VALE Sidney Lumet
April 11th 2011 08:23
Lumet receives the OSCAR Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005.
My birthday will never be the same again, as I will now always think of a great man of cinema on that day, April the 9th.
We have lost another icon of cinema, director Sidney Lumet. His opus contains some of America's greatest films. Lumet loved to delve into the gritty underbelly of human nature. One of Lumet's greatest films, Twelve Angry Men, I saw again just recently and it had lost none of its powerful impact.
Official poster; copyright see below
Lumet captured the hot house of the jury room; where one man's doubt, about the veracity of the evidence, fights a long battle against indifference, selfishness, fear of intimidation and bigotry, to bring his fellow jurors to personal introspection of their motives and thereby illuminating the errors of their personal judgement in the mattter at hand.
Extraodinary performances by this ensemble cast carried the viewer through the emotional maze of what was eating America the time it was shot, as rights for the "blacks" had not yet been given, segregation still being the socially accepted and legal norm.
Lumet with Pacino on Dog Day Afternoon.
Other fabulous films by the great Sidney Lumet are;
Long Days Journey into Night (1962),
The Pawnbroker (1964),
Fail-Safe (1964),
Serpico (1974),
Dog Day Afternoon (1975),
Network (1976),
Equus (1977) among many other powerful statements about society. Everyone of the films in that short-list I absolutely adore.
Lumet was the kind of director that put his ego in the back seat and let the protagonist's plight tell the story, allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves into the film. This, to me, is the hallmark of a great director.
Honour Sidney Lumet, HIRE some of his films this Easter Holidays!
VALE THE GREAT SIDNEY LUMET
AWARDS and NOMINATIONS
1957
12 Angry Men. 3 Oscar Nominations.
1962
Long Day's Journey into Night. 1 Oscar Nomination.
1965
The Pawnbroker. 1 Oscar Nomination.
1970
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis. 1 Oscar Nomination.
1973 Serpico. 2 Oscar Nominations.
1974
Murder on the Orient Express. 1 WIN. 6 Oscar Nominations.
1975
Dog Day Afternoon. 1 WIN. 6 Nominations.
1976
Network. 4 WINS. 10 Nominations.
1977
Equus. 3 Nominations.
1978
The Wiz. 4 Nominations.
1981
Prince of the City. 1 Nomination.
1982
The Verdict. 5 Nominations.
1986
The Morning After. 1 Nomination.
1988
Running on Empty. 2 Nominations.
FILMOGRAPHY
1957: 12 Angry Men
1958: Stage Struck
1959: That Kind of Woman
1959: The Fugitive Kind
1961: A View from the Bridge
1962: Long Day's Journey into Night
1964: The Pawnbroker
1964: Fail-Safe
1965: The Hill
1966: The Group
1967: The Deadly Affair
1968: Bye Bye Braverman
1968: The Sea Gull
1969: The Appointment
1970: King: A Filmed Record. Montgomery to Memphis
1970: Last of the Mobile Hot Shots
1971: The Anderson Tapes
1972: Child's Play
1972: The Offence
1973: Serpico
1974: Lovin' Molly
1974: Murder on the Orient Express
1975: Dog Day Afternoon
1976: Network
1977: Equus
1978: The Wiz
1980: Just Tell Me What You Want
1981: Prince of the City
1982: Deathtrap
1982: The Verdict
1983: Daniel
1984: Garbo Talks
1986: Power
1986: The Morning After
1988: Running on Empty
1989: Family Business
1990: Q & A
1992: A Stranger Among Us
1993: Guilty as Sin
1997: Night Falls on Manhattan
1997: Critical Care
1999: Gloria
2004: Strip Search
2006: Find Me Guilty
2007: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Image Credits and Permissions:
All images and trailers are copyright owned by the Production Company and/or Distributors and Publishers, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Images used here to illustrate the work of the director Sidney Lumet, low res copies, not meant for redistribution.
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Mountain Fog
Comment by Bryn Tilly
Horrorphile
Dog Day Afternoon is my personal favourite.
I didn't know he directed The Wiz.
Nor Murder on the Orient Express.
Nor The Morning After either.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
yeah, I also loved Dog Day, extraordinary performance by Pacino.
And no, I had no idea he directed Orient Express or the Wiz!!!
never saw the Wiz, but have watched Murder on the Orient Express a few times over the years, on TV, which may explain me missing who directed it.
We are losing the last remaining few of that amazing era of film...
cheers
fog
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
The Verdict is a great one too with a top Paul Newman performance.
He was also the creator of and heavily involved with an absolutely brilliant, short-lived TV series called 100 Centre Street about a decade ago which is well worth checking out.
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by Bryn Tilly
Horrorphile
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
yes a very great loss. I have seen The Verdict too, loved Newman, have not seen Family Business or Prince of the City that I remember, ,ust get to the DVD store and check them out.
cheers
fog
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
yeah, Serpico is fab, but, I loved 12 Angry Men the most, and Dog Day, Failsafe, etc....I am just repeating myself here.
cheers
fog
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT BOOK!!!!!
I am not going to ask to borrow it, of course, it is far too precious, but, please give me the library code info, and title, I might be able to source it for myself.
cheers
fog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Great to see some love for Equus!
I love all those listed but am surprised that his collaborations with Connery didn't make the cut. For me they are Sean's finest non Bond performances (Orient Express, Anderson Tapes, The Hill, The Offense.)