Although Bass is hesitant at first because of the risks, he agrees to send it. 12 Years a Slave is, like The Trial, a trapdoor over the abyss. 12 Years a Slave is not an easy watch and nor should it be. Once again, Northup asks for help in getting a letter to New York. 12 Years a Slave may have a clear title, but this film is anything but what you’d expect. [88] The Daily Telegraph's Tim Robey granted the film a maximum score of five stars, stating that "it's the nobility of this remarkable film that pierces the soul", while praising Ejiofor and Nyong'o's performances. [44], To accurately depict the time period of the film, the filmmakers conducted extensive research that included studying artwork from the era. The Real Life Femdom: 12 Years a Slave! Premiere of 12 Years a Slave at the New York Film Festival", "Director's Cut: Steve McQueen ('12 Years a Slave')", "Columbia Records to Release '12 Years a Slave' Soundtrack", "12 Years a Slave (2013) – Soundtrack.Net", "Inspired By '12 Years A Slave' Soundtrack Features John Legend, Cody Chestnutt, Chris Cornell & More", "John Legend's 'Roll Jordan Roll' Debuts From '12 Years A Slave, "Telluride: '12 Years A Slave' Ignites The Festival, But Fox Searchlight Plans To Take It Slow", "McQueen's "12 Years A Slave" Will Have U.S. 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. Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice was more critical of the film. [91], The film, however, was not without its criticisms. The popular but inaccurate version was written and published in 1863, (12 years after Sojourner gave the "Ain't I a woman" speech), by a white abolitionist named Frances Dana Barker Gage. [72] In supplemental fashion, a widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was also released on the same day. Debut at NYFF51", "NOFF Announces Opening Closing Night Films", "22nd Philadelphia Film Festival Announces Film Additions and Scheduling Changes", "Paramount, Brad Pitt Company Feuding Over '12 Years a Slave' (Exclusive)", "Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years a Slave' to be Released by Fox Searchlight This December", "Unflinching '12 Years a Slave' poses monumental marketing challenge", "New Regency Moves '12 Years A Slave' Up to an October 18 Platform Bow", "12 Years a Slave Could Win Best Picture, but About the Box Office ...", "In first wider weekend, '12 Years a Slave' reaches key audiences", "Can '12 Years a Slave' Translate Oscar Buzz into Box Office? [81], 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. Set to come out in October 2013, Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in a movie “12 Years a Slave” directed by Steve McQueen based on Solomon Northup’s Slave narrative. Steve McQueen has hit his third home run in a row with this gritty, haunting story of American cruelty. Watching 12 Years a Slave is not an easy thing to do. Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave recounts the author’s life story as a free black man from the North who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South.. [59] In April 2012, a few weeks before principal photography, New Regency Productions agreed to co-finance the film. [11] 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. Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Kelvin Harrison Jr. Spotlighting Black History Makers in Movies & Television on Prime Video, Amazon’s Black Employee Network Recommended Watching, Important Black Stories in Film, Streaming for Free, Mejores películas Mano (2013) := "[79] 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". "[71], 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. The language has a literary quality related to the style of writing of the day and the strong influence of the King James Bible. Northup begins working on the construction of a gazebo with a Canadian laborer named Samuel Bass. [46] Using an earth tone color palette, Norris created nearly 1,000 costumes for the film. I basically made it my passion to make this book into a film. What Film Best Celebrates Personal Independence? Northup is shipped to New Orleans along with other captive African-Americans. [64] The film was distributed by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom. My Mistress is the beloved and revered PhDomme Emma herself! You will also note Quvenzhane Wallis (as Northrup's daughter) and Dwight Henry (as a slave) in their first appearances since Beasts of the Southern Wild. [20], 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. [61] 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. Northup is returned to his home and family, crying as he walks up the steps. Director Steve McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley film were largely faithful Northup’s 1853 biography, Twelve Years a Slave.Here’s how the film and the biography match up: The film's epilogue titles recount: Northup's unsuccessful suits against Brown, Hamilton, and Burch; the 1853 publication of Northup's slave narrative memoir, Twelve Years a Slave; describes his role in the abolitionist movement; and the absence of any information surrounding the details of his death and burial. [89] Tina Hassannia of Slant Magazine said that "using his signature visual composition and deafening sound design, Steve McQueen portrays the harrowing realism of Northup's experience and the complicated relationships between master and slave, master and master, slave and slave, and so on". One of the sailors attempts to rape a female slave, but is stopped by a male slave. [28] Since the event, Ridley has noted his regret for not mentioning McQueen[29][30] and denied the feud. 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. The sheriff asks Northup a series of questions to confirm that his answers match the facts of his life in New York. 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. [2] 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. Through faith, will power, and courage Northup must survive and endure those 12 years as a slave… He later named the film the best movie of 2013. [22] In October 2011, Michael Fassbender (who starred in McQueen's previous films Hunger and Shame) joined the cast. Unable to work his fields, Epps leases his slaves to a neighboring plantation for the season. 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 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. 12 Years a Slave (Englisch für Zwölf Jahre Sklave) ist ein britisch-US-amerikanisches historisches Filmdrama des Regisseurs Steve McQueen aus dem Jahr 2013.Der Film basiert auf dem gleichnamigen autobiografischen Werk Twelve Years a Slave (1853) von Solomon Northup, der von Chiwetel Ejiofor gespielt wird.