Saturday, April 09, 2011

RIP Sidney Lumet (1924–2011)

One of my true all time favorite directors . Sidney Lumet, died today at age 86 at his Manhattan home says THR



Lumet made over 40 movies often intelligent, complex stories like those he did with Al Pacino. A class by themselves

Serpico Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of the City, Q & A  and one of the finest court dramas ever 12 Angry Men are all gems







Born on June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia, the son of actor Baruch Lumet Lumet, he made his stage debut at age four at the Yiddish Art Theater in New York. He played many roles on Broadway in the 1930s (such as "Dead End"), and his acting debut in films came in ...One Third of a Nation...

In 1947 he started an off-Broadway acting troupe that included such future stars as Yul Brynner and Eli Wallach, and other former members of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio who had become unsatisfied with Strasberg's concepts

Lumet directed Marlon Brando in the imperfect but very good The Fugitive Kind Lumet's star packed British adaptation of  Murder on the Orient Express is a winner too just to get that much talent in one film WOW!

Perehaps the best media satire Network earned ten Academy Award nominations (including Picture and Director) and won in four categories (Best Actor for Peter Finch, Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, Best Original Screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight). There's the entertaining thriller Deathtrap

Lumet directed another masterful courtroom drama, The Verdict starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Jack Warden and Charlotte Rampling.

I could go on and on...

Lumet never stuck to one genre for too long (Thank goodness for us) His philosophy on Making Movies was passed on to me in my college film program--One of the only books I kept from that time--still sits on my bookshelf as I write this...

6 Things to Know About Director Sidney Lumet

Rest Easy Sir and Thank You....

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