12 Years a Slave

"The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup."

2013 2h 14m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 12,264

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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 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.

“The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup.”

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Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Solomon Northup
Michael Fassbender
Edwin Epps
Lupita Nyong'o
Patsey
Benedict Cumberbatch
William Ford
Paul Dano
John Tibeats
Sarah Paulson
Mary Epps
Adepero Oduye
Eliza
Scoot McNairy
Brown

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: John Ridley
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steve McQueen, shot by Sean Bobbitt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joe Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steve McQueen directs. Sean Bobbitt behind the camera. Hans Zimmer scores. Joe Walker cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.3× over at the box office.
2Released 13 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Steve McQueen, shot by Sean Bobbitt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Joe Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup.".
9IMDB entry: tt2024544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1012,264 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "slavery", "louisiana", "based on true story", "racism".
12Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt
Original score: Hans Zimmer
Editing: Joe Walker
Production design: Adam Stockhausen
Costume design: Patricia Norris
Makeup / hair: Ma Kalaadevi Ananda
VFX supervisor: Tim LeDoux
Sound: Leslie Shatz
Stunt coordinator: Lex D. Geddings
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $187,000,000
Return: 935% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
AACTA International Award for Best Actor
Satellite Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay
BAFTA Award for Best Film
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Steve McQueen

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

kineticandroid2014-06-21
Sometimes, I just have to stop my brain in the middle of a film and just admire its exceptional craftsmanship. I found myself doing that time and time again during this film. Perhaps I was more open to admiring the shot compositions and acting choices because, as I cynically told myself before the film, it's not like I needed much convincing that slavery was bad. Or perhaps it was because I was shielding myself from the honest brutalities the film convincingly portrayed. Nonetheless, I was reminded of the film "Children of Men," because when I watched that, I was struck by how easily I could imagine a less engaging, more dumbed-down version of the same film. I haven't seen enough films about slavery to know this for certain, but I suspect that because many of this film's principals are British, telling a story about a free man who was forced into slavery, as opposed to one born into it, they were able to be gain some valuable distance from the subject and craft something that's both beautiful and feels true to life. And even though I thought I could not have been made to feel worse than I already did about slavery, the post-scripts on the lack of justice Solomon received for his kidnapping and the unknown causes of his death, helped keep the film from lapsing into a kind of "triumph of the spirit" happy ending others might have imposed.
Andres Gomez2015-05-02
★ 8/10
This movie is very, very well done. Well, edited and with the proper long shots at the proper moments bringing you to the life of Solomon without remedy. All the cast performs exceptionally well and Ejiofor is to be remembered for this film. A must to be seen.
post_orgasmic_mood2017-02-20
★ 8/10
Not in a long time have I seen a movie that brings out real emotions from my cold hearted soul. This movie brought them out in floods of tears. the acting was superb, especially from the lead Chiwetel Ejiofor, he acted from his little toe right up to his eyes. The style was also filmed beautifully with some (extremely) painful long shots which pulled you into Solomons nightmare. Im not sure if its a film I could watch again, purely for the emotion but I would recommend this film to everyone.