内容简介

A landmark American drama that inspired a classic film and a Broadway revival—featuring an introduction by David Mamet

A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst.

After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

作品目录

作者简介

Reginald Rose (1920–2002) won three Emmy awards for television writing as well as an Oscar for the movie adaptation of Twelve Angry Men.

精彩摘录

一位资深法官想了想，问我是想听假话，还是听真话。我说，最好都有。这位法官笑言：“假话就是：十二个人的智慧加起来，总好过一个人的智慧。接下来的话，我将来可不认账。真话则是：黑锅由十二个人来背，总好过法官一个人扛。”说罢，在座的中美法官都乐了。

——引自第1页

威廉・德威尔曾在《美国的陪审团》一书中提到，美国诉讼体制有六宗致命原罪，分别是：过度好辩、成本高昂、缓慢迟延、软弱无力、纠缠细节与负荷过重。每宗罪都或明或暗与陪审团制度挂上了钩。

——引自第26页