12 Years a Slave (2013)
92%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
242 wins & 337 nominations total
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.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you feel all the emotions, 12 Years a Slave is it. Director Steve McQueen doesn’t hold back in showing the brutal reality of slavery, but he also captures moments of beauty and humanity in the midst of it all. The performances are top-notch, and the cinematography is stunning. Just be prepared to have your heart broken and your eyes opened.
Production Company(ies)
Svensk Filmindustri
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Madame John’s Legacy, the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality
Year of Release
2013
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 14m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 2013 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 4, 2014
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, directed by Steve McQueen, written by John Ridley, biography, American slavery, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nijla Mu’min, J Hoberman, Candice Frederick, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Jen Chaney, Jason Bailey, Josh Parham, Justin Brown, Brandon Collins, Catherine Springer, Jason Adams, Joanne Laurier, R-rated, Fox Searchlight, produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas
Worldwide gross: $187,733,202
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $238,486,504
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 602
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 26,007,252
US/Canada gross: $56,671,993
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $71,993,155
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 908
US/Canada opening weekend: $923,715
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,173,440
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,259
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $25,406,961
Production budget ranking: 1,237
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $13,681,648
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $199,397,895
ROI to date (est.): 510%
ROI ranking: 252
Michael Fassbender – Edwin Epps
Benedict Cumberbatch – William Ford
Paul Dano – Tibeats
Garret Dillahunt – Armsby
Paul Giamatti – Theophilus Freeman
Director – Steve McQueen
Producers – Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas
Writer – John Ridley
Director(s)
Steve McQueen
Writer(s)
John Ridley
Producer(s)
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
242 wins & 337 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (377) | Top Critics (94) | Fresh (358) | Rotten (19)
Director McQueen, drawing on the visual aesthetic of his previous works Shame and Hunger, never shies away from frames that capture the ways that beauty exists in the most painful situations.
January 20, 2021
Nijla Mu’min
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
12 Years a Slave is, like The Trial, a trapdoor over the abyss. Although less abrupt than Kafka’s novel, the movie wastes little time before plunging its viewer into a nightmare of dehumanization.
March 4, 2018
J. Hoberman
Harper’s Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Ambitious, honest and horrifying all at once, 12 Years a Slave may not be the easiest film to watch more than once, but it will stay with you forever once you see it.
September 6, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
Add the visionary direction by Steve McQueen, the British Turner Prize-winning artist turned film-maker (Hunger, Shame) and you have an out-and-out stunner.
September 6, 2017
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
metro.co.uk
TOP CRITIC
A significant, necessary piece of work, one that stays with you long after you rise out of your theater seat.
February 26, 2017
Jen Chaney
Washington City Paper
TOP CRITIC
Movies can do a great many things – they can make us laugh, or incite our heroism, or frighten us, or make us cry. ’12 Years a Slave’ makes us feel, deeply and urgently.
June 18, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
McQueen’s vision is one that articulates the overwhelming bleakness of this chapter of history while also recognizing the fleeting moments of emotional serenity that could oddly descend.
May 27, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Josh Parham
Next Best Picture
A lot of the slave movies we see turn around and become a white savior movie, which this one avoided. Every element of this film is done so well and always has a deeply emotional impact on me. It is really captivating.
February 24, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
Steve McQueen did a masterful job of finding the balance between some heavy content while making it look visually stunning. The score, performances and cinematography was phenomenal.
February 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
It is a story that demanded to be told, demanded to be heard and it is absolutely perfectly done and deserves to be seen.
July 25, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Catherine Springer
CathsFilmForum.com
Steve McQueen’s film renders the unfathomable brutality of this period in our history tangible in a way that I’ve never seen captured on-screen before
July 2, 2021 | Rating: A
Jason Adams
The Film Experience
Any understanding of slavery as a historical phenomenon is absent, despite the occasional reference to slaves as property.
February 27, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site…
Plot
Based on an incredible true story of one man’s fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Director Steve McQueen is a British Turner Prize-winning artist turned filmmaker.
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