'Sidney Lumet:The Poet of New York'

'Sidney Lumet:The Poet of New York'

On June 25, 1924 one of the most respected movie directors in Hollywood history was born. Sidney Lumet would become a legendary director and one of my favorites of all time and I will miss him. In an age of special effects, super hero movies and dumb dialogue he should be studied by all ages. Sidney Lumet was in love with the written word and all his movies told wonderful stories. Lumet made many films and of course when you do you will have a few stinkers. There are a few of his movies that are my all time favorites and that is because they were rich with well written stories and characters. Lumet's movies had substance, were about something and he wasn't flashy but man could he get outstanding performances by his actors. He would get the best performance of Paul Newman's illustrious career and he would find new talent that made their mark in his movies. Sidney Lumet loved New York, always making it a third character. His location work was impeccable and beautiful and he knew how to capture every facet of the city he loved.

Sidney Lumet started making an impact with his first major Hollywood movie in 1957 with "12 Angry Men" which was a sizzling court room drama. Lumet had acted before and directed things but this was his first major movie at a relatively young age. He had to direct Hollywood heavyweights like Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb and he does such a wonderful job directing them. The movie is full of suspense and is very compelling and explosive. Hollywood knew they had a special talent that had a wonderful future and he didn't disappoint.

The first Lumet movie I saw was as a 6 year old kid and my parents took me to it. It was Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" with a killer all star cast including Sean Connery. I wasn't aware of what I was really seeing at a young age but later on I rented it and had a lot of fun. There were delicious performances and a movie that moved along and kept me guessing.

A year before that Sidney Lumet directed one of the best police movies ever made and it wasn't even his best movie with cops. "Serpico" was seen by me for the first time while working at a video store when I was 16. It has one of Al Pacino's best performances and it was gritty and extremely compelling. Most police movies have cliches and bad dialogue but this movie was epic. It unfolded like a great novel and being based on a true story, it was a respectful and seemed real. This is one of the best movies dealing with the grittiness and under belly of New York City' crime and police corruption.

In 1975 Lumet would direct a movie that would wind up in my top ten great movies of the 1970's. "Dog Day Afternoon" was a blistering, powerful crime drama that was also an extremely witty and hilarious satire. This will be repeated again in another genre later but to me this is the best movie ever about a bank heist. Al Pacino would give another legendary, powerful performance as Sonny, a gay, Vietnam war veteran who sticks up a New York bank. His partner is played by the great John Cazale and again New York City becomes another character. This was a great character study, suspenseful crime thriller and one of the funniest movies I have seen.

In 1976 Sidney Lumet followed that movie up with another winner, the powerful social satire about television called "Network". This was another iconic film with one of the best screenplays about television. Again Lumet would get incredible performances by Faye Dunaway, William Holden and especially one of the saddest and most powerful performances of the 70's. Peter Finch was a house on fire as the embittered newsman who incites a whole city. Not only does this movie nail the inner workings of television but it also is a great look at the people of New York.

It would be a few years before Sidney Lumet would make another masterpiece after a few failures. The movie was a very small, independent crime movie but it was a sprawling epic about police and mobsters in New York called "Prince of the City". The movie had one of the most under rated performances by an actor ever. Treat Williams gave a star making performance as a cop trying to bring down a crime family and expose dirty cops at the same time. The movie is about three hours and it is never boring. The movie has suspense, rich characters and a multi layered story. There was also a great performance by Jerry Orbach and again Lumet got amazing performances from a large cast, each character making an impact. Also New York City becomes another character and the location work is amazing.

That was 1981 when "Prince of the City" came out and Lumet was rolling again in the 80's just like he did in the 70's. Though his work was much better in the early 80's he still had three of the best movies of that decade. In 1982 I would fall in love with a screen adaptation of a comedy thriller stage play called "Deathtrap". I now know every word of dialogue from that movie and I have seen it over 100 times. This was a movie that was stagy and sometimes campy but what great dialogue and what amazing performances. Michael Caine and Dyan Cannon were excellent but I saw Christopher Reeve in a totally new light after this movie. To me Christopher Reeve was always Superman but after this movie I knew he could also be amazing in other roles. This is one of the best times I have had in a movie. It is not a masterpiece but it is a spooky house, backstabbing, Gothic, funny and twisty thriller/comedy that is delightful.

In 1982 Sidney Lumet would make his finest film to date next to "Dog Day Afternoon" with Paul Newman's best performance of his career. "The Verdict" is the best court room drama that has been made up to now. In my opinion there will never be a better court room drama made in the future and I guarantee that. The movie had David Mamet's best screenplay he ever wrote and Paul Newman is amazing! We had never seen him before like this as alcoholic ambulance chaser Frank Galvin who takes a case that will change his life. This is a movie in love with the written word and there is so much potent drama. This movie was gut wrenching and at the end I was in tears. I was emotionally shaken because the story was so compelling and the ending so emotional. I also was in tears because I had seen a performance that is easily one of the best performances I have ever seen by an actor. This is a movie and performance that blew me away and it should be studied in film classes for years.

After "The Verdict" Lumet has a difficult time with serviceable and entertaining movies like "Daniel" and "The Morning After". They were not great movies but Lumet again got great performances by the actors in them. His next powerful movie would be in 1988 and it was "Running On Empty". It was a powerful, bittersweet and gut wrenching movie that was also poetic. This would be one of River Phoenix's last great performances and he was heartbreaking and amazing in it. This is a very under rated movie about the mistakes we make in the past and how it can affect our family. This would become one of Lumet's best movies since "The Verdict".

In the 90's Sidney Lumet would slow down a little but still made numerous movies. I probably couldn't name them all but I liked the under rated cop drama "Q & A" with Nick Nolte, Armand Assante and Timothy Hutton in 1990. Later on in his career he would make fun, quirky small films and even get a great performance from someone like Vin Diesel in "Guilty As Sin"

In 2007 Sidney Lumet would make another crime masterpiece with powerful performances that would become his best movie since 1988. "When The Devil Knows You're Dead" is such a wacky and extremely entertaining crime picture. It has amazing performances by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney. It is full of humor, suspense and thrills. The strength of the movie comes from a Lumet specialty, great characters, acting and a love of New York.

Sidney Lumet, more than most other directors, influenced me in words I can't describe that would give him justice. He is one of the main reasons I wanted to get into acting at a young age and become a film maker and storytelling. I love Chicago so dearly just like he loved New York. If I could make movies about Chicago, it's rich history and great people like he did for New York I would consider myself blessed. Sidney Lumet was to me "The Poet of New York", a man who loved the written word, great characters and powerful acting and he will be missed.

So here are a list of the movies I wrote about and if you haven't seen them please put them on your netflix queue right away!

12 Angry Men (57) (4 stars)
Serpico (73) (4 stars)
Murder on the Orient Express (74) (3 1/2 stars)
Dog Day Afternoon (75) (4 stars)
Network (76) (4 stars)
Prince of the City (81) (4 stars)
Deathtrap (82) (4 stars)
The Verdict (83) (4 stars)
Running On Empty (88) (4 stars)
Q & A (90) (3 1/2 stars)
When The Devil Knows You're Dead (07) (3 1/2 stars)

Other Good Lumet Films

Daniel (83) (3 stars) Timothy Hutton, Lindsay Crouse
The Morning After (86) (3 stars) Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges
Power (86) (3 stars) Richard Gere, Julie Christie
Find Me Guilty (06) (3 stars) Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage

I have not seen some Lumet movies that are supposed to be outstanding but I will watch them soon

The Pawnbroker
The Hill
The Offence
Fail-Safe