Day 4: RIP Sidney Lumet, 1924-2011

NOTE: I came in a couple hours late, but this is Saturday's post.


Sidney Lumet was one of the great ones. It is hard to find a director who directed landmark films for multiple decades. It is also hard to find a director so beloved by the actors who worked for him. If you read the accolades heaped upon Lumet, you often hear the phrase "an actor's director." Actors such as Al Pacino, Christopher Reeve, Henry Fonda and Paul Newman have all stated at different times that Lumet was able to get their best performances. Lumet was also notable for not being difficult to work with, and as a chonicler of New York life. He usually worked out of New York instead of Hollywood, although he was much beloved by the Hollywood brass because he usually made his pictures quickly, efficiently and under budget.

Lumet was active as a director for five decades, starting in 1957. When your debut picture is 12 Angry Men, where do you go from there? As I was looking over his filmography of 45 films, I was struck by the eclectic nature of the subjects and stories he chose to tell. A list of the more notable ones: 12 Angry Men, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Fail-Safe, Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Wiz, Deathtap, The Verdict...


ABOVE: Sidney Lumet's auspicious debut was 12 Angry Men, starring Peter Fonda

Lumet liked to rehearse, and he believed that if done correctly, you could still maintain a spontaneous performance even with many rehearsals. I believe that his work bears this out. Just look at the clausterphobic atmosphere and inense performances he gets out of his actors in 12 Angry Men.

I remember watching the documentary about actor John Cazale, I Knew It Was You, and I was struck by Al Pacino's interview as he talked about how much Lumet listened to and collaborated with his actors. It was not a weakness at all, but he would allow Pacino and Cazale to try out multiple things within each scene to see what would work. (The classic exchange: "what country do you want to go to?" "Wyoming," was improvised on the set). He gave his actors great freedom, yet always had a firm hand on his films. Lumet did not want to cast Cazale in that immortal role of Sal in DDA, but Pacino persisted, and Lumet respected his actors enough to allow Cazale to audition, even though Lumet had initially envisioned the character of Sal going in a very different direction.


ABOVE: John Cazale and Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, my favorite Lumet picture

RIP Sidney Lumet.