12 Years a Slave

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Original title: 12 Years a Slave (Twelve Years a Slave)
Year: 2013
Running time: 133 min.
Country: United States
Director: Steve McQueen
Screenwriter: John Ridley (Biography: Solomon Northup)
Music: Hans Zimmer
Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Adepero Oduye, Chris Chalk, Garret Dillahunt, Dwight Henry, Scoot McNairy, Taran Killam, Bill Camp, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ashley Dyke, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rob Steinberg, Bryan Batt
Producer: Summit Entertainment / Plan B Entertainment / River Road Entertainment / New Regency Pictures / Film4 Productions. Distributed by Fox Searchlight
Genre: Drama | Based On A True Story. Biography. Slavery. Racism. 19th Century. Historical
Synopsis / Plot: Based on a true story, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is a riveting account of a free black man kidnapped and sold into brutal slavery in mid-1850s Louisiana, and the inspiring story of his desperate struggle to return home to his family. Solomon Northup, an educated black man with a gift for music, lives with his wife and children in New York. One day he awakens to find he has been drugged and being shipped to the South as a slave. Refusing to abandon hope, Solomon watches helplessly as those around him succumb to violence, crushing emotional abuse and hopelessness.

Awards: 2013: 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Screenplay and Supp. Actress. 9 nominations

2013: Golden Globes: Best Film (Drama). 7 nominations, including Best Director

2013: Toronto Film Festival: Best Film

2013: David di Donatello Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film

2013: BAFTA Awards: Best Film & Best Actor (Ejiofor). 10 nominations

2013: Critics Choice: 3 awards, including Best Film. 13 nominations.

Show 13 more awards

2013: National Board of Review (NBR): Top 10 Films

2013: American Film Institute: Top 10 - Movies of the Year

2013: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Director. 5 Nominations

2013: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Supp. Actress (Nyong'o)

2013: Gotham Awards: 3 nominations, including Best Film

2013: Independent Spirit Awads: 5 Awards, including Best Film. 7 Nominations

2013: Satellite Awards: Best Film & Best Director. 10 nominations

2013: Guldbagge Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film

2013: Producers Guild Awards (PGA): Best Film

2013: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Nominated for Best Director

2013: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Nyong'o). 4 Nom

2013: 5 Chicago Film Critics Awards including, Best Picture. 11 Nominations

2014: Cesar Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Critics' reviews

"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. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of four)"

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"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."

Manohla Dargis: The New York Times
"This epic account of an unbreakable soul makes even Scarlett O’Hara’s struggles seem petty by comparison (...) Composition, sound design and story all cut together beautifully"

Peter Debruge: Variety
"The harrowing '12 Years a Slave' is a mesmerizing period drama for the ages. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of four)"

Claudia Puig: USA Today
"A strong, involving, at times overstated telling of an extraordinary life story"

Todd McCarthy: The Hollywood Reporter
"'12 Years a Slave' is a mesmerizing triumph of art and polemics: McQueen turns a topic rendered distant by history into an experience that (...) makes you feel as if you've been there."

Eric Kohn: IndieWire
"Britain's Steve McQueen (...) nails the horror of America's slavery shame but also finds humanity in one man's determination to free himself and return to his family. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of four)"

Peter Howell: Toronto Star
Show 2 more reviews

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Ranking Lists Position

5 My Top 10 Movies from 2013 (713)
34 My Favorite Biopics/Biographical Movies (44)
74 Movies with a Great Male Lead (58)
77 Best Movies I've Seen in Theaters Lately (23)
94 My Favorite Dramas (135)

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