Sidney Lumet 1924 - 2011

Sidney Lumet passed away at the age of 86 today. I feel the need to bring this up and comment on it as I found him to be one of the better filmmakers the cinema world had ever seen. I always found myself enjoying most of his movies, and sometimes I'd watch a new movie out of the blue, and I'd be surprised to see his name pop up at the end to start the credits.
He had quite a career that spanned over 5 decades, I don't know of many directors who can stake that claim, directing movies in the 50's all the way to 2007's critically acclaimed Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. He directed that movie at the age of 81, amazingly enough. Sadly it would be the last work of his career and life as he battled with lymphoma until the end.

I'd like to point out my absolute favorite Lumet films in no particular order, just films that stuck with me, and stood out among others. He had a very unique visual style ahead of its time really, I find David Cronenberg has a similar shooting style. I and many others would agree Lumet's prime is definately his 70's movies, he dished out absolute gems during that decade.

Network (1976) is probably my most favorite from him, When you watch a Lumet film, you notice the performances more then anything. Now of course that's a testament to the actors and their dialogues but Lumet captured great performances better then anybody. Infamous for letting long monologues be done in single takes, this is no more apparant then in Network, beautifully written and beautifully shot. Definitely my favourite.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Maybe the first Lumet film I had ever seen, and I watched it with my father who practically forced me to watch what he thought was a masterpiece. He didn't disappoint. Loved everything about this movie, and Pacino really stood out to me for the first time I had ever watched him, instead of the crazed shouting old man he became in the 90's. This movie was the first time I saw Pacino's talent, and like i said, Lumet captured it better then anyone.

Serpico (1973) Another stand out performance from Pacino. Another true story, another masterful display of filmmaking.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Lumet's last but goes out with a bang. Good story that Sidney turns into a great intense ride. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke and even Albert Finney stand out with, again, great performances.

Equus (1977)  Now, I know.. It's an odd movie, a strange concept and I realized only now how many movies I HAVEN'T seen from Sidney (he had quite a lot). But I honestly enjoyed watching this one. I loved the way it was shot and told, the way Richard Burton keeps talking to us, the viewer, throughout the movie with such passion and intensity. Again odd movie but I loved the oddness!

Unfortunately, I haven't had the pleasure to see his first real big break into directing: his 1957 hit, 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda (hey, he started off with a bang AND went out with a bang!), IMDB seems to rank it pretty high on the top 250, but I've just never got around to seeing it. But I'll definately make it a priority!

Rest in Peace, Sidney. We lost a great talent today, and I am glad I can say that I've watched some of your brilliant work and that I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. I also plan to read your acclaimed book Making Movies. I hear its one of the best insights to filmmaking 101.

-The Silver Screen Junkie