Film4 Productions
New Regency Pictures
Plan B Entertainment
Regency Enterprises
River Road Entertainment
Not part of a collection.
12 Years a Slave
The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup.
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.
- Original title
- 12 Years a Slave
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $20,000,000
- Revenue
- $187,000,000
CinemaSerf
Jan 14, 2026 · via TMDB
There are plenty of stories of slaves in the USA, but this is the only one I’ve come across where a free citizen is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It’s this latter-day people trafficking that sees successful family man Solomon Northup (Chiwitel Ejiofor) fall foul of some villains, beaten savagely, then sold to work in the sugar plantations of Louisiana. He’s an intelligent man, a man of integrity and spirit - and that proves like red rag to a bull for both the cowardly bully “Tibeats” (Paul Dano) and later to the brutish “Epps” (Michael Fassbender) who quite literally considered his slaves as feudal property, his to use as he sees fit. Not only does that see plenty of opportunity for his whip hand to flex, but for him to treat the women as sex toys, despite the protestations of his increasingly embittered wife (Sarah Paulson). The relentlessness of this existences forces Solomon into a psychological cocoon in which he hopes to be able to survive, but when “Bass” (Brad Pitt) arrives espousing an altogether different attitude to enthralment, perhaps he can find something of his own élan? This is a grim indictment of a ghastly business. Steve McQueen spares us little of the culture of evil that existed, a culture that often underpinned it’s legitimacy by quoting scripture and a culture that considered the female slaves - superbly epitomised by Lupito Nyomg’o as “Patsey” - as nothing more than chattels. The production design sets an authentic looking scene with costumes and scenarios adding a richness to what is an impressive ensemble effort of acting talent that sees us impressed by just about everyone who has lines to deliver. There is something odiously visceral about Fassbender’s efforts here and with toxicity prevailing in just about every scene of his captivity, this presents a gruesome picture of brutality that’s often quite hard to watch. This is powerful and emotionally-charged cinema.
Shreyance Parakh
May 4, 2017 · via TMDB
**Dreaded at the thought that human kind ACTUALLY had this kind of livelihood at some point of time..** Could not gather my thoughts to write this review at the end of the movie.Feeling really bogged down by some heaviness on my chest. Thinking about the times in history when we actually used to do these atrocities on other human beings makes me cringe.To imagine waking up one day and find me in chains just because I'm a colored man and living my life like an unwanted child of god makes me question humanity altogether. Just sitting through a little over than 2 hours and watching this movie made my heart bleed, I can't even begin to think of the people who lived their entire lives as SLAVES... 12 years a slave heart breakingly makes you feel the pain and suffering of almost the entire human kind at one point of time or other. Direction by Steve McQueen is brilliant.Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a helpless slave in Solomon Northup to the hilt and also the small but impactive role played by Brad Pitt as a man with conscience is superb.Lupita Nyong'o's Patsey too was depicted heart warmingly. You can't help but question yourself that how could MAN stoop such low and do these cruel acts and that too over such a prolonged period of time without even a single ounce of doubt in his mind for what he would have to pay for his actions.. All in all a GEM of a movie showing one of the lowest point in human history !
post_orgasmic_mood
Feb 20, 2017 · via TMDB
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.
Andres Gomez
May 2, 2015 · via TMDB
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.
kineticandroid
Jun 21, 2014 · via TMDB
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.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Hulu
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Spectrum On Demand
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
Paul Giamatti
Theophilus Freeman
Brad Pitt
Samuel Bass
Michael Kenneth Williams
Robert
Alfre Woodard
Mistress Shaw
Chris Chalk
Clemens
Taran Killam
Hamilton
Bill Camp
Radburn
Kelsey Scott
Anne Northup
Bryan Batt
Judge Turner
Quvenzhané Wallis
Margaret Northup
Garret Dillahunt
Armsby
Dwight Henry
Uncle Abram
Dickie Gravois
Overseer
Ashley Dyke
Anna
Cameron Zeigler
Alonzo Northup
Tony Bentley
Mr. Moon
Christopher Berry
Burch
Craig Tate
John
Storm Reid
Emily
Tom Proctor
Biddee
Marc Macaulay
Captain
Vivian Fleming-Alvarez
Mulatto Woman
Douglas M. Griffin
Sailor
John McConnell
Jonus Ray
Marcus Lyle Brown
Jasper
Richard Holden
Fitzgerald
Rob Steinberg
Parker
Anwan Glover
Cape
James C. Victor
Buyer
Liza J. Bennett
Mistress Ford
Nicole Collins
Rachel
J.D. Evermore
Chapin
Andy Dylan
Treach
Deneen Tyler
Phebe
Mustafa Harris
Sam
Gregory Bright
Edward
Austin Purnell
Bob
Thomas Francis Murphy
Patroller
Andre De'Sean Shanks
Victim 1
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Victim 2
Scott M. Jefferson
Master Shaw
Topsy Chapman
Slave Spiritual Singer 1
Devin Maurice Evans
Slave Spiritual Singer 2
Jay Huguley
Sheriff
Devyn A. Tyler
Margaret Northup (adult)
Willo Jean-Baptiste
Margaret's Husband
Jason Ament
Cooke (uncredited)
Jon Arthur
Steamboat Crew 1st Mate (uncredited)
Sean Paul Braud
Lynchman (uncredited)
Blake Burt
Upper Class Pedestrian (uncredited)
Edward J. Clare
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Haylie Creppel
Child in the Park (uncredited)
John C. Klein
Lumber Mill Customer (uncredited)
Ritchie Montgomery
Roadman (uncredited)
Shawn Parsons
Road Man (uncredited)
Wayne Péré
Winslow (uncredited)
Terrell Ransom Jr.
Slave Boy (uncredited)
Andre Robinson
Slave Boy (uncredited)
Corrina Roshea Bobb
Slave Buyer (uncredited)
Adam Stockhausen
Production Design
Sean Bobbitt
Camera Operator
Sean Bobbitt
Director of Photography
François Duhamel
Still Photographer
Adruitha Lee
Hair Department Head
Andy Dylan
Stunt Coordinator
Lex D. Geddings
Stunt Coordinator
Steve McQueen
Director
Joe Walker
Editor
Bianca Stigter
Associate Producer
Francine Maisler
Casting
John Ridley
Executive Producer
Tessa Ross
Executive Producer
Anthony Katagas
Producer
Arnon Milchan
Producer
Bianca Stigter
Producer
Bill Pohlad
Producer
Brad Pitt
Producer
Dede Gardner
Producer
Jeremy Kleiner
Producer
Steve McQueen
Producer
Anthony Katagas
Unit Production Manager
Hans Zimmer
Original Music Composer
Alicia Keys
Songs
Chris Cornell
Songs
John Legend
Songs
Joy Williams
Songs
Nicholas Britell
Songs
Leslie Shatz
Sound Designer
Tim LeDoux
Visual Effects Supervisor
Solomon Northup
Novel
John Ridley
Screenplay
Catch the Black Sunshine
Courtship
The Wildman Massacre
Luz, Câmera, 50 Anos: Dalva e Herivelto, Uma Canção de Amor - O Filme
BAUS: The Ship's Voyage Continues
Fear on Trial
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Pianist
Gladiator
Saving Private Ryan
A Brighter Summer Day
Clouds
Atatürk II 1881 – 1919
Full Metal Jacket
La Haine
All About Eve
There Will Be Blood
American Beauty
The Secret in Their Eyes
Jean Moulin, une affaire française
Drei Tage im April
Not So Long Ago
Little Girl Lost
Hope Dies Last
Zmowa
Za ranních červánků
Until The Last of You
Million Dollar Baby
Freedom Writers
A Man Escaped
Ben-Hur
Downfall
On the Waterfront
A Beautiful Mind
Papillon
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Kokuho
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Into the Wild
Straight Outta Compton
The Hateful Eight
The Straight Story
The Color Purple
Manhattan
Annie Hall
The Leopard
October Sky
Mississippi Burning
The Blind Side
Fried Green Tomatoes
A Million Miles Away
Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Coach Carter
Malcolm X
Beautiful Boy
Spartacus
Moulin Rouge!
Aurore
Fearless
Walk the Line
The Man Who Would Be King
The Secret Life of Bees
Lång-Lasse i Delsbo
Brutal Season
NUKED
The Fugitive
The Wave
Marty
Enemy at the Gates
American Me
Being John Malkovich
Sense and Sensibility
The Right Stuff
Black Hawk Down
The Counterfeiters
The Man in the Moon
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Interview with the Vampire
A Time to Kill
Lord of War
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Sissi
A Man for All Seasons
An American Crime
The Greatest Game Ever Played
10 Rillington Place
Kneecap
Conspiracy
The Last Full Measure
Pleasantville
Ip Man 4: The Finale
Chandu Champion
Driving Miss Daisy
Spare Parts
The Boys in the Boat
West Side Story
Maria Full of Grace
Monster
Out of Africa
Seven Years in Tibet
Crash
A Bridge Too Far
84 Charing Cross Road
Antarctica
Taking Chance
Operette
Invictus
Becket
12 Mighty Orphans
The English Patient
The Upside
Sissi: The Young Empress
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
Straw Dogs
The Wild Child
Scum
Les Damnés de la Commune
Father Stu
Sea of Time
Seabiscuit
Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story
Cool Runnings
Mary Kom
Inland Empire
The Common Man
Hoosiers
Running Scared
What's Love Got to Do with It
Oliver!
Saint Ralph
All the King's Men
Ragtime
Monarch
Jemima + Johnny
Barbed Wire and Mandolins
Extraordinary Commissar
The Man from Snowy River
The Duchess
Heavenly Creatures
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Passengers
Amazing Grace
A Christmas Carol
Dream
Sam Bahadur
Alive
The Dam Busters
Friday Night Lights
Antwone Fisher
Old Yeller
Jane Eyre
Lady Sings the Blues
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
The Bounty
Born Free
Northanger Abbey
Little Lord Fauntleroy
The Purple Gang
Solomon Northup's Odyssey
Against the Law
Marco: The Invented Truth
Chopper
The Dish
Chariots of Fire
Owning Mahowny
Newsies
Bleeder
Marie Antoinette
The Return of Martin Guerre
Van Gogh
The Tracker
Going My Way
Henry V
Moffie
Jarhead
Kuduz
Park Row
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
The Soloist
Hey, I'm Alive
Back to Black
Breach
The Sugarland Express
The Children of Huang Shi
Coco Chanel
Walking Tall
Sobibor
How I Fell in Love with a Gangster
BabaKiueria
Rosewood
Joy
Cantinflas
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Buccaneer
Age 13
Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story
Nobody Loves Kay
What Lies Beneath
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Gods and Generals
Great Expectations
Sunshine
Next Goal Wins
The Silent Twins
Sommersby
Battle in Seattle
Husband Father Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Sixty Glorious Years
Boléro
Little Pink House
Godforsaken!
Worlds Apart
Blaze
The Legend of King Naresuan 1
Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7
Outlaw
Kartini: Princess of Java
World Trade Center
Miss Austen Regrets
In the Name of the Law
Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many
Wonderland
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Normal Life
A Mother's Touch
The Samurai of Edo
Žofka z Janovic
SHEUT
Roe vs. Wade
Texas Rangers
The Gray Man
Belizaire the Cajun
Under The Greenwood Tree
Apple Mortgage Cake
All the King's Men
Uproar
Chasing Yesterday
Wallflower
The Naked Cell
Victoria the Great
Any Mother's Son
Most Beautiful Island
The Stalking of Laurie Show
Vixen!
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving
Two Gentlemen Sharing
Van Diemen's Land
I Am Still Here
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Dahmer
Ilaingan
Justice for Annie
The Hillside Strangler
Running on Empty
Shudra: The Rising
Maladonna
We Are Monster
A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story
Jamaica Inn
Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden
The Miner's Son
Vampire Wars
Enough
Japan
The Passion of Remembrance
Ablaze
Billion Dollar Spy
A-Hu
The Goldfish Club
Mille scudi
Remember Us
Bellingham’s Belief
Pařížská komuna
Veľkomožní páni
The Butterflies Still Fly
Another in the Fire
The Face of the Faceless
Dumas: Black Devil
The Montreal Protocol
Skok
Are You from Dixie?
THE STOP
Hear Me Roar
The Sex Act
Untitled Bertrand Russell Biopic
The Idaho Murders
Ulkar
Essentially Amy
Untitled Bela Lugosi Biopic
The Stunt Driver
North of Heaven
Fish
To Go to the Moon
Burn Boston Burn
Untitled
The Shawshank Redemption
Django Unchained
Dallas Buyers Club
Truth & Treason
Emancipation
Cabrini
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Glory
The Last of the Mohicans
A Time to Kill
Matewan
The Great Debaters
Lawless
The Beguiled
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Shattered Glass
Pretty Baby
Runaway Jury
Oranges and Sunshine
Lincoln
The Railway Man
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Free State of Jones
Nickel Boys
May December
Rosewood
The Birth of a Nation
Son of the South
Being the Ricardos
Rambling Rose
Frankie & Alice
The Birth of a Nation
Waiting for the Barbarians
I Walk the Line
Aug 30, 2013
Telluride Film Festival
Oct 8, 2013
New York Film Festival
Oct 18, 2013
Nov 8, 2013
Mar 4, 2014
