Counting down the Top Ten best movies from the late, great master filmmaker Sidney Lumet.
NY 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.
This is depressing and sad news. Sucks that we'll never see anything from him again.
12 Angry Men still stands as one of my favorite movies of all-time (possibly Top 5). And he had many other greats on his list. "Director of American Classics" definitely sums it up.
Those are some big words from a very big guy in the industry. I'm not sure I'd call this the end of an era, though. Really, Lumet's greatest work was behind him and he sorta ended that era himself as he wasn't really doing much anymore.
Still one of the absolute greats, though. Like I said, 12 Angry Men is one of my all-time favorites. Then you have many more that are great.
Does suck though that there's absolutely no possibility of another Lumet film.
One thing is for sure, Lumet went out at the top of his game. Before the Devil Knows Your Dead hit me like a swift punch to the gut. It's impressive really, the man was 86 years old and he hadn't lost a step.
The Verdict is my favorite courtroom drama.
The Verdict is definitely a good one. And one of my favorites. Lumet got a great performance out of Newman on that one. 12 Angry Men is still my favorite courtroom drama though.
Dog Day Afternoon is probably my favorite on that list. Network and Serpico are also really good.
Serpico and 12 Angry Men would be the top choice here but don't rule out Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. That one surprised me. I watched it on a whim one day and it shocked me and surprised me regarding the two brothers involved.
What an awesome Top-5! The guy was a true auteur. And I'm glad to see Find Me Guilty just made the list. A criminally underrated film. One of Diesel's finest performances. No surprise because Lumet was a true actor-director that knew how to get the most from his cast.