In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 244 wins & 337 nominations total
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A Guide to the Films of Steve McQueen
A Guide to the Films of Steve McQueen
Through detailed close-ups, single-take dialogues, and powerhouse performances, Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen has shown audiences his unflinching perspectives on real-world drama.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe tree where Solomon sees several men being lynched was actually used for lynching, and is surrounded by the graves of murdered slaves.
- GoofsWhen "Platt" is explaining how to bring the logs down the river, the overseer scornfully asks him where he became an expert in engineering and "terraforming." This a word coined by science fiction author Jack Williamson in 1942, almost exactly 100 years after the scene takes place.
- Quotes
Solomon Northup: I don't want to survive. I want to live.
- Crazy credits"Solomon brought the men responsible for his abduction to trial. Unable to testify against whites in the nation's capital, he lost the case against the slave pen owner, James Burch. After lengthy legal proceedings in New York, his kidnappers Hamilton and Brown also avoided prosecution."
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Onion Film Standard: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Featured review
Abducted to a Southern hell
Considering the social and economic importance of slavery in America's history, the scarcity of serious films depicting the daily life of slaves in the Confederate States is significant - especially since the after-effects from this episode still echo through the culture. '12 Years a Slave' is based upon the memoirs of Solomon Northup, who endured a hellish period of enslavement in Louisiana.
The story begins with him living with wife and children in upstate New York as a free man. After being lured to Washington by a couple of con-artists who promised him work, he was subsequently drugged, chained, beaten, stripped of his identity and shipped to New Orleans to be sold into slavery. Over the next twelve years, he was owned by two men who treated him in contrasting ways. The first was relatively civilized by slave-owner standards, but the plantation's half-wit manager was threatened by Northup's superior intelligence. Their mutual dislike produced a volatile situation, and unwilling to lose his investment, Northup's owner re-sold him to a neighbor. This individual regarded his slaves as property to be used for pleasure and profit, which caused them to live in perpetual fear that his moods would flare into sadistic lust or rage at any moment.
It's noteworthy that a British director has chosen to tell this story, and the combination of John Ridley's script and McQueen's direction has inspired fine performances from the entire cast. Their dramatization of Northup's experiences is both riveting and uncomfortable to watch, as the film depicts the perverse nature of a society that permitted such barbarism. Hopefully a large US audience will learn how a Southern elite cruelly exploited their fellow humans in order to obtain an easier life for themselves.
The story begins with him living with wife and children in upstate New York as a free man. After being lured to Washington by a couple of con-artists who promised him work, he was subsequently drugged, chained, beaten, stripped of his identity and shipped to New Orleans to be sold into slavery. Over the next twelve years, he was owned by two men who treated him in contrasting ways. The first was relatively civilized by slave-owner standards, but the plantation's half-wit manager was threatened by Northup's superior intelligence. Their mutual dislike produced a volatile situation, and unwilling to lose his investment, Northup's owner re-sold him to a neighbor. This individual regarded his slaves as property to be used for pleasure and profit, which caused them to live in perpetual fear that his moods would flare into sadistic lust or rage at any moment.
It's noteworthy that a British director has chosen to tell this story, and the combination of John Ridley's script and McQueen's direction has inspired fine performances from the entire cast. Their dramatization of Northup's experiences is both riveting and uncomfortable to watch, as the film depicts the perverse nature of a society that permitted such barbarism. Hopefully a large US audience will learn how a Southern elite cruelly exploited their fellow humans in order to obtain an easier life for themselves.
Helpful•155102
- tigerfish50
- Sep 21, 2013
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- 12 años esclavo
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,671,993
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $923,715
- Oct 20, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $187,734,091
- Runtime2 hours 14 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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