Sidney Lumet (June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter with over 50 films to his name, including 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982), all of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.
The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He is noted by Turner Classic Movies for his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work, and critic Roger Ebert describes him as having been "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors." Lumet became known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director."
Lumet began his career as an Off Broadway director, then became a highly efficient TV director. His first movie was typical of his best work: a well-acted, tightly written, deeply considered "problem picture," 12 Angry Men (1957). Since then, Lumet has divided his energies among other idealistic problem pictures along with literate adaptations of plays and novels, big stylish pictures, and New York-based black comedies. As a result of directing 12 Angry Men, he was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made a successful transition from TV to movies. For being one of the most reliable and dependable directors of the last half-century, in 2005 he received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his "brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture." Two years later, Lumet concluded his career with the acclaimed drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007).
The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He is noted by Turner Classic Movies for his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work, and critic Roger Ebert describes him as having been "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors." Lumet became known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director."
Lumet began his career as an Off Broadway director, then became a highly efficient TV director. His first movie was typical of his best work: a well-acted, tightly written, deeply considered "problem picture," 12 Angry Men (1957). Since then, Lumet has divided his energies among other idealistic problem pictures along with literate adaptations of plays and novels, big stylish pictures, and New York-based black comedies. As a result of directing 12 Angry Men, he was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made a successful transition from TV to movies. For being one of the most reliable and dependable directors of the last half-century, in 2005 he received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his "brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture." Two years later, Lumet concluded his career with the acclaimed drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007).
Sidney Lumet in Toronto, 2007
Directing techniques
Lumet had always preferred naturalism and/or realism, according to Joanna Rapf. He did not like the "decorator's look"; rarely did he want "the camera to call attention to itself; the editing must be unobtrusive." His cinematographer, Ron Fortunato, said "Sidney flips if he sees a look that's too artsy."
Partly because he was willing and able to take on so many significant social issues and problems, "he can deliver powerhouse performances from lead actors, and fine work from character actors," writes film historian Thomson. He is "one of the stalwart figures of New York moviemaking. He abides by good scripts, when he gets them."
According to Katz's Film Encyclopedia, "Although critical evaluation of Lumet's work wavered widely from film to film, on the whole the director's body of work has been held in high esteem. Critical opinion has generally viewed him as a sensitive and intelligent director who possesses considerable good taste, the courage to experiment with a variety of techniques and styles, and an uncommon gift for handling actors.”
In a quote from his book, Lumet emphasized the logistics of directing:
Lumet, in a statement posted on IMDB, said, "If I don't have a script I adore, I do one I like. If I don't have one I like, I do one that has an actor I like or that presents some technical challenge."
Partly because he was willing and able to take on so many significant social issues and problems, "he can deliver powerhouse performances from lead actors, and fine work from character actors," writes film historian Thomson. He is "one of the stalwart figures of New York moviemaking. He abides by good scripts, when he gets them."
According to Katz's Film Encyclopedia, "Although critical evaluation of Lumet's work wavered widely from film to film, on the whole the director's body of work has been held in high esteem. Critical opinion has generally viewed him as a sensitive and intelligent director who possesses considerable good taste, the courage to experiment with a variety of techniques and styles, and an uncommon gift for handling actors.”
In a quote from his book, Lumet emphasized the logistics of directing:
- "Someone once asked me what making a movie was like. I said it was like making a mosaic. Each setup is like a tiny tile (a setup, the basic component of a film's production, consists of one camera position and its associated lighting). You color it, shape it, polish it as best you can. You'll do six or seven hundred of these, maybe a thousand. (There can easily be that many setups in a movie.) Then you literally paste them together and hope it's what you set out to do."
Lumet, in a statement posted on IMDB, said, "If I don't have a script I adore, I do one I like. If I don't have one I like, I do one that has an actor I like or that presents some technical challenge."
Vision of future films
In the same interview with NY Magazine, when asked what he foresaw as the next wave of filmmaking, he responded, "Well, we were shooting out in Astoria, and one day I was watching all these kids standing outside a school near the studio. It was just marvelous: Indian girls in saris, kids from Pakistan, Korea, kids from all over. So I think you'll see more directors from these communities, telling their stories. You know, I started out making films about Jews and Italians and Irish because I didn't know anything else."Filmography (also from Wikipedia):
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Notes by the blog author: Lumet made some groundbreaking and almost counterculture movies. Eye witness testimony was regarded as the gold standard for felony trials in the 1950s, a view sharply and correctly challenged by 12 Angry Men. I cannot say enough in praise of Failsafe, a movie obviously made about the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and the proximity of global thermonuclear war – I was a paperboy delivering the afternoon news to homes five miles from the Pentagon in October of 1962. I spent Sunday afternoons at the Officers' Athletic Club of the Pentagon listening and absorbing what was being gamed and thought through. Failsafe accurately portrays game theory as it applies to thermonuclear exchanges. The only other cold war exposition of this caliber is Khrushchev Remembers, the secret memoires of forcedly retired Nikita Khrushchev which were smuggled out of Russia and became a non-fiction bestseller in the west.
For real controversy, perhaps not even The Stuntman can match the controversy around the film version of Prince of the City, a movie filmed in New York about New York local corruption, a Serpico on steroids. After terrible reviews in New York, the film had trouble with distribution and was hacked down to a television mini-series. It may have ruined the career of leading actor Treat Williams. Prince of the City deserves a director's cut original version DVD; Lumet's original version, along with the original book, provide a triumph of exposing local corruption in the United States of America.
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