TMI (Today’s Movie Info)
February: Director’s Month
SIDNEY LUMET (1924-2011) made one of the most remarkable feature film directorial debuts in history with the still powerful Twelve Angry Men (1957). The first half of the 1960’s brought some of Lumet’s best work. This included: Long Day’s Journey Into the Night (1962), Fail-Safe (1964), The Pawnbroker (1964), The Hill (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966). Lumet got on another roll in the 70’s with Serpico (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1974), Network (1976). In 1982 he directed another tense courtroom drama, The Verdict, which won Paul Newman an Oscar. Though he would go on to direct a dozen watchable movies over the next 25 years, it wasn’t until 2007 (50 years after his first film) when he again achieved near-unanimous critical acclaim with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. It would be his final film. Lumet loved New York City and filmed there whenever possible. He was once married to Gloria Vanderbilt for 7 years. Incredibly, Lumet was nominated for five Academy Awards, but never won … though he was presented with an honorary Oscar in 2005. Having studied acting, he was considered an actor’s director. He once said “There’s no such thing as a small part. There are just small actors.”
Movie Reviews from the Dark 