In the early morning hours of April 9th, the world lost a great director … a great American director. Sidney Lumet died at his home in his beloved Manhattan from lymphoma at the age of 86; and while the man may be gone he leaves behind an incredible film legacy that started in 1957 with 12 Angry Men and ended in 2007 with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
Lumet had a penchant for choosing films that focused on average, everyday people in some kind of conflict: the jurors of 12 Angry Men disagreeing over their decision; the honest cop Serpico surrounded by a corrupt force; the gay man of Dog Day Afternoon willing to rob a bank for his lover’s sex change operation; the middle-aged Gloria, who stands up to the mob and protects a child whose family had been gunned down; the woman in The Morning After who wakes up next to a murdered man not knowing if she did it; even the political and military leaders who launch a nuclear counter-attack on Moscow in Fail-Safe, but discover the supposed attack was actually an electrical malfunction in the warning system. Lumet’s films were talky and cerebral but were always gripping due to his skillful direction, his mastery with actors.
Lumet didn’t stick completely with the gritty drama, but his one foray into the whimsical was pretty much his last: The Wiz! The film certainly has become kind of a cult classic, and it’s not entirely unwatchable but the wonky casting of Diana Ross in a role meant for a young girl just gets everything off on the wrong foot. But, it also gave us Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, the great Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Richard Pryor as The Wiz and the legendary Lena Horne as Glinda the Good. It’s bizarre and gritty for a musical, but for my money it stands head and shoulders above that other legendary New York-based director’s musical dalliance: Scorsese‘s New York, New York (which I can’t get through without falling asleep).
I have several favorite Lumet films, and I’ve asked my colleagues here at CliqueClack about their favorite Lumet films and here’s what they had to say:
Jen: Network was such a groundbreaking movie — “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Where the hell is that attitude now? Apart from Stewart and Colbert.
Chuck: Love Network! What a cast: William Holden, Faye Dunaway and the late, great Peter Finch, who deservedly won a posthumous Oscar for his role as the newscaster who had just had enough. And how relevant is this movie today?!?!
Michael: I’m a Dog Day Afternoon lover. It’s one of those films I will sit and watch time and again, especially if I’m surfing the channels and it pops up unexpectedly. Doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it (I think the last count was “countless”), I’m planted in front of the set eyeballing it once again.
Bob: I went through a small Agatha Christie phase as a youth, so you can probably guess that Murder on the Orient Express holds a special place in my heart. What a cast that flick had!
Chuck: OMG! Yes, that is another of my favorites. In fact, I think it’s the first Lumet film I ever saw. Amazing cast, great cinematography, and an Oscar-winning performance by Ingrid Bergman. I became obsesses with Wendy Hiller because of this movie.
Deb: I have to agree with Bob here (so this would make a very boring Quibbling Siblings): I love Murder on the Orient Express. I’m also a huge fan of Deathtrap; so much fun. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but I also remember loving 12 Angry Men.
Chuck: Deathtrap is yet another of my favorites. I saw the stage show and was really excited for the movie, and it delivered. And what a gutsy move for Christopher Reeve coming off of two Superman films to take the role of a gay writer having an affair with Michael Caine! His agents must have been apoplectic.
Deb: Yeah, there’s not a lot of movies that really stick with me. I tend to watch them, and even if I enjoy them, they are gone from my brain rather quickly. Not Deathtrap. I remember this one well, every twist and turn!
Jen: My heavens, I’ve seen every movie mentioned so far. I feel old. Wow, did Lumet have range! Orient Express is pretty spectacular. So are 12 Angry Men, and Dog Day Afternoon. I’m getting pretty sad that he’s gone. Deathtrap was such a departure for ME, seeing Christopher Reeve in that role as a young teen– I was too young to appreciate it fully, but it’s also great.
Chuck: The Verdict is pretty great too. Paul Newman should have won the Best Actor Oscar that year (he lost to Ben Kingsley for Gandhi), and I think the Academy kind of rectified that situation with his win for The Color of Money. One thing is for certain, if you haven’t seen a Sidney Lumet film do yourself a favor and check out some of our favorites to see what you’ve been missing. Rest in peace, Sidney, and thank you for giving us this enduring legacy of film.
What have your favorite Lumet films been?
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Apr 10, 2011 @ 20:33 EST5EDT
