RIP Sidney Lumet
#1
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Near the Great Salt Lake
Posts: 1,400
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RIP Sidney Lumet
The New York Times, among other sites, is reporting that Sidney Lumet has died.
He was responsible for a heck of a lot of good and great films.
I think I might do a double-feature of "12 Angry Men" and "Network" today (or maybe I'll watch something of his that I've never seen before.)
Originally Posted by The New York Times
Sidney Lumet, a director who preferred the streets of New York to the back lots of Hollywood and whose stories of conscience — “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Verdict,” “Network” — became modern American film classics, died Saturday morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 86.
His stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel, said the cause was lymphoma.
"While the goal of all movies is to entertain,” Mr. Lumet once wrote, “the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”
Social issues set his own mental juices flowing, and his best films not only probed the consequences of prejudice, corruption and betrayal but also celebrated individual acts of courage.
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/mo...t-86.html?_r=2
His stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel, said the cause was lymphoma.
"While the goal of all movies is to entertain,” Mr. Lumet once wrote, “the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”
Social issues set his own mental juices flowing, and his best films not only probed the consequences of prejudice, corruption and betrayal but also celebrated individual acts of courage.
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/mo...t-86.html?_r=2
I think I might do a double-feature of "12 Angry Men" and "Network" today (or maybe I'll watch something of his that I've never seen before.)
Last edited by Sondheim; 04-09-11 at 11:26 AM.
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: 75 clicks above the Do Lung bridge...
Posts: 18,946
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
He was one of the best directors America ever produced.
It's a shame he isn't known as such. Instead, other mediocre directors who make crowd-pleasing 'blockbusters' get mentioned as such.
It's a shame he isn't known as such. Instead, other mediocre directors who make crowd-pleasing 'blockbusters' get mentioned as such.
#4
DVD Talk Hero - 2023 TOTY Award Winner
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
That's too bad. While not likely to be remembered as one of this top 2 or 3 directorial efforts, but for me he will always be very fondly associated with Running on Empty.
#7
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Formerly known as "Solid Snake PAC"/Denton, Tx
Posts: 39,239
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
4 Posts
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
suprmallet? I...I don't see that in his filmography...
on topic:
Damn...I was actually wondering when this was going to happen..he was getting up there in age.
on topic:
Damn...I was actually wondering when this was going to happen..he was getting up there in age.
#8
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
I keep forgetting just how many films he's done that are among my all time favorites.
Spoiler:
Network blew my mind when I finally saw it 6 or 7 years ago. It's the reason I no longer own a TV. Can't say much about his work post '82 as I haven't seen any of it, but The Verdict is one of Newman's best films and often gets lost in the shuffle of both their filmographies.
Didn't realize he did The Wiz either.
#11
DVD Talk Limited Edition
#12
DVD Talk Legend
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
One of the U.S.'s greatest. I just rewatched The Verdict a couple of weeks ago.
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: 75 clicks above the Do Lung bridge...
Posts: 18,946
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
I was just discussing this with someone, and noted how happy I was 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' was his final film.
Like a little reminder of what a master can do with a movie as a parting work.
Quite a few of the 'Oscar winning genius' hacks that come up in any 'best American directors' discussions will never make a film on that level.
Like a little reminder of what a master can do with a movie as a parting work.
Quite a few of the 'Oscar winning genius' hacks that come up in any 'best American directors' discussions will never make a film on that level.
#14
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
RIP, indeed.
You can stack up Sidney Lumet's career against any of the more acclaimed great directors. So many fine films, and I think it can be well-argued that he was the best American director of the last half of the 20th century (along with Kubrick and Scorsese). It is a pity that he isn't as well-known as he should be.
I just watched The Hill a few weeks ago, which is in itself a great film that few people remember and doesn't get mentioned much even when discussing Lumet. The man was a damn fine filmmaker, and extremely versatile in the types and styles of films he made.
You can stack up Sidney Lumet's career against any of the more acclaimed great directors. So many fine films, and I think it can be well-argued that he was the best American director of the last half of the 20th century (along with Kubrick and Scorsese). It is a pity that he isn't as well-known as he should be.
I just watched The Hill a few weeks ago, which is in itself a great film that few people remember and doesn't get mentioned much even when discussing Lumet. The man was a damn fine filmmaker, and extremely versatile in the types and styles of films he made.
#15
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: 75 clicks above the Do Lung bridge...
Posts: 18,946
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
Ebert just posted this.
To think of the hacks that have 'Best Director' Oscars and compare them to Lumet. A joke.
Sidney Lumet: In memory
BY ROGER EBERT / April 9, 2011
Sidney Lumet was one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors. He was not only a great artist but a much-loved man. When the news of his death at 86 arrived on Saturday, it came as a shock, because he had continued so long to be so productive.
Of his final film, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), I wrote: "This is a movie, I promise you, that grabs you and won't let you think of anything else. It's wonderful when a director like Lumet wins a Lifetime Achievement Oscar at 80, and three years later makes one of his greatest achievements." Like many of his films, it went on my list of the year's ten best.
Although he was not as widely known to the general public as directors like Scorsese, Spielberg, Eastwood and Spike Lee, his films were at the center of our collective memories. To name only a few of their titles is to suggest the measure of his gift:
"Network." "Dog Day Afternoon." "12 Angry Men." "Serpico." "Prince of the City." "The Pawnbroker." "Fail-Safe." "Long Day's Journey into Night." "The Verdict."
Most of his films were set in his native New York City. Although he was nominated four times as best director, he never won an Academy award until his honorary Oscar; that may have been partly because he was not part of the Hollywood community but preferred a milieu he understood inside-out.
He was a thoughtful director, who gathered the best collaborators he could find and channeled their resources into a focused vision. He shared his thoughts about that in his 1996 book "Making Movies." If you care to read only one book about the steps in the making of a film, make it that one. There is not a boast in it, not a word of idle puffery. It is all about the work.
To say he lacked a noticeable visual style is a compliment. He reduced every scene to its necessary elements, and filmed them, he liked to say, "invisibly." You should not be thinking about the camera. He wanted you to think about the characters and the story.
Sidney Lumet was born June 24, 1924, in Philadelphia, the son of Polish immigrants who were actors in the Yiddish theater. The boy was onstage from his earliest years. After service in World War Two, he began to direct in small New York companies and then moved in on the ground floor in the new medium of television.
Lumet, like such contemporaries as Arthur Penn and John Frankenheimer, was a key director in the golden age of live TV drama. He was an early director for Edward R. Murrow's "You Are There." His first feature was "12 Angry Men," considered the best of all filmed dramas about a criminal trial. It had a visual style (he slowly lowered the POV of view as tension increased), but, typically, audiences were not aware of it.
In 1962 he filmed a historic adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night," and in 1964 launched Rod Steiger's movie career with "The Pawnbroker." Film followed film, many of them based on ethical issues, although he preferred to deeply embody his messages instead of stating them obviously.
Other strong films followed. In addition to his most famous titles, these had my special admiration: "Daniel," "Power," "Q&A," "Critical Care" and "Gloria." He remained remarkably youthful, and in 2006 was able to see the serious dramatic potential of Vin Diesel, dismissed as an action star, and use it for a remarkable performance in "Find Me Guilty," the story of a Mafioso trial.
Lumet was married four times, to the actress Rita Game; the heiress Gloria Vanderbilt; Gail Jones, daughter of Lena Horne; and, in 1980, to Mary Gimbel, who survives him. He is also survived by Amy and Jenny Lumet, his daughters by Miss Jones; a stepson, Bailey Gimbel; nine grandchildren and a great grandson. Jenny Lumet went into the family business, as an actress and the author of the award-winning screenplay for Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married" (2008).
The cause of death, his wife said, was lymphoma. The tears shed at his memorial services will be genuine.
BY ROGER EBERT / April 9, 2011
Sidney Lumet was one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors. He was not only a great artist but a much-loved man. When the news of his death at 86 arrived on Saturday, it came as a shock, because he had continued so long to be so productive.
Of his final film, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), I wrote: "This is a movie, I promise you, that grabs you and won't let you think of anything else. It's wonderful when a director like Lumet wins a Lifetime Achievement Oscar at 80, and three years later makes one of his greatest achievements." Like many of his films, it went on my list of the year's ten best.
Although he was not as widely known to the general public as directors like Scorsese, Spielberg, Eastwood and Spike Lee, his films were at the center of our collective memories. To name only a few of their titles is to suggest the measure of his gift:
"Network." "Dog Day Afternoon." "12 Angry Men." "Serpico." "Prince of the City." "The Pawnbroker." "Fail-Safe." "Long Day's Journey into Night." "The Verdict."
Most of his films were set in his native New York City. Although he was nominated four times as best director, he never won an Academy award until his honorary Oscar; that may have been partly because he was not part of the Hollywood community but preferred a milieu he understood inside-out.
He was a thoughtful director, who gathered the best collaborators he could find and channeled their resources into a focused vision. He shared his thoughts about that in his 1996 book "Making Movies." If you care to read only one book about the steps in the making of a film, make it that one. There is not a boast in it, not a word of idle puffery. It is all about the work.
To say he lacked a noticeable visual style is a compliment. He reduced every scene to its necessary elements, and filmed them, he liked to say, "invisibly." You should not be thinking about the camera. He wanted you to think about the characters and the story.
Sidney Lumet was born June 24, 1924, in Philadelphia, the son of Polish immigrants who were actors in the Yiddish theater. The boy was onstage from his earliest years. After service in World War Two, he began to direct in small New York companies and then moved in on the ground floor in the new medium of television.
Lumet, like such contemporaries as Arthur Penn and John Frankenheimer, was a key director in the golden age of live TV drama. He was an early director for Edward R. Murrow's "You Are There." His first feature was "12 Angry Men," considered the best of all filmed dramas about a criminal trial. It had a visual style (he slowly lowered the POV of view as tension increased), but, typically, audiences were not aware of it.
In 1962 he filmed a historic adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night," and in 1964 launched Rod Steiger's movie career with "The Pawnbroker." Film followed film, many of them based on ethical issues, although he preferred to deeply embody his messages instead of stating them obviously.
Other strong films followed. In addition to his most famous titles, these had my special admiration: "Daniel," "Power," "Q&A," "Critical Care" and "Gloria." He remained remarkably youthful, and in 2006 was able to see the serious dramatic potential of Vin Diesel, dismissed as an action star, and use it for a remarkable performance in "Find Me Guilty," the story of a Mafioso trial.
Lumet was married four times, to the actress Rita Game; the heiress Gloria Vanderbilt; Gail Jones, daughter of Lena Horne; and, in 1980, to Mary Gimbel, who survives him. He is also survived by Amy and Jenny Lumet, his daughters by Miss Jones; a stepson, Bailey Gimbel; nine grandchildren and a great grandson. Jenny Lumet went into the family business, as an actress and the author of the award-winning screenplay for Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married" (2008).
The cause of death, his wife said, was lymphoma. The tears shed at his memorial services will be genuine.
#17
DVD Talk Gold Edition
#18
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
Enjoyed immensely 12 Angry Men and Fail Safe.
Didn't care for the rest of his work. (Including Dog Day, which is massively over-hyped, IMO.)
Didn't care for the rest of his work. (Including Dog Day, which is massively over-hyped, IMO.)
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
A great director...he will be missed
#21
Banned by request
#22
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
Sad to see him go, but I'm glad he was able to go out on a good film (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) - he was a true American original.
#23
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
RIP, he was one of the great ones.
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: RIP Sidney Lumet
To say he lacked a noticeable visual style is a compliment. He reduced every scene to its necessary elements, and filmed them, he liked to say, "invisibly." You should not be thinking about the camera. He wanted you to think about the characters and the story.
Which makes it all the more disappointing to see another classical storyteller pass on...
Great eulogy as usual from RE