the final two cars
and saw the killing through the last two cars of the passing elevated train, right?12 Angry Men · 1957 — 第 9 / 17 章 · 5'01" · C1
Why the Old Man Would Lie, Explained：recede into the background
The jurors prove the old man couldn't have heard the boy over the passing el train, then ask why he would lie at all. One answer is simple: "Attention maybe." The deeper one is that a man nobody ever noticed might convince himself he heard what he needed to hear.
あらすじ
The jury first shows that the old man could not have heard the boy shout "I'm gonna kill you" while the elevated train roared past. Then it asks why he might lie. One juror suggests he wanted attention; another argues he may not have lied at all, but talked himself into believing he heard the voice and saw the boy's face.
注目の表現
at the top of his voicethe electric chairit stands to reasonbright sayings
00:00 / 05:01Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
recede into the background
fade back into obscurity
Juror Nine says it would be unbearably hard for such a man to slide back out of sight again.
He chose to recede into the background after the scandal.
このシーンの他の表現
- at the top of his voice
as loud as possible
- the electric chair
the electric chair as a death sentence
- it stands to reason
it follows logically
- bright sayings
sarcastic wisecracks
- lay someone out
knock someone flat
このシーンのメモ一覧
93 行のセリフに 28 件のメモ
since clause: Since introduces a given premise, roughly because.
Since the woman saw the killing through the last two cars...past modal + have to: Would have had to marks a necessary condition in the past.
would have had to hear the boy make this statement...Could've collapses to one syllable before heard it.
It's not possible he could've heard it.as loud as possible
A juror argues the old man did shout at the top of his voice, so hearing him should be easy.
He said he yelled at the top of his voice. That's good enough for me.Link top, of and his into one run.
He said he yelled at the top of his voice. That's good enough for me.recognize whose voice it is
Even if he heard something, he still couldn't have identified the voice.even if clause: Even if concedes a point before denying the conclusion.
Even if he heard something, he still couldn't have identified the voice.only a few seconds
You're talking about a matter of seconds! Nobody can be that accurate.as accurate as that
You're talking about a matter of seconds! Nobody can be that accurate.the electric chair as a death sentence
Juror Eight ties the standard of proof to the electric chair, reminding them what is at stake.
I think testimony that could put a boy into the electric chair should be that accurate.relative clause: The that-clause defines which testimony; it carries the weight.
I think testimony that could put a boy into the electric chair should be that accurate.it follows logically
A juror follows the logic and says it stands to reason the old man could not have heard.
Well, it stands to reason he couldn't have heard it.Stress stands and reason to make the point land.
Well, it stands to reason he couldn't have heard it.have something to gain
Why should he lie? What's he got to gain?sarcastic wisecracks
One juror sneers that the other keeps producing bright sayings, meaning the opposite.
You keep coming in with these bright sayings!get walked over
Guy talks like that to an old man really ought to get stepped on, you know?knock someone flat
A juror warns that anyone who speaks to the old man like that again will get knocked down.
If you say stuff like that to him again, I'm gonna lay you out.fade back into obscurity
Juror Nine says it would be unbearably hard for such a man to slide back out of sight again.
It would be so hard for him to recede into the background...invent such a story
Someone challenges Juror Eight, asking how he can invent such an outrageous story.
How can you make up a thing like that? What do you know about it?a medicated lozenge for the throat
In the tense room, someone offers a cough drop, a small gesture to ease the mood.
Oh, uh, does anybody want a cough drop?shout at full volume
The phrase was "I'm gonna kill you." The kid yelled it at the top of his lungs.gee, an old-fashioned exclamation — Old-fashioned and casual; fine among friends.
Well, gee, now I don't know.an idiot — A common insult in arguments; not for polite talk.
He called me an idiot, so I yelled at him.far too clever
I don't think so. He's much too bright for that.a crude, uneducated person
Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.a crude slob — An insult; never say it to someone's face.
Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.switch one's vote
Mr. Foreman, I'd like to change my vote to not guilty.「Why the Old Man Would Lie」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene moves from physics to motive. Once the el train makes the old man's testimony impossible, the jury has to explain why he would say it anyway. "Attention maybe," one juror jokes, but the film takes the idea seriously. "A man like this needs to be quoted, to be listened to," the holdout says, describing a life of being nobody. The uncomfortable part is that this is not a lie in the usual sense: "He wouldn't really lie. But perhaps he made himself believe he heard those words." That idea — self-deception rather than deceit — lands harder than an accusation, and it is followed by the observation that everyone uses the phrase "I'm gonna kill you" without meaning it. Together they turn a witness from a villain into a sad, ordinary man, and the room starts to shift: one juror changes his vote to not guilty.
Theme
LiesThe scene asks why a witness would lie, then offers a harder answer: he may have believed his own story rather than invented it.
LonelinessThe old man's motive is a lifetime of being ignored; he needs to be quoted and listened to, even if only once.
このチャプターで学べること
- A shouted phrase is not proof of intent.
- An old man's silence can be its own motive.
- Hard questions are not the same as cruelty.
- One careless insult can flip a vote.
発音のポイント
- could've heard — Could've collapses to one syllable before heard it.
- top of his — Link top, of and his into one run.
- stands to reason — Stress stands and reason to make the point land.
I think testimony that could put a boy into the electric chair should be that accurate.The holdout's standard: when a verdict means death, a witness's timing and certainty have to be exact — 'a matter of seconds' is not good enough.
Gentlemen, that's a very sad thing - to be nothing.Summing up the old man's life in one line. He is not a villain; he is a person whose existence was so small that this trial is the most attention he has ever had.
We say it every day. That doesn't mean we're really gonna kill anybody.The phrase 'I'm gonna kill you' is ordinary anger, not a threat. If the boy said it the way everyone says it, it proves nothing about what he did next.
A man like this needs to be quoted, to be listened to.The old man's real hunger: not to lie, but to matter. A lifetime of being nobody leaves him needing one moment of being heard.
このシーンについての質問
Why would the old man lie about hearing the boy?
The jury suggests he wanted to be important for once. As a man who was never noticed, being a key witness gave him attention — though one juror thinks he may have believed his own story rather than invented it.
Did the old man actually see the boy run?
That is the point the jury can't resolve. He claimed he ran to the door and saw the boy, yet he also dragged a bad leg and may not have reached the door in time, which casts doubt on the whole account.
Why does the phrase "I'm gonna kill you" matter so much?
Because the prosecution used it as a threat and a motive. The holdout argues people say it casually all the time, so it can't prove the boy meant to kill his father.
What does "it stands to reason" mean?
It means something follows logically — it's reasonable to conclude. A juror uses it to say that, given the train noise, the old man simply could not have heard the shout.
Who changes their vote at the end of the scene?
One juror asks the foreman to switch his vote to not guilty, making the count nine to three. The holdout's argument has begun to move the room.
十二人の怒れる男 · 全 17 章
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次のチャプター · 第 10 章off the top of my headJuror 8 Questions the Knife
第 1 章open-and-shut caseJurors Gather in the Jury Room
第 2 章kick someone aroundJuror 8 Votes Not Guilty
第 3 章burden of proofThe Jurors Go Around the Table
第 4 章breaking pointJuror 5 Stands Up to a Bigot
第 5 章alleged eyewitnessJuror 8 Shows a Second Switchblade
第 6 章hang a juryJuror 8 Proposes Another Vote
第 7 章run it up the flagpoleJuror 9 Switches His Vote
第 8 章as plain as the nose on your faceJuror 8 Tests the El Train Timing
再生中 · 第 9 章recede into the backgroundWhy the Old Man Would Lie
第 10 章off the top of my headJuror 8 Questions the Knife
第 11 章out of thin airJuror 8 Reenacts the Old Man's Walk
第 12 章see if the cat licks it upThe Jury Deadlocks at Six to Six
第 13 章hung juryJuror 8 Tests the Movie Alibi
第 14 章have the gutsJuror 8's Knife Demonstration
第 15 章you peopleJuror 10's Racist Rant
第 16 章obscure the truthJuror 8 Warns About Prejudice
第 17 章in questionJuror 8 Doubts the Eyewitness第 9 / 17 章 · 残り約 37 分