy 79 In a video posted by Revolt Combs urged viewers to see 12 Years a Slave by stating This movie is very painful but very honest and is a part of the healing process I beg all of you to take your kids everybody to see it You have to see this so you can understand so you can just start to understand 80 Home media Edit Following its cinematic release in theaters the Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on March 4 2014 Special features for the DVD include a Closed Caption option The Team Meet the Creative Minds Assembled by Director Steve McQueen and Bring Solomon Northup s Journey to Life bonus selection and The Score Follow Film Composer Hans Zimmer Creating His Dramatic Score feature 81 In supplemental fashion a widescreen hi definition Blu ray Disc version of the film was also released on the same day Special features include a historical portrait from Director Steve McQueen s documentary feature cast and crew interviews The Team special feature and The Score selection 82 An additional viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand has been made available as well 83 Reception EditBox office Edit 12 Years a Slave earned 187 7 million including 56 7 million in the United States 5 During its opening limited release in the United States 12 Years a Slave debuted with a weekend total of 923 715 on 19 screens for a 48 617 per screen average 84 The following weekend the film entered the top ten after expanding to 123 theatres and grossing an additional 2 1 million 85 It continued to improve into its third weekend grossing 4 6 million at 410 locations The film release was expanded to over 1 100 locations on November 8 2013 5 86 In 2014 12 Years a Slave was the 10th most illegally downloaded movie with 23 653 million such downloads according to Variety 87 Critical response Edit Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95 of critics gave the film a positive rating based on 379 reviews with an average score of 8 90 10 The site s consensus states It s far from comfortable viewing but 12 Years a Slave s unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant and quite possibly essential cinema 88 Metacritic another review aggregator assigned the film a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 57 reviews from mainstream critics indicating universal acclaim It is currently one of the site s highest rated films as well as the best reviewed film of 2013 89 CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an A grade 90 Richard Corliss of TIME wrote McQueen s film is closer in its storytelling particulars to such 1970s exploitation exposes of slavery as Mandingo and Goodbye Uncle Tom Except that McQueen is not a schlockmeister sensationalist but a remorseless artist Corliss draws parallels with Nazi Germany saying McQueen shows that racism aside from its barbarous inhumanity is insanely inefficient It can be argued that Nazi Germany lost the war both because it diverted so much manpower to the killing of Jews and because it did not exploit the brilliance of Jewish scientists in building smarter weapons So the slave owners dilute the energy of their slaves by whipping them for sadistic sport and as Epps does waking them at night to dance for his wife s cruel pleasure 91 Gregory Ellwood of HitFix gave the film an A rating stating 12 Years is a powerful drama driven by McQueen s bold direction and the finest performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor s career He continued by praising the performances of Fassbender and Nyong o citing Nyong o as the film s breakthrough performance that may find Nyong o making her way to the Dolby Theater next March He also admired the film s gorgeous cinematography and the musical score as one of Hans Zimmer s more moving scores in some time 92 Paul MacInnes of The Guardian scored the film five out of five stars writing Stark visceral and unrelenting 12 Years a Slave is not just a great film but a necessary one 93 The Guardian s Andrew Pulver said in 2017 that 12 Years a Slave is one of the most important films about the African American experience ever 94 Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised it as a new movie landmark of cruelty and transcendence and as a movie about a life that gets taken away and that s why it lets us touch what life is He also commented very positively about Ejiofor s performance while further stating 12 Years a Slave lets us stare at the primal sin of America with open eyes and at moments it is hard to watch yet it s a movie of such humanity and grace that at every moment you feel you re seeing something essential It is Chiwetel Ejiofor s extraordinary performance that holds the movie together and that allows us to watch it without blinking He plays Solomon with a powerful inner strength yet he never soft pedals the silent nightmare that is Solomon s daily existence 95 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film a four star rating and said you won t be able to tuck this powder keg in the corner of your mind and forget it What we have here is a blistering brilliant straight up classic He later named the film the best movie of 2013 96 nbsp nbsp nbsp The performances of left to right Chiwetel Ejiofor Lupita Nyong o and Michael Fassbender were all lauded by critics and nominated for Academy Awards with Nyong o winning Manohla Dargis wrote in her review for The New York Times the genius of 12 Years a Slave is its insistence on banal evil and on terror that seeped into souls bound bodies and reaped an enduring terrible price 97 The Daily Telegraph s Tim Robey granted the film a maximum score of five stars stating that it s the nobility of this remarkable film that pierces the soul while praising Ejiofor and Nyong o s performances 98 Tina Hassannia of Slant Magazine said that using his signature visual composition and deafening sound design Steve McQueen portrays the harrowing realism of Northup s experience and the complicated relationships between master and slave master and master slave and slave and so on 99 David Simon the creator of the TV series The Wire highly praised the movie commenting that it marks the first time in history that our entertainment industry albeit with international creative input has managed to stare directly at slavery and maintain that gaze 100 The film was not without its criticisms Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice was more critical of the film While praising Ejiofor s work she stated It s a picture that stays more than a few safe steps away from anything so dangerous as raw feeling Even when it depicts inhuman cruelty as it often does it never compromises its aesthetic purity 101 Peter Malamud Smith of Slate criticized the story saying 12 Years a Slave is constructed as a story of a man trying to return to his family offering every viewer a way into empathizing with its protagonist Maybe we need a story framed on that individual scale in order to understand it But it has a distorting effect all the same We re more invested in one hero than in millions of victims if we re forced to imagine ourselves enslaved we want to imagine ourselves as Northup a special person who miraculously escaped the system that attempted to crush him Describing this as the hero problem Malamud Smith concluded his review explaining We can handle 12 Years a Slave But don t expect 60 Years a Slave any time soon And 200 Years Millions of Slaves Forget about it 102 Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A V Club opined that McQueen is essentially tone deaf when it comes to performance and skirts by on casting The film lacks a necessary emotional continuity I don t think it s something the movie is denying in the way it intentionally denies so many other conventions it s still structured around an ending that s supposed to function as a release but because it can t organize that sense of catharsis it so badly needs it just feels as though McQueen is scurrying for an exit Also The cast is wildly uneven 103 Some critics identified 12 Years a Slave as an example of the white savior narrative in film 104 Timothy Sneed said in U S News amp World Report the year after the film was released Doubts still lingered about its ability to truly bring about a newfound racial consciousness among a national mainstream audience The film also was a period piece that featured a happy ending ushered in by a white savior in the form of Brad Pitt s character 105 At The Guardian black Canadian author Orville Lloyd Douglas said he would not be seeing 12 Years a Slave explaining I m convinced these black race films are created for a white liberal film audience to engender white guilt and make them feel bad about themselves Regardless of your race these films are unlikely to teach you anything you don t already know 106 A Black writer Michael Arceneaux wrote a rebuttal essay We Don t Need To Get Over Slavery Or Movies About Slavery Arceneaux criticized Douglas for being ignorant and having an apathetic attitude towards black Americans and slavery 107 Accolades Edit Main article List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave film 12 Years a Slave has received numerous awards and nominations It earned three Academy Awards Best Picture Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress 108 It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama 109 The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film while Ejiofor received the Best Actor award 10 In addition the motion picture has been named as one of the best films of 2013 by various ongoing critics appearing on 100 critics top ten lists in which 25 had the film in their number one spot This is both the most of any film released in its production year 110 See also EditList of black films of the 2010s List of films featuring slavery Solomon Northup s Odyssey a 1984 television film adaptation of the same source material Black Seeds The History of Africans in America 2021 References Edit a b c d e f 12 Years a Slave 2013 AFI Catalog of Feature Films Retrieved December 26 2022 a b c McNary Dave November 15 2011 Summit inks int l deals on 2 pics Variety Penske Business Media Retrieved October 27 2013 a b c 12 Years a Slave 2013 British Film Institute Retrieved February 18 2023 12 Years a Slave 15 British Board of Film Classification Retrieved February 19 2014 a b c d 12 Years a Slave 2013 Box Office Mojo Retrieved August 10 2014 2013 Feature Film Production Report PDF The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original PDF on April 21 2018 Retrieved January 2 2017 Toplin Robert Brent 1969 Twelve Years a Slave review Civil War History 15 1 66 doi 10 1353 cwh 1969 0065 S2CID 144769266 Sign of the times The Hindu March 4 2014 Retrieved March 12 2014 Lacob Jace March 2 2014 12 Years A Slave Wins Best Picture Oscar At 86th Annual Academy Awards BuzzFeed Retrieved March 13 2014 a b Baftas Gravity and 12 Years a Slave share glory BBC News February 17 2014 Retrieved February 17 2014 The 21st Century s 100 greatest films BBC August 23 2016 Retrieved October 14 2016 Debruge Peter Gleiberman Owen Kennedy Lisa Kiang Jessica Laffly Tomris Lodge Guy Nicholson Amy December 21 2022 The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time Chitwood Adam August 2 2012 Set Photo Confirms Beasts of the Southern Wild Star Quvenzhane Wallis Has Joined Steve McQueen s Twelve Years a Slave Collider Collider com Retrieved June 24 2014 Billington Alex June 26 2012 Beasts Star Dwight Henry Also in McQueen s Twelve Years a Slave Collider com Retrieved December 8 2014 Henry Louis Gates Jr aaas fas harvard edu Retrieved June 26 2021 David Fiske Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved June 26 2021 Cieply Michael September 22 2013 An Escape From Slavery Now a Movie Has Long Intrigued Historians The New York Times Retrieved November 19 2013 a b Historian at the Movies 12 Years a Slave reviewed History Extra Retrieved January 13 2014 Feinberg Scott October 23 2013 Oscar Whisper Campaigns The Slurs Against 12 Years Captain Phillips Gravity and The Butler The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved November 19 2013 Cieply Michael September 22 2013 An Escape From Slavery Now a Movie Has Long Intrigued Historians The New York Times Retrieved November 19 2013 Introduction Every Tone a Testimony An Anthology of Slave Narratives Retrieved June 26 2021 Worley Sam 1997 Solomon Northup and the Sly Philosophy of the Slave Pen Callaloo 20 1 243 259 doi 10 1353 cal 1997 0035 ISSN 0161 2492 JSTOR 3299309 S2CID 161975602 Berlatsky Noah October 28 2013 How 12 Years a Slave Gets History Right By Getting It Wrong The Atlantic Retrieved November 17 2013 Based on a True True Story Scene by scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films Information Is Beautiful Retrieved July 28 2019 a b Wickman Forrest October 17 2013 How Accurate Is 12 Years a Slave Slate Retrieved November 17 2013 a b Dixon Valerie Elverton November 15 2013 In 12 Years a Slave a broken Christianity The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 16 2013 Movies amp TV 12 Years a Slave Christianity Today October 18 2013 Thompson Anne October 16 2013 John Ridley Talks Writing 12 Years a Slave and Directing Hendrix Biopic All Is by My Side IndieWire Snagfilms Archived from the original on October 13 2013 Retrieved October 25 2013 12 Years A Slave Was A Film That No One Was Making NPR October 24 2013 Retrieved October 25 2013 Sneider Jeff August 17 2011 McQueen tallying 12 Years at Plan B Variety Truitt Brian June 18 2013 First look Twelve Years a Slave USA Today Retrieved June 19 2013 Kroll Justin October 12 2011 Duo team on Slave Variety Sneider Jeff May 24 2012 Thesps join McQueen s Slave cast Variety Kroll Justin June 5 2012 Giamatti Paulson join Slave Variety Retrieved October 30 2013 Scott Mike October 28 2013 12 Years a Slave Five cool things to know about the New Orleans shot historical epic The Times Picayune Retrieved October 29 2013 Lytal Cristy September 28 2013 12 Years a Slave dialect coach Michael Buster speaks up Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 29 2013 a b Sneider Jeff March 3 2014 Oscars 12 Years a Slave Screenplay Rift Between Steve McQueen John Ridley Boils Over TheWrap Retrieved March 3 2014 Sacks Ethan March 10 2014 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley I regret not mentioning director Steve McQueen in Oscar speech Daily News Retrieved March 13 2014 a b Child Ben March 10 2014 12 Years a Slave s John Ridley regrets not thanking Steve McQueen at Oscars The Guardian Retrieved March 13 2014 a b Schmidlin Charlie March 5 2014 John Ridley Says He s Grateful For Steve McQueen Claims Feud With 12 Years A Slave Director Is Nonexistent The Playlist Indiewire Archived from the original on March 13 2014 Retrieved March 13 2014 a b Walker Tim March 4 2014 12 Years A Slave Oscar tarnished by feud over screenplay The Independent Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 13 2014 Gettell Oliver March 10 2014 12 Years a Slave writer John Ridley denies Steve McQueen feud Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 13 2014 Fuller Graham April 10 2012 Steve McQueen s Twelve Years a Slave Set to Shine Light on Solomon Northup s Ordeal Art Auction Louise Blouin Media Retrieved February 1 2013 Scott Mike May 3 2012 Brad Pitt to shoot 12 Years a Slave adaptation in New Orleans The Times Picayune Retrieved February 1 2013 Smith Nigel M August 13 2012 Twelve Years a Slave Star Paul Giamatti Hints at What to Expect From Steve McQueen s Next Project indieWire Retrieved February 1 2013 Horn John October 18 2013 Steve McQueen films 12 Years a Slave on familiar territory Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 25 2013 Scott Mike September 9 2013 Following in the real footsteps of 12 Years a Slave figure Solomon Northup Mike s Movie Mailbag The Times Picayune Retrieved October 25 2013 a b Sacks Ethan October 13 2013 No ordinary movie 12 Years a Slave is a brutal and honest depiction of America s gravest mistake Daily News New York Retrieved October 27 2013 Torbett Melanie October 20 2013 Twelve Years a Slave movie has Cenla roots The Town Talk Archived from the original on October 27 2013 Retrieved October 26 2013 Giardina Carolyn October 17 2013 12 Years a Slave Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt Not Letting the Audience Off the Hook The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved October 26 2013 Goldrich Robert October 18 2013 The Road To Oscar Part 1 Backstories on 12 Years A Slave And Nebraska Shoot Retrieved October 26 2013 Desowitz Bill October 18 2013 Immersed in Movies Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt Talks 12 Years a Slave IndieWire Snagfilms Archived from the original on October 23 2013 Retrieved October 26 2013 Goodsell Luke October 17 2013 Interview Steve McQueen and Chiwetel Ejiofor talk 12 Years a Slave Rotten Tomatoes Flixster Retrieved October 26 2013 Cooper Jennifer October 20 2013 Oscar Watch 5 Things to Know About 12 Years a Slave E Retrieved November 3 2013 Pick of the Week 12 Years A Slave Costume Designers Guild October 18 2013 Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved November 3 2013 Abrams Bryan October 8 2013 The U S Premiere of 12 Years a Slave at the New York Film Festival The Credits Motion Picture Association of America Archived from the original on December 3 2013 Retrieved November 3 2013 Marsh Calum October 16 2013 Director s Cut Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave film com Retrieved November 3 2013 Columbia Records to Release 12 Years a Slave Soundtrack Film Music Reporter October 14 2013 Retrieved October 26 2013 12 Years a Slave 2013 Soundtrack Net Soundtrack net Retrieved October 28 2013 12 Years a Slave Soundtrack Details Film Music Reporter October 18 2013 Retrieved October 25 2013 Jagernauth Kevin October 22 2013 Inspired By 12 Years A Slave Soundtrack Features John Legend Cody Chestnutt Chris Cornell amp More IndieWire Snagfilms Archived from the original on October 27 2013 Retrieved October 26 2013 John Legend s Roll Jordan Roll Debuts From 12 Years A Slave Huffington Post October 24 2013 Retrieved October 27 2013 Masters Kim October 27 2013 Paramount Brad Pitt Company Feuding Over 12 Years a Slave Exclusive The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved October 27 2013 Weston Hillary March 28 2013 Steve McQueen s Twelve Years a Slave to be Released by Fox Searchlight This December BlackBook McCarthy LLC Archived from the original on February 1 2014 Retrieved October 25 2013 a b Horn John October 25 2013 Unflinching 12 Years a Slave poses monumental marketing challenge Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on October 26 2013 Retrieved October 25 2013 Hammond Pete August 31 2013 Telluride 12 Years A Slave Ignites The Festival But Fox Searchlight Plans To Take It Slow Deadline Hollywood Retrieved October 28 2013 Bailey Cameron 12 Years a Slave tiff net Toronto International Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival Inc Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved October 28 2013 Goldberg Matt September 15 2013 TIFF 2013 12 YEARS A SLAVE Wins People s Choice Award Midnight Madness Award Goes to WHY DON T YOU PLAY IN HELL Collider Archived from the original on September 15 2022 Retrieved September 15 2022 Brooks Brian August 30 2013 McQueen s 12 Years A Slave Will Have U S Debut at NYFF51 Film Society of Lincoln Center Retrieved October 28 2013 NOFF Announces Opening Closing Night Films New Orleans Film Society August 8 2013 Archived from the original on July 29 2014 Retrieved June 17 2014 22nd Philadelphia Film Festival Announces Film Additions and Scheduling Changes Philadelphia Film Society October 14 2013 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 28 2013 Where to see 12 Years a Slave Fox Searchlight Pictures October 2 2013 Retrieved October 16 2013 Fleming Mike June 27 2013 New Regency Moves 12 Years A Slave Up to an October 18 Platform Bow Deadline Hollywood 12 Years a Slave Uk EOneFilms com Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved December 29 2015 Ryan Joal October 18 2013 12 Years a Slave Could Win Best Picture but About the Box Office E Retrieved October 27 2013 Horn John October 29 2013 In first wider weekend 12 Years a Slave reaches key audiences Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 29 2013 Cunningham Todd October 17 2013 Can 12 Years a Slave Translate Oscar Buzz into Box Office TheWrap The Wrap News Inc Retrieved October 27 2013 Cieply Michael October 28 2013 The International Fate of 12 Years Steve McQueen s Film Is a Box Office Test Case The New York Times Retrieved October 29 2013 Kaufman Amy October 23 2013 Like Kanye West Sean Diddy Combs backs 12 Years a Slave Video Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 25 2013 Lewis Hilary October 24 2013 Diddy Praises 12 Years a Slave The Truth Has Finally Almost Been Told Video The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved October 25 2013 12 Years a Slave DVD Widescreen Barnes amp Noble Retrieved January 10 2016 12 Years a Slave Blu Ray Barnes amp Noble Retrieved January 10 2016 12 Years a Slave Instant Video Format Amazon Retrieved January 10 2016 Subers Ray October 20 2013 Weekend Report Gravity Wins Again Carrie Leads Weak Newcomers Box Office Mojo Retrieved February 28 2014 Mendelson Scott October 27 2013 Weekend Box Office Jackass Bad Grandpa Tops With 32 Million Forbes Retrieved October 27 2013 Subers Ray November 3 2013 Weekend Report Ender Wins Box Office Game Thor Mighty Overseas Box Office Mojo Retrieved November 3 2013 Todd Spangler December 28 2014 Top 20 Most Pirated Movies of 2014 Led by Wolf of Wall Street Frozen Gravity The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved November 11 2015 12 Years a Slave 2013 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved November 17 2022 12 Years a Slave Reviews Metacritic CBS Interactive Retrieved July 13 2019 Specialty Box Office 12 Years A Slave Triumphs In Limited Debut All Is Lost Kill Your Darlings Open Solid Deadline Hollywood October 20 2013 Retrieved October 27 2013 Corliss Richard September 9 2013 12 Years a Slave and Mandela Two Tales of Racism Survived TIME Retrieved October 1 2013 Ellwood Gregory August 31 2013 Review Powerful 12 Years a Slave won t turn away from the brutality of slavery HitFix Retrieved October 1 2013 MacInnes Paul September 7 2013 12 Years a Slave Toronto film festival first look review The Guardian Retrieved October 26 2013 Pulver Andrew February 7 2017 Moonlight becomes him Barry Jenkins s journey from a Miami housing project to the Oscars The Guardian Retrieved May 6 2021 Gleiberman Owen September 7 2013 Toronto 2013 12 Years a Slave is a landmark of cruelty and transcendence Entertainment Weekly CNN Retrieved October 2 2013 Travers Peter October 17 2013 12 Years a Slave Review Rolling Stone Wenner Media LLC Retrieved October 27 2013 Dargis Manohla October 17 2013 The Blood and Tears Not the Magnolias 12 Years a Slave Holds Nothing Back in Show of Suffering The New York Times Retrieved October 27 2013 Robey Tim October 17 2013 12 Years A Slave first review The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on October 17 2013 Retrieved October 27 2013 Hassannia Tina September 9 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 12 Years a Slave Review Slant Magazine Retrieved October 27 2013 Slavery a film narrative and the empty myth of original intent DavidSimon com October 29 2013 Archived from the original on April 1 2015 Retrieved January 21 2015 Zacharek Stephanie October 16 2013 12 Years a Slave Prizes Radiance Over Life The Village Voice Voice Media Group Retrieved October 28 2013 Malamud Smith Peter October 20 2013 We Can Be Heroes 12 Years a Slave Schindler s List and the hero problem in American movies Slate Retrieved October 28 2013 What didn t deserve to make our Best Films Of The Decade So Far list www avclub com April 10 2015 Retrieved November 17 2015 McCoy Dorian L Rodricks Dirk J 2015 Critical Race Theory in Higher Education 20 Years of Theoretical and Research Innovations ASHE Higher Education Report John Wiley amp Sons p 88 ISBN 978 1 119 11203 7 Critics contended it was yet another film showcasing a White savior with Pitt who also produced the film positioning himself as such Sneed Timothy July 18 2014 A Year After Trayvon Martin Who Is Leading the Race Conversation U S News amp World Report Lloyd Douglas Orville September 12 2013 Why I won t be watching The Butler and 12 Years a Slave The Guardian Retrieved December 14 2013 We Don t Need To Get Over Slavery Or Movies About Slavery Newsone com Retrieved September 30 2013 Cieply Michael Barnes Brooks March 2 2014 12 Years a Slave Claims Best Picture Oscar The New York Times 2014 Golden Globe Awards The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Archived from the original on March 15 2015 Retrieved January 21 2014 Jason Dietz 2013 Film Critic Top Ten Lists Archived January 2 2014 at the Wayback Machine Metacritic December 8 2013 External links Edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to 12 Years a Slave film 12 Years a Slave official site 12 Years a Slave at IMDb 12 Years a Slave at Rotten Tomatoes 12 Years a Slave at Box Office Mojo 12 Years a Slave at Metacritic nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 12 Years a Slave film amp oldid 1173923196, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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