"12 Years a Slave" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2013; it was later screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, the New York Film Festival on October 8, the New Orleans Film Festival on October 10, and the Philadelphia Film Festival on October 19. On November 15, 2011, Summit Entertainment announced it had secured a deal to distribute "12 Years a Slave" to international markets. In April 2012, a few weeks before principal photography, New Regency Productions agreed to co-finance the film. Because of a distribution pact between 20th Century Fox and New Regency, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film's United States distribution rights.
Initial screenings
12 Years a Slave (film)
12 Years a Slave (film) | Initial screenings
Telluride Film Festival Telluride Film Festival Telluride Film Festival At the Telluride Film Festival.
where did 12 years a slave take place
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Principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana
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what is the film about?
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A story of a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery.
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mention a few of its marketing scenarios?
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During its marketing campaign, "12 Years a Slave" received unpaid endorsements by celebrities such as Kanye West and P. Diddy. In a video posted by Revolt, Combs urged viewers to see "12 Years a Slave" by stating: "This movie is very painful but very honest, and is a part of the healing process.
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where did the first screening happen?
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The film's release was gradually widened in subsequent weeks, similarly to how the studio had successfully done in years prior with films such as "Black Swan" and "The Descendants". International release dates for "12 Years a Slave" were largely delayed to early 2014 in order to take advantage of the attention created by awards seasons. During its marketing campaign, "12 Years a Slave" received unpaid endorsements by celebrities such as Kanye West and P. Diddy. In a video posted by Revolt, Combs urged viewers to see "12 Years a Slave" by stating: "This movie is very painful but very honest, and is a part of the healing process.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Marketing
However, instead of paying for the distribution rights, Fox Searchlight made a deal in which it would share box-office proceeds with the financiers of the independently financed film. "12 Years a Slave" was commercially released on , 2013 in the United States for a limited release of 19 theaters, with a wide release in subsequent weeks. The film was initially scheduled to be released in late December 2013, but "some exuberant test screenings" led to the decision to move up the release date. The film was distributed by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Initial screenings
"12 Years a Slave" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2013; it was later screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, the New York Film Festival on October 8, the New Orleans Film Festival on October 10, and the Philadelphia Film Festival on October 19. On November 15, 2011, Summit Entertainment announced it had secured a deal to distribute "12 Years a Slave" to international markets. In April 2012, a few weeks before principal photography, New Regency Productions agreed to co-finance the film. Because of a distribution pact between 20th Century Fox and New Regency, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film's United States distribution rights.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Initial screenings
"That feeling of dancing with ghosts – it's palpable." Filming also took place at the Columns Hotel and Madame John's Legacy in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, the film's primary camera operator, shot "12 Years a Slave" on 35 mm film with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio using both an Arricam LT and ST. "Particularly for a period piece, film gives the audience a definite sense of period and quality," said Bobbitt. "And because of the story's epic nature, widescreen clearly made the most sense. Widescreen means a big film, an epic tale – in this case an epic tale of human endurance." The filmmakers avoided the desaturated visual style that is typical of a more gritty documentary aesthetic.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Filming
Paul MacInnes of "The Guardian" scored the film five out of five stars, writing, "Stark, visceral and unrelenting, "12 Years a Slave" is not just a great film but a necessary one." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" praised it as "a new movie landmark of cruelty and transcendence" and as "a movie about a life that gets taken away, and that's why it lets us touch what life is". He also commented very positively about Ejiofor's performance, while further stating, ""12 Years a Slave" lets us stare at the primal sin of America with open eyes, and at moments it is hard to watch, yet it's a movie of such humanity and grace that at every moment, you feel you're seeing something essential.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Critical response
Following successful screenings at the Telluride Film Festival and New York Film Festival, the film held its public premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award. Fox Searchlight Pictures initially gave the film a limited release at nineteen theaters on October 18, aimed primarily towards art house and African American patrons. The film was later given a wide release at over 1,100 theaters in the United States and Canada on November 8. "12 Years a Slave" has grossed a worldwide total of over $187 million on a production budget of $20 million. As of 2019, it is McQueen's highest grossing film.
List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
The score was widely admired and thought of as a contender for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 86th Academy Awards. Yet, the score failed to receive a nomination for the 86th Academy Awards. However, the film did receive a nomination for the 2013 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, as well as a win for the 2013 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Score.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Immediate reception
Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on March 4, 2014. Special features for the DVD include; a Closed Caption option, The Team – Meet the Creative Minds Assembled by Director Steve McQueen and Bring Solomon Northup's Journey to Life bonus selection, and The Score – Follow Film Composer Hans Zimmer Creating His Dramatic Score feature. In supplemental fashion, a widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was also released on the same day. Special features include; a historical portrait from Director Steve McQueen's documentary feature, cast and crew interviews, The Team special feature, and The Score selection.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Home media
The film was directed by Steve McQueen, and the screenplay was written by John Ridley. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup. Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, and Alfre Woodard feature in supporting roles. Principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, from June 27 to August 13, 2012. The locations used were four historic antebellum plantations; Felicity, Bocage, Destrehan, and Magnolia. Of the four, Magnolia is nearest to the actual plantation where Northup was held. "12 Years a Slave" was named the best film of 2013 by several media outlets and critics, and it earned over $187 million on a production budget of $22 million.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
With a production budget of , principal photography began in New Orleans, Louisiana, on , 2012. After seven weeks, filming concluded on , 2012. As a way to keep down production costs, a bulk of the filming took place around the greater New Orleans area – mostly south of the Red River country in the north of the state, where the historic Northup was enslaved. Among locations used were four historic antebellum plantations: Felicity, Bocage, Destrehan, and Magnolia. Magnolia, a plantation in Schriever, Louisiana, is just a few miles from one of the historic sites where Northup was held. "To know that we were right there in the place where these things occurred was so powerful and emotional," said actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Filming
An additional viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand has been made available as well.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Home media
"12 Years a Slave" is a 2013 historical drama film directed and produced by Steve McQueen. It is an adaptation of the 1853 autobiographical slave narrative memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free negro who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and sold into slavery. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as the protagonist, Northup. Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt (also a producer of the film), and Alfre Woodard feature in supporting roles. The screenplay based on the aforementioned memoir was written by John Ridley.
List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
The film received nine Academy Award nominations, winning three: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong'o. The Best Picture win made McQueen the first black British producer to ever receive the award and the first black British director of a Best Picture winner. The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts recognized it with the Best Film and the Best Actor award for Ejiofor. "12 Years a Slave" was later named the 44th greatest film since 2000 in a BBC poll of 177 critics.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
"12 Years a Slave" earned $187.7 million, including $56.7 million in the United States. During its opening limited release in the United States, "12 Years a Slave" debuted with a weekend total of $923,715 on 19 screens for a $48,617 per-screen average. The following weekend, the film entered the top ten after expanding to 123 theatres and grossing an additional $2.1 million. It continued to improve into its third weekend, grossing $4.6 million at 410 locations. The film release was expanded to over 1,100 locations on November 8, 2013. In 2014, "12 Years a Slave" was the 10th most-illegally downloaded movie, with 23.653 million such downloads, according to "Variety".
12 Years a Slave (film) | Box office
12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical period-drama film and an adaptation of the 1853 slave memoir "Twelve Years a Slave" by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released. The first scholarly edition of Northup's memoir, co-edited in 1968 by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon, carefully retraced and validated the account and concluded it to be accurate. Other characters in the film were also real people, including Edwin and Mary Epps, and Patsey.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
Legend's cover of "Roll, Jordan, Roll" debuted online three weeks prior to the soundtrack's release.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Music
Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 365 reviews with an average score of 8.91/10, with the site's consensus stating, "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." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 57 reviews from mainstream critics, considered to be "universal acclaim". It is currently one of the site's highest-rated films, as well as the best-reviewed film of 2013.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Critical response
The focus of the track is about an enslaved person reaching "quittin' time" while also trying to please the overseer to avoid getting beaten. After we watched "12 Years a Slave" in our hometown of Athens, Alabama, we stumbled across this song a week later. It is a very simple song which is why we chose it to contribute to the soundtrack. The two works, for a moment, take the audience into another time and place where you can imagine being denied your freedom: after which, one's own freedom can be better appreciated. "12 Years" is one of the most important films we have ever seen and it is important to us to give back some of what the movie has given to us.
12 Years a Slave (soundtrack) | Commentary
To accurately depict the time period of the film, the filmmakers conducted extensive research that included studying artwork from the era. With eight weeks to create the wardrobe, costume designer Patricia Norris collaborated with Western Costume to compile costumes that would illustrate the passage of time while also being historically accurate. Using an earth tone color palette, Norris created nearly 1,000 costumes for the film. "She [Norris] took earth samples from all three of the plantations to match the clothes," McQueen said, "and she had the conversation with Sean [Bobbitt] to deal with the character temperature on each plantation, there was a lot of that minute detail." The filmmakers also used some pieces of clothing discovered on set that were worn by slaves.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Design
I beg all of you to take your kids, everybody to see it. ... You have to see this so you can understand, so you can just start to understand."
12 Years a Slave (film) | Marketing
[...] It took a bit of persuading from [McQueen] to give me the confidence to do it". On April 30, 2013, it was officially announced that Zimmer was scoring the film.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Composition
After meeting screenwriter John Ridley at a Creative Artists Agency screening of "Hunger" in 2008, director Steve McQueen got in touch with Ridley about his interest in making a film about "the slave era in America" with "a character that was not obvious in terms of their trade in slavery." Developing the idea back and forth, the two did not strike a chord until McQueen's partner, Bianca Stigter, found Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir "Twelve Years a Slave". McQueen later told an interviewer: After a lengthy development process, during which Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment backed the project, which eventually helped get financing from various other film studios.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Development
12 Years a Slave is the original soundtrack album to the 2013 film "12 Years a Slave" starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, and Lupita Nyong'o. The record contains twenty-one tracks from the original film score written and composed by Hans Zimmer. Despite its limited release, critical acclaim has been given to the score from the film industry. The score was nominated for the 2013 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and won the 2013 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association award for Best Score.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Introduction
It is Chiwetel Ejiofor's extraordinary performance that holds the movie together, and that allows us to watch it without blinking. He plays Solomon with a powerful inner strength, yet he never soft-pedals the silent nightmare that is Solomon's daily existence." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone", gave the film a four-star rating and said: "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." He later named the film the best movie of 2013.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Critical response
So the slave owners dilute the energy of their slaves by whipping them for sadistic sport and, as Epps does, waking them at night to dance for his wife's cruel pleasure." Gregory Ellwood of HitFix gave the film an "A-" rating, stating, ""12 Years" is a powerful drama driven by McQueen's bold direction and the finest performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor's career." He continued by praising the performances of Fassbender and Nyong'o, citing Nyong'o as "the film's breakthrough performance [that] may find Nyong'o making her way to the Dolby Theater next March". He also admired the film's "gorgeous" cinematography and the musical score, as "one of Hans Zimmer's more moving scores in some time".
12 Years a Slave (film) | Critical response
—Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes I was moved by this film and the story in a way that transcends any film experience I have ever had. I was inspired to write a hundred different songs, but finally landed on one based on what I believe is an extremely important message I took from this man's journey. Compassion, basic human rights and love must be our priorities above race, religion or commerce. Every generation needs a reminder of that simple idea. —Chris Cornell
12 Years a Slave (soundtrack) | Commentary
"12 Years a Slave" has received numerous awards and nominations. It earned three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, while Ejiofor received the Best Actor award. In addition, the motion picture has been named as one of the best films of 2013 by various ongoing critics, appearing on 100 critics' top-ten lists in which 25 had the film in their number-one spot. This is both the most of any film released in its production year.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Accolades
It won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Joining again the team of McQueen, Fassbender and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, Walker cut "Shame" (2011). This told the story of a successful Manhattanite navigating the terrain of sexual obsession on a path towards self-destruction. Their third collaboration was "12 Years a Slave" (2013), the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery, set in 1840s Louisiana. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, and Paul Giamatti. "12 Years a Slave" (2013) won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Nyong'o, and Best Adapted Screenplay for John Ridley.
Joe Walker (editor) | Life and career
Yet Parks's film is beautiful in its own right, lacking the ferocious immediacy of McQueen's work, but containing a somber lyricism that's hard to shake. The outrage is still there, just more muted and given more historical context." By 2013, when "12 Years a Slave" was released, "Vulture" said of the 1984 film, "Out-of-print videos of it sell for a lot of money nowadays," and that the film was available for streaming online.
Solomon Northup's Odyssey | Legacy
The film earned seven nominations at the 71st Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Motion Picture – Drama. At the 67th British Academy Film Awards, the film garnered ten nominations and went on to win two awards: Best Film and Best Actor for Ejiofor.
List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
Due to both the film's explicit nature and award contender status, "12 Years a Slave"'s financial success was being watched closely. Many analysts compared the film's content to other drama films of a similar vein such as "Schindler's List" (1993) and "The Passion of the Christ" (2004), which became box office successes despite their respective subject matters. "It may be a tough subject matter, but when handled well ... films that are tough to sit through can still be commercially successful," said Phil Contrino of "Boxoffice Magazine". Despite its content, the film's critical success has assisted its domestic distribution by Fox Searchlight that began with a limited release aimed primarily towards art house and African-American patrons.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Marketing
12 Years a Slave
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Best Picture
Glenn Kay of "CinemaStance" wrote positively by stating, "the score by Hans Zimmer is sparse and repetitive, but incredibly effective at invoking an emotional response when it's used." Drew McWeeny of "HitFix" highly praised the score and said, "The score by Hans Zimmer is just as heart-breaking as the script or the performances."
12 Years a Slave (score) | Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, surveyed 358 reviews and judged 95% to be positive. "12 Years a Slave" garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its direction, screenplay and the acting of its cast. At the 86th Academy Awards, the film received nine nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for McQueen and went on to win three awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Ridley, and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong'o. McQueen was the first black director to direct a Best Picture winning film as well as the first black producer to win Best Picture.
List of accolades received by 12 Years a Slave (film) | Introduction
Director Steve McQueen liked the mood of Zimmer's music from "The Thin Red Line", which itself became a starting point for discussion and development regarding the mood for "12 Years a Slave". McQueen explained, "He was my refuge when I was in L.A. The first two meetings were about five hours each. Then I think we had three two-hour conversations on the phone. And not a musical note was played. After that, [Zimmer] said, 'I think I've got something.' Somehow, through the talking, he captured the atmosphere of the film." Much of the movie is scored with the same four-note theme, which Zimmer adapted according to the scene's mood and emotion.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Development
Deliberately drawing visual comparisons in the filming to the works of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, McQueen explained:
12 Years a Slave (film) | Filming
The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in March 2014, becoming the first Best Picture winner to have a black director or producer. The film also won a supporting actress Oscar for Lupita Nyongo. On the process of making "12 Years a Slave", actor and producer Brad Pitt stated:
Steve McQueen (director) | 2009–present: Further success and acclaim
The film was officially announced in August 2011 with McQueen to direct and Chiwetel Ejiofor to star as Solomon Northup, a free African-American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. McQueen compared Ejiofor's conduct "of class and dignity" to that of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. In October 2011, Michael Fassbender (who starred in McQueen's previous films "Hunger" and "Shame") joined the cast. In early 2012, the rest of the roles were cast, and filming was scheduled to begin at the end of June 2012. To capture the language and dialects of the era and regions in which the film takes place, dialect coach Michael Buster assisted the cast in altering their speech.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Development
Chiwetel Ejiofor – "12 Years a Slave"
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Best Actor
12 Years a Slave
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Film of the Year
McQueen has not commented on the alleged feud.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Development
Part of "12 Years a Slave" was also filmed at the house.
Madame John's Legacy | Description and history
Christopher Orr of "The Atlantic" praised the score most highly stating, "the score by Hans Zimmer represents his best work in years, an eerie, discomfiting soundscape that buzzes like angry locusts and drums like approaching thunder." Mark Kermode of "The Observer" highlights the significance of music in the piece writing, "More significant still is the role of music (composer Hans Zimmer earned one of the film's 10 Bafta nominations this week), with McQueen building upon the experiments of "Shame" to explore further the dramatic depths of song" Ed Gonzalez of "Slant Magazine" praised the score and said "The film's immaculate score, by Hans Zimmer, and sound design, so thick with thunder, wind, the chirping of crickets, hammers beating nails into wood, whips tearing black bodies to shreds, work in tandem to strongly convey the bucolic, sinister atmosphere of the antebellum South." Gregory Ellwood of "HitFix" called it "one of Hans Zimmer's more moving scores in some time" Brad Brevet of "Rope of Silicon" also praised the score in stating, "The best score in a movie I have heard this year has been Hans Zimmer's for 12 Years a Slave." and further stating "It's lovely and threatening at the same time." A.A.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Critical reception
"12 Years a Slave" won Best Film and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Chiwetel Ejiofor. Cate Blanchett won Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Blue Jasmine", Barkhad Abdi won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for "Captain Phillips", and Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "American Hustle". The ceremony was broadcast on BBC One and BBC Three. It was hosted by Stephen Fry, the ninth time he's hosted the ceremony. The ceremony opened with a duet call "Heroes" from Tinie Tempah and singer Laura Mvula. Viewing figures were the lowest since 2010, with 4.73 million watching the ceremony.
67th British Academy Film Awards | Introduction
12 Years a Slave
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2013 | Best Picture
Solomon Northup is a free African-American man in 1841, working as a violinist and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two white men, Brown and Hamilton, offer him short-term employment as a musician if he will travel with them to Washington, D.C.; however, once they have arrived, they drug Northup and deliver him to a slave pen run by a man named Burch. Northup proclaims that he is a free man, only to be savagely beaten with a wooden paddle and then a leather strap. Northup is shipped to New Orleans along with other captive African-Americans.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Plot
The musical score to "12 Years a Slave" was composed by Hans Zimmer, with original on-screen violin music written and arranged by Nicholas Britell and performed by Tim Fain. The film also features a few pieces of western classical and American folk music such as Franz Schubert's "Trio in B-flat, D471" and John and Alan Lomax's arrangement of "Run, Nigger, Run". A soundtrack album, "Music from and Inspired by 12 Years a Slave", was released digitally on November 5 and received a physical format release on November 11, 2013, by Columbia Records. In addition to Zimmer's score, the album features music inspired by the film by artists such as John Legend, Laura Mvula, Alicia Keys, Chris Cornell, and Alabama Shakes.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Music
Baker served as set decorator on the film "12 Years a Slave", Steve McQueen's 2013 adaptation of Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir. As the historical drama was shot in New Orleans, but took place in Saratoga Springs, New York and on a ship as well as in Louisiana, Baker and Stockhausen used stereoscopic images and other historical documents to guide their development of sets that resembled the Northeast and steamships in the 1830s, in addition to using Louisiana plantations with some original buildings still in place. Faced with a limited budget as well as recently released films dealing with the same historical era that had just used many of the available sets (for example, "Django Unchained" and ""), Baker and Stockenhausen were challenged to develop an aesthetic authentic to the period, but visually distinct from the other films.
Alice Baker (set decorator) | "12 Years a Slave"
The film first aired on PBS on , 1984 and as part of PBS's "American Playhouse" anthology television series in the following year. It was released on video under the title "Half Slave, Half Free". "Solomon Northup's Odyssey" was the first film adaptation of "Twelve Years a Slave". A second film adaptation, "12 Years a Slave", directed by Steve McQueen, was released in 2013.
Solomon Northup's Odyssey | Introduction
Music from and Inspired by 12 Years a Slave is the soundtrack album to "12 Years a Slave". It contains two tracks from the film score composed by Hans Zimmer, three tracks co-arranged by violinist Tim Fain and Nicholas Britell, and original spiritual songs written and arranged for the film by Nicholas Britell, as well as performances by Alabama Shakes, Cody ChesnuTT, Gary Clark, Jr., Alicia Keys, Tim Fain, Laura Mvula, Chris Cornell, Joy Williams, John Legend, and spiritual song performances from the film. The album was released digitally on November 5 and in physical formats on November 11, 2013 by Columbia Records in the United States.
12 Years a Slave (soundtrack) | Introduction
Having been interested in each other's work for some time, director Steve McQueen approached composer Hans Zimmer to write the score to "12 Years a Slave" after filming had completed. Zimmer was, however, reluctant to accept the offer feeling he wasn't right for the job. Zimmer explained, "I felt I wasn't the guy, in a way. It was such an important, heavy, incredible subject. [...] It took a bit of persuading from [McQueen] to give me the confidence to do it". On April 30, 2013, it was officially announced that Zimmer was scoring the film.
12 Years a Slave (soundtrack) | Development
Having been interested in each other's work for some time, director Steve McQueen approached composer Hans Zimmer to write the score to "12 Years a Slave" after filming had completed, explaining, "We had a mysterious conversation a couple of years back where [McQueen] told me he was working on something and asked me if I was even remotely interested in working with him," says Zimmer. Zimmer, however, expressed reluctance to accept the offer feeling he wasn't the right person for the job. Zimmer explained, "I felt I wasn't the guy, in a way. It was such an important, heavy, incredible subject.
12 Years a Slave (score) | Composition
African-American history and culture scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. was a consultant on the film, and researcher David Fiske, co-author of "Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave," provided some material used to market the film. Nevertheless, news and magazine articles around the time of the film's release described a scholar alleging some license that Northup could have taken with his book, and liberties that McQueen definitely took with Northup's original, for dramatic, modernizing, or other reasons. Scott Feinberg wrote in "The Hollywood Reporter" about a September 22 article in "The New York Times" that "dredged up and highlighted a 1985 essay by another scholar, James Olney, that questioned the 'literal truth' of specific incidents in Northup's account and suggested that David Wilson, the white amanuensis to whom Northup had dictated his story, had taken the liberty of sprucing it up to make it even more effective at rallying public opinion against slavery." According to Olney, when abolitionists invited an ex-slave to share his experience in slavery at an antislavery convention, and when they subsequently funded the appearance of that story in print, "they had certain clear expectations, well understood by themselves and well understood by the ex-slave, too." Noah Berlatsky wrote in "The Atlantic" about a scene in McQueen's adaptation.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Historical accuracy
Chiwetel Ejiofor – "12 Years a Slave"
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2013 | Best Actor
Shortly after Northup's kidnapping, he is sent on a slave ship. One of the sailors attempts to rape a female slave, but is stopped by a male slave. "The sailor unhesitatingly stabs and kills [the male slave]," he wrote, stating that "this seems unlikely on its face—slaves are valuable, and the sailor is not the owner. And, sure enough, the scene is not in the book."
12 Years a Slave (film) | Historical accuracy
It is used in "12 Years a Slave (film)" in the opening scenes, played by the character Solomon Northup during a small gathering of white individuals dancing. It was played by ""Tim Fain", an accomplished violinist who co-arranged the soundtrack for the movie.
The Devil's Dream | Pop culture
CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade. Richard Corliss of "TIME" wrote: "McQueen's film is closer in its storytelling particulars to such 1970s exploitation-exposés of slavery as "Mandingo" and "Goodbye, Uncle Tom". Except that McQueen is not a schlockmeister sensationalist but a remorseless artist". Corliss draws parallels with Nazi Germany, saying, "McQueen shows that racism, aside from its barbarous inhumanity, is insanely inefficient. It can be argued that Nazi Germany lost the war both because it diverted so much manpower to the killing of Jews and because it did not exploit the brilliance of Jewish scientists in building smarter weapons.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Critical response
"12 Years a Slave" – John Ridley
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Best Adapted Screenplay
Lupita Nyong'o – "12 Years a Slave"
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Pauline Kael Breakout Award
Steve McQueen – "12 Years a Slave"
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Best Director
The film opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore on May 6, 1969. It was also entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.
Slaves (film) | Release
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Actor of the Year
The National Endowment for the Humanities said, "The [1984] film helped push one of the darkest periods from America’s past into public consciousness, paving the way for such later movies as "Amistad" [in 1997], "Django Unchained" [in 2012], and the most recent adaptation of Northup's memoir... "12 Years a Slave" [in 2013], which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of the horror of slavery." When Steve McQueen's adaptation "12 Years a Slave" was released, "Colorlines" noted the obscurity of "Solomon Northup's Odyssey", "With limited funding, and predating social media, the film came and went with little fanfare." The blog "Vulture" under the magazine "New York" compared the film to "12 Years a Slave", "As a made-for-TV movie from the mid-eighties, ["Solomon Northup's Odyssey"] had a very modest budget and could never come close to the brutality of McQueen's film.
Solomon Northup's Odyssey | Legacy
"12 Years a Slave" – John Ridley
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2013 | Best Adapted Screenplay
Michael Fassbender – "12 Years a Slave"
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2013 | Best Supporting Actor
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 179 user reviews. The site's critic, NYC Movie Guru reads: "Spellbinding, gripping and eye-opening. Bravo to directors Darrin Fletcher and Chet Thomas for bringing Tim Ballard and the human rights issue of child sex trafficking to light" The Abolitionists premiered on May 16, 2016, and sold out 500+ theaters all across the United States.
The Abolitionists | Critical response
71 years after the film’s release, it was shown at Hearst Castle for the first time. The event was preceded by a tribute to Timothy White who known for his celebrity portraits. He was awarded the festival’s Spotlight Award. In 2015 the festival arranged to show "Citizen Kane" at Hearst Castle again, but this time in the house's own original 50-seat screening room, as a $1,000-per-ticket fundraiser, with Ben Mankiewicz, grandson of the film's screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, as host.
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival | Hearst Castle Screening
Like many American films of the time, "The Slave" was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required, in Reel 1, cuts of the entire incident of man throwing a lobster on a woman's back and all scenes of it on her back, the sultan poking man in back with dagger, and in Reel 2 the last two scenes of pulling the man through window where his trousers come off.
The Slave (1917 comedy film) | Reception
Bocage Plantation was used as a setting for "Shaw Farm" in the 2013 film "12 Years a Slave".
Bocage Plantation | Filming location
He is told by the others that if he wants to survive in the South, he must adapt to being a slave and not tell anyone he is a free man. A slave trader named Theophilus Freeman gives Northup the identity of "Platt", a runaway slave from Georgia, and sells him to plantation owner William Ford. Ford takes a liking to Northup and gives him a violin. A growing tension between Northup and plantation carpenter John Tibeats finally breaks as Tibeats tries to beat Northup. Northup snaps and beats Tibeats with his hands before beating him with his own whip.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Plot
The film would be shown in Pennsylvania and be advertised by theaters even a year after its release.
The Vote That Counted | Release and reception
At the end of July 2018, the first public reading of the work was held at the conference. Previews of the production at NYTW, under the patronage of the production company Seaview Productions, began on November 19, 2018. Due to high demand, the duration of the show's run was extended before the official December 9 premiere, with the final performance being postponed from the original closing date of December 30, 2018, to January 13, 2019. Over the next two weeks, tickets for all performances sold out.
Slave Play | History
A 20-minute preview of the film was screened at the American Jewish Historical Society in New York City in March 2016. Recently, the Mark G. Loeb Center for Lifelong Learning and the Louise D. & Morton J. Macks Center for Jewish Education are hosting a preview in Baltimore. The first rough cut screening will take place at Penn State Great Valley in November 2017. The movie's rough cut will also be screened on April 7, at Penn State Abington and May 2 in Baltimore at the Beth El Congregation. On April 12, 2018, star and narrator of the film, Judd Nelson came to Penn State University to screen the movie and answer student and community questions.
Cojot: A Second Chance Comes Only Once | Release
Narrated by Moore, the film adds a postscript that on October 17, 1963, Reverend Joseph Carter became the first African American who successfully registered to vote in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. A 16mm answer film print of "Louisiana Diary" was digitally restored in 2011 by the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, which was loaned to them by Moore. The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans also preserves a 16mm film print of this film.
Louisiana Diary | Introduction
"Quo Vadis" was the first film to be projected in a first-class Broadway theater (the Astor Theatre), where it was screened for nine months from April to December 1913. The film's first screening in London was for King George V, in the Royal Albert Hall, who complimented the performers.
Quo Vadis (1913 film) | Introduction
The first part of the film's story takes place in the year 1700 on an island called Casanga off the west coast of Africa. The island has not yet attracted the attention of the slave traders on the mainland, but its people are suffering fierce oppression under their hereditary queen Zinga - a tyrant, despot, and mistress of cruelty. What first appears on screen is a grassland landscape in which men of an African tribe are patrolling, with haystacks and rugged hills in the background. Into this scene there comes a bare-chested young African, as strong as a bull, looking around him cautiously.
Song of Freedom | Plot
The first public screening of "Watch the K Foundation Burn a Million Quid" was on Jura on 23 August 1995 – exactly one year after the burning. "We feel we should face them and answer their questions" said one of the duo. Two weeks later an advert appeared in "The Guardian", announcing a world tour of the film over the next 12 months at "relevant locations". The second screening was at In the City music industry convention on 5 September in Manchester. After the film was shown, Drummond and Cauty held a question-and-answer session with the theme "Is It Rock'n'Roll?".
K Foundation Burn a Million Quid | Screening tour
In the middle of the night, a drunken Epps wakes Northup and questions him menacingly about the letter while holding a knife to Northup's stomach. Northup is narrowly able to convince Epps that Armsby is lying and Epps relents. Afterwards, Northup mournfully burns the letter to prevent Epps from finding it. Some time later, Patsey is caught by Epps going to a neighboring plantation in order to acquire soap, as Mrs. Epps won't let her have any. In retaliation, Epps orders Northup to whip Patsey. Patsey is then whipped brutally by Epps, to the point of near death. After the incident, Northup destroys his violin in a rage.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Plot
Tobe Hooper’s lost first feature, "Eggshells", An American Hippie in Israel, Grindhouse release of lost hippie film featured performance by Nashville garage band The Ettes.
The Steve Allen Theater | Lost screenings
A Slave of Love premiered in Soviet cinemas on 27 September 1976. In the near abroad, it appeared in cinemas in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) on 21 January 1977. It was first transmitted on East German television on 21 July 1977. Meanwhile, in the German Federal Republic (West Germany) cinema screenings began on 2 July 1987. West German television audiences had their first opportunity to see the movie only on 28 February 1996, long after reunification, when it was screened on the Franco-German Arte channel. In 2005 came out with a DVD of "A Slave of Love", as part of their "Russian Classics" series.
A Slave of Love | Release and reception
A few public demonstrations occurred since 9 May 1893, before a first public Kinetoscope parlor was opened on April 14, 1894, by the Holland Bros. in New York City at 1155 Broadway, on the corner of 27th Street. This can be regarded as the first commercial motion picture house. The venue had ten machines, set up in parallel rows of five, each showing a different movie. For 25 cents a viewer could see all the films in either row; half a dollar gave access to the entire bill.
Movie theater | Earliest motion picture screening venues
It was shown in conjunction with the Robert M. Batscha University Seminar Series. The Paley Center screening included an online streaming broadcast—the first simultaneous film screening and panel question-and-answer for online and local audiences. The panel discussion was moderated by "The New York Times" journalist Noam Cohen, and featured both co-directors, in addition to Wikimedia Foundation representative Samuel Klein and Wikipedian in Residence at the British Museum Liam Wyatt. After the event, "SnagFilms" subsequently made the film available for free for six days to viewers in the United States. The film was screened at the Savannah Film Festival on November 3, 2010, at Savannah College of Art and Design's Trustees Theater.
Truth in Numbers? | Release
In 2004 the film was digitized and screened for the first time in 20 years on the walls of the Getty Center in Los Angeles. As part of the “Pacific Standard Time” event in 2011, a trailer of the cinemural was fabricated for screening inside the Getty Center galleries then traveled to the Martin-Gropius Bau in Berlin.
Louis Hock | Southern California
The nominees were announced on 14 December 2013. "12 Years a Slave", "American Hustle" and "Gravity" won two awards each, with the latter film winning Best Film. "Blue Jasmine" was the only other winning film, with one for Best Actress.
3rd AACTA International Awards | Introduction
They collected original items from antique shops, museums, and personal homes, in Mississippi and Louisiana, to decorate the sets. In addition to the Academy Award nomination, Baker and Stockhausen were also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, a Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Art Direction, and the Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film, among other awards.
Alice Baker (set decorator) | "12 Years a Slave"
1. Inside Llewyn Davis 2. "American Hustle" 3. "12 Years a Slave" 3. "Her"
2013 National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Picture
The former won Best Picture, Best Screenplay (John Ridley), and Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o), while the latter won Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), and Best Musical Score (Steven Price). The Best Picture win for "12 Years a Slave" continued a trend of critics groups across the United States giving their top prizes to the film adaptation of the autobiography by Solomon Northup, a free negro who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Only one other film, "Dallas Buyers Club", earned multiple 2013 honors from the DFWFCA. Set in mid-1980s Dallas, the drama received top honors for Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto).
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2013 | Introduction
I took the option." Ridley's screenplay for "12 Years a Slave" was thus ineligible for a Writers Guild of America Award.
John Ridley | Controversy
But because pictures with nearly all-black casts come along more infrequently, they tend to stand out more when they fail". The then and now 2014 Academy Awards were a turning point for African-American films, with the film "12 Years a Slave" taking home the Oscar for Best Picture. In 2013, five African-American films were released ("12 Years a Slave", "Fruitvale Station", "Lee Daniels' The Butler", "Best Man Holiday" and ""). The release of such films had a broader impact on the film industry with movie attendance by African Americans growing by 13% compared to 2012. Some truly believe that Hollywood has changed with directors such as Spike Lee and Tyler Perry who cast all African-American films, and who have become such household names paving the way further for the rest of the African-American community.
African-American representation in Hollywood | New Hollywood
The film was produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company, which had begun making films in 1890 under the direction of one of the earliest pioneers to film William K.L. Dickson. It was filmed entirely within the Black Maria studio at West Orange, New Jersey, in the United States, which is widely referred to as "America's First Movie Studio". It is believed to have been filmed in April 1893 and was shown publicly (in a Kinetoscope viewer) at the Brooklyn Institute on May 9, 1893. According to the Internet Movie Database the film was made in a 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Blacksmith Scene | Production
The following year, re-shoots were undertaken to film additional material and more violent, alternative versions of existing scenes with the aim of increasing the film's appeal to audiences in the Far East. In the UK, "Satan's Slave" was originally released as a B movie. Critical reaction to the film has been mixed, with aspects such as the acting, script and plot drawing a variety of responses.
Satan's Slave (1976 film) | Introduction
Originally, the Kickstart had planned on premiering the film in NYC. Deciding to coincide with the Burroughs Century, however, the film was instead premiered for the first time in its restored condition at the Indiana University Cinema in Bloomington, Indiana on February 6, a day after William S. Burroughs' birthday. Aaron Brookner had a Q & A panel after the movie, and was also filming for his upcoming documentary entitled "Uncle Howard".
Burroughs: The Movie | Restoration
There was another screening of the film at Beth Chaim Synagogue in Malvern, PA on September 12, 2018. Most recently, the film was screened by the University of Florida's Jewish Studies Department at the Hippodrome Theater in downtown Gainesville on November 15, 2018.
Cojot: A Second Chance Comes Only Once | Release
The Slave is a 1917 American silent comedy film starring Billy West and featuring Oliver Hardy. It was unusual for a silent film in that, because it told its story so plainly, subtitles or intertitles were not considered necessary. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
The Slave (1917 comedy film) | Introduction
The trailer for "Ill Manors" was first aired on The Guardian's website on 3 May 2012, while the first film poster was first unveiled by "Empire" magazine's website on 8 May 2012. Digital Spy also unveiled two further promotional posters on 18 May and 7 June 2012. The premiere took place on 30 May 2012 at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square, London. This screening was also attended by several British recording artists such as Alesha Dixon, Alexandra Burke, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32, Example and Ed Sheeran. The film was given a wide release to 191 cinemas in both Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom by Revolver Entertainment on 6 June 2012.
Ill Manors | Release
Epps regularly rapes Patsey while his wife abuses and humiliates her out of jealousy. Some time later, cotton worms destroy Epps's crops. Unable to work his fields, Epps leases his slaves to a neighboring plantation for the season. While there, Northup gains the favor of the plantation's owner, Judge Turner, who allows him to play the fiddle at a neighbor's wedding anniversary celebration and to keep his earnings. When Northup returns to Epps, he uses the money to pay a white field hand and former overseer, Armsby, to mail a letter to his friends in New York. Armsby agrees and accepts Northup's saved money, but immediately betrays him to Epps.
12 Years a Slave (film) | Plot
Hutchins alerted a skeptical Michael Patrick Hearn to its presence at MoMA, which had never screened it. Hearn attended a private screening, after which he arranged for the film's first public screening since 1914/5 at "The Wonderful Weekend of Oz," October 10–12, 2008, in conjunction with the Matilda Joslyn Gage home and sponsored by Classic Carpet Care. The film was shown on the 11th at 6:30 PM at the Palace Theatre in Syracuse, New York, but only three of the five reels are owned by MoMA. Baum scholars Hearn and David Moyer presented the film with commentary.
The Last Egyptian | Film adaptation
The film was shot between Rome and Cairo. The film was the last sword-and-sandal film for actor Steve Reeves.
The Slave (1962 film) | Production
Lupita Nyong'o – "12 Years a Slave"
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 | Best Supporting Actress
The film was shot in Jacksonville, Florida.
A Slave to Drink | Production notes