12 Years a Slave
12 Years a Slave
Overview
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.
Trailer
Cast
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Michael Fassbender
Lupita Nyong'o
Benedict Cumberbatch
Paul Dano
Sarah Paulson
Adepero Oduye
Scoot McNairy
Paul Giamatti
Brad Pitt
Michael Kenneth Williams
Alfre Woodard
Chris Chalk
Taran Killam
Bill Camp
Kelsey Scott
Bryan Batt
Quvenzhané Wallis
Garret Dillahunt
Dwight Henry
Dickie Gravois
Ashley Dyke
Cameron Zeigler
Tony Bentley
Christopher Berry
Mister Mackey Jr.
Craig Tate
Storm Reid
Tom Proctor
Marc Macaulay
Vivian Fleming-Alvarez
Douglas M. Griffin
John McConnell
Marcus Lyle Brown
Richard Holden
Rob Steinberg
Anwan Glover
James C. Victor
Liza J. Bennett
Nicole Collins
J.D. Evermore
Andy Dylan
Deneen Tyler
Mustafa Harris
Gregory Bright
Austin Purnell
Thomas Francis Murphy
Andre Shanks
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Scott M. Jefferson
Isaiah Jackson
Topsy Chapman
Devin Maurice Evans
Jay Huguley
Devyn A. Tyler
Willo Jean-Baptiste
Jason Ament
Jon Arthur
Sean Paul Braud
Blake Burt
Carroll Burt
Edward J. Clare
JJ Coker
Haylie Creppel
Justin Edward Davis
Jim Johnson
Mark Joyce
John C. Klein
Cynthia LeBlanc
Elton LeBlanc
Gerard 'Jerry' Lewis
Kevonte Mcdonald
Ritchie Montgomery
Jason Owen
Shawn Parsons
Haley Powell
Wayne Pére
Terrell Ransom Jr.
Erin Rementer
Andre Robinson
Corrina Roshea Bobb
Jarett Shorts
Chaz Smith
Tyler Soerries
Tre Tureaud
Justin Christopher Vaughn
Bob Walker
Caroline Grace Williamson
Timothy Wyant
Kadrolsha Ona Carole
Crew
Hans Zimmer
Brad Pitt
Arnon Milchan
Tessa Ross
Francine Maisler
Patricia Norris
Ellen Heuer
Dede Gardner
Leslie Shatz
Bill Pohlad
John Ridley
John Ridley
Sean Bobbitt
Sean Bobbitt
Anthony Katagas
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Nana Fischer
Robert Jackson
David Stein
Nikki I Brown
Amy Wood
Jeremy Kleiner
Larry McConkey
Joe Walker
Carl Sprague
Adam Stockhausen
Alice Baker
François Duhamel
Solomon Northup
Monica Rene'e Anderson
Eric Bergman
Ma Kalaadevi Ananda
Andree Fortier
Jean Ann Black
Steven Ritzi
Lauren Ritchie
Dottie Starling
David Nash
Meagan Lewis
Matthew Gatlin
Carl Counts
Jude Erny
Jim Wallis
Taylor Weeks
Walter Schneider
David Rotondo
Michael S. Martin
Michael A. Johnson
Bryan Arenas
Henry Auerbach
Robert Jackson
Ryan Collins
Tim LeDoux
Jason Sanford
Lex D. Geddings
Jaap Buitendijk
Andy Shuttleworth
Mike McLaughlin
Dena Matranga
Dena Matranga
Katrina Schiller
Catherine Wilson
Poland Perkins
Eva Z. Cabrera
Michael Buster
M. Gerard Sellers
Scott T. Coppock
Shonta T. McCray
Yolanda Mercadel
Spooky Stevens
Adruitha Lee
Chris Flowers
Nick London
Bob Bates
Megan Richardson
Elbert Irving IV
Alissa M. Kantrow
Doug Torres
Dave Pultz
Vic Keatley
Joe Cassano
Jade Brandt
Patrick Wiley
Denise Pugh-Ruiz
Scott Morrison
Nick Leon
Franklin Jones II
Mike 'Chewie' Pappas
Byron Marigny
Brian Waltsak
Lee McLemore
Aaron P. Mastin
Erskin Mitchell
Eric DePoorter
Betty Hamnac
Julie Ebel
Brandon P. Watson
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Taglines: The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup..
Based on Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
The film is based on the real life of a free African American named Solomon Northup and tells the story of his life.1841th year, the city of Saratoga Springs, New York. Here lives and works a free black man who has incredible musical talent and managed to become famous among a narrow circle of fans of classical music and violin. Soon, Solomon begins touring, which ends in Washington. After another successful performance, he goes to a bar with his white friends, where they noisily celebrate the success of Solomon. But, waking up the next morning, Solomon discovers that he spent the night not in bed with his beloved wife, but in a ship’s hold, chained.
Solomon at first does not understand what happened, but along the way he realizes that his close friends, after he had drunk enough, sold him like a runaway black man and sent him to the southern states by ship. Here he is mistaken for a Negro nicknamed Platt, since he fits the description of an escaped man. It is put up for sale at auction and sold to a man named William Ford, who, oddly enough, is quite friendly with the newly acquired slave. Upon learning that Solomon plays the violin, he gives him an old musical instrument. But not all people treat slaves so courteously. Solomon will have to go through all kinds of trials and humiliations before returning to his family.
Creators: John Ridley
Director: Steve McQueen
Star Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard
Producer (s): Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas
Cinematographer: Sean Bobbitt
Music: Hans Zimmer
Production House: New Regency Productions, River Road Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment, Film4 Productions
Original network / Official Sites: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Entertainment One Films, Summit Entertainment
Release Year: 8 November 2013 (USA)
Runtime: 134 min
Genres: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Language: English
Subtitles: English
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. 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. Tibeats and his group try to hang Northup, but they are not successful. Northup is left on tiptoes with the noose around his neck for hours before Ford arrives and cuts Northup down. To save Northup’s life, Ford sells him to another slave owner named Edwin Epps. In the process, Northup attempts to explain that he is actually a free man, but Ford tells him he is too afraid and owes a debt for Northup’s purchase, so he will not help him.
Epps, unlike Ford, is ruthless and sadistic. Northup meets Patsey, a favored slave who can pick over 500 pounds of cotton a day, twice the usual quota. 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. 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.
Northup begins working on the construction of a gazebo with a Canadian laborer named Samuel Bass. Bass is unsettled by the brutal way that Epps treats his slaves and expresses his opposition to slavery, earning Epps’s enmity. Northup overhears the conversation and decides to reveal his kidnapping to Bass. Once again, Northup asks for help in getting a letter to New York. Although Bass is hesitant at first because of the risks, he agrees to send it. One day, the local sheriff arrives in a carriage with two men. The sheriff asks Northup a series of questions to confirm that his answers match the facts of his life in New York. Northup recognizes the sheriff’s companion as Mr. Parker, a shopkeeper he knew in Saratoga Springs. Parker has come to free him, and the two embrace, though an enraged Epps furiously protests the circumstances and tries to prevent Northup from leaving. Northup gives an emotional farewell to Patsey and rides off to his freedom.
Northup is returned to his home and family, crying as he walks up the steps. As he walks in, he sees his wife with their fully grown son and daughter, and his daughter’s husband, who present him with his grandson and namesake, Solomon Northup Staunton. Northup tearfully apologizes for his long absence while his family comforts him. 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.
