12 Years a Slave (2013)
Directed by Steve McQueen · 134 min · Drama, History
95.4 TOPICAL score · #26 of 6,776 films
Vote for it on the board →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.
12 Years a Slave (2013, directed by Steve McQueen) has a TOPICAL score of 95.4 - one of the 100 best movies of all time by TOPICAL's score. It scores highest on awards and historical impact, and lowest on legacy & cult status. It won 14 awards from 20 nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Critics: 95% on Rotten Tomatoes · 8.9/10 critics' average · Metacritic 96. Audiences: TMDB 7.9/10 (12,284 ratings) · IMDb 8.1/10. Wikipedia covers it in 78 languages, and the Library of Congress chose it for the National Film Registry.
Why this score
Each bar: better than this % of the 6,776 films we score. How the score works.
- Critics95% on Rotten Tomatoes · 8.9/10 critics' average · Metacritic 96
- AudienceTMDB 7.9/10 (12,284 ratings) · IMDb 8.1/10
- Awards14 wins, 20 nominations - incl. Academy Award for Best Picture; BAFTA Award for Best Film; Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
- ImpactWikipedia articles in 78 languages · National Film Registry
- Still read115,361 Wikipedia readers in the last 60 days
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor (actor #214), Michael Fassbender (actor #185), Lupita Nyong'o (actor #151), Benedict Cumberbatch (actor #65)
“The site's consensus states, "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."”
Wikipedia · read the article - AI legacy read: 8/10