Lumet, '12 Angry Men' and 'Network' director, dies Lumet, '12 Angry Men' and 'Network' director, dies BOB THOMAS - Associated Press,DAVID B. CARUSO - Associated Press Share View photos FILE - This Oct. 10, 1996 file photo shows director Sidney Lumet in New York. Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as "Network," "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "12 Angry Men," has died the family said Saturday, April 9, 2011. He was 86. More Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as "Network," ''Serpico," ''Dog Day Afternoon" and "12 Angry Men," has died. He was 86. Lumet's death was confirmed Saturday by Marc Kusnetz, who is the husband of Lumet's stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel. He said Lumet died during the night and had suffered from lymphoma.

A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as "Prince of the City," ''Q&A," ''Night Falls on Manhattan" and "Serpico" looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers. "Dog Day Afternoon" told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. "It's not an anti-L.A. thing," Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. "I just don't like to live in a company town." Although he didn't work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget. His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene.

He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and although he never won, Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America's prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Serpico," introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. "If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true," the actor said. Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, "I guess I'd like to thank the movies (too)." Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957's "12 Angry Men," which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination.

Other Oscar nominations were for "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), "Network" (1976) and "The Verdict" (1982). "Network," a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet's most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Peter Finch exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet's resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night," Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge," and Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending," which was made into "The Fugitive Kind." He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust ("The Pawnbroker"), nuclear war ("Fail-Safe") and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg ("Daniel").

He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star "Murder on the Orient Express," as well. Other popular Lumet films included "Running On Empty," ''Equus," ''Family Business' and "The Wiz." The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley's acclaimed "Dead End," and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt's production of "The Eternal Road" and Maxwell Anderson's "Journey to Jerusalem." After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the "Danger" thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet's reputation.

Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama's Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, "100 Centre Street." It was filmed in his beloved New York. In 2006, he brought out "Find Me Guilty," starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007's "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Lumet once claimed he didn't seek out New York-based projects. "But any script that starts in New York has got a head start," he said in 1999. "It's a fact the city can become anything you want it to be." His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne's daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. ___ Thomas reported from Los Angeles.

Reblog Sidney Lumet, director of ‘Serpico,’ ‘Network,’ ‘12 Angry Men,’ dies at 86 - The Washington Post Sidney Lumet, director of ‘Serpico,’ ‘Network,’ ‘12 Angry Men,’ dies at 86 The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! By Matt Schudel April 9, 2011 Sidney Lumet , a versatile movie director who drew outstanding performances from many of the the screen’s greatest actors in such films as “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network,” died Saturday at his home in New York City . He was 86 and had lymphoma. Mr. Lumet , who began his career as a child actor in Yiddish-language theater, was a productive and efficient filmmaker who directed more than 40 movies.

He never made a movie in Hollywood, preferring to shoot on location in New York, which he considered more of a character than a setting in his movies. Because he worked outside the Hollywood system, some observers think Mr. Lumet (pronounced loo-METT) was slighted by voters for the Academy Award. Nominated four times for Best Director — for “12 Angry Men” (1957), “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976) and “The Verdict” (1982) — he was considered one of the finest directors never to win an Oscar. He finally received an honorary Academy Award in 2005 for his body of work, which included such other memorable films as “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” (1962) “Fail-Safe” (1964), “The Pawnbroker” (1964), “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) and “Running on Empty” (1988). His films were so diverse that he was sometimes criticized for not having a signature style.

“I won’t take the billing ‘a Sidney Lumet film’ or ‘Sidney Lumet’s production of,’ ” he told New York magazine in 1981. “I don’t want to settle into a particular style, because to me the style is determined by the material itself.” Nonetheless, he helped develop a new style of urban realism in film and often focused on underdogs challenging a corrupt established order. Nowhere was that theme more obvious than in two of his films, “Serpico” (1973) and “Prince of the City” (1981), both about police officers blowing the whistle on their colleagues. Al Pacino received an Oscar nomination for “Serpico” and another for “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), a true story about a man who attempts to rob a bank to pay for his male lover’s sex-change operation. “If you prayed to inhabit a character,” Pacino said while introducing Mr. Lumet at the 2005 Academy Awards ceremony, “Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true.” Mr. Lumet may have been known best for his sensitive touch with actors.

In his first feature film, “12 Angry Men,” he directed Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb in a tense courtroom drama that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor later said influenced her decision to go into the law. During his 50-year film career, Mr. Lumet directed actors such as Katharine Hepburn, Pacino, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, William Holden, Richard Burton, Anne Bancroft, James Mason, Simone Signoret, Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Connery, Nick Nolte, Rod Steiger and Paul Newman. In all, his films received more than 50 Academy Award nominations, including 19 for acting. Four actors in his films won an Oscar: Ingrid Bergman for Best Supporting Actress in “Murder on the Orient Express” and Peter Finch (Best Actor), Faye Dunaway (Best Actress) and Beatrice Straight (Best Supporting Actress) in “Network.” “I think actors feel very safe with me,” Mr. Lumet told GQ magazine in 1988.

“All good work is self-revelation, and they are the most vulnerable, so I want them to feel ‘I’m in my mother’s arms,’ without coddling them. And I do another thing: I never try and get into their heads and exploit a personal vulnerability.” Sidney Lumet was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia and soon moved with his family to New York. His father was an an actor, director, producer and writer for the Yiddish-language stage. His mother, who died when Mr. Lumet was a child, was a dancer. At the age of 4, Mr. Lumet began acting in Yiddish productions and first appeared on Broadway when he was 11. “I was thrust into it so early, it became the norm,” he told Hollywood Reporter in 2005. “I loved it. . . . It was a wonderful way to live.” Another lifelong influence, Mr. Lumet reflected in a 2006 interview with The Washington Post, was the powerful presence of New York itself. “I would guess if you grow up poor in this city you get a sense of drama on every block,” he said.

“You had a sense that conflict exists everywhere. You’re into a world that’s physical, that’s violent.” Mr. Lumet spent one year at Columbia University before enlisting in the Army. During World War II, he repaired radar equipment in the China-Burma-India theater before returning to New York . He studied briefly at the Actors Studio, then started an off-Broadway theater workshop on his own, with a troupe that included Yul Brynner and Eli Wallach. In 1950, he joined CBS as an early director of television dramas. He learned to shoot scenes quickly while directing crime dramas and the historic re-enactment show “You Are There,” with Walter Cronkite as host. During the golden age of TV drama in the 1950s, Mr. Lumet directed more than 200 live plays for “Playhouse 90,” “Kraft Television Theatre” and “Studio One.” One of those TV dramas, “12 Angry Men,” became Mr. Lumet’s first feature film. After directing Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” for television in 1960, Mr.

Lumet made a film adaptation of O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” in 1962, for which Hepburn received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In 1964, he directed Steiger in “The Pawnbroker,” one of the first films to address the psychological horrors of the Holocaust. His greatest period as a director began in the early 1970s, with “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network,” which received 10 Oscar nominations. With a script by Paddy Chayefsky, Mr. Lumet guided a cast that included Dunaway, Holden and Finch in a satire on TV news. Finch won the Oscar for playing newscaster Howard Beale, who throws open a window and shouts into the camera , “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Mr. Lumet’s favorites among his films included “Prince of the City, ” for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and “The Verdict,” a courtroom drama starring Newman as a down-and-out lawyer. Mr.

Lumet’s most recent movie was “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (2007), starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney in a family drama about a botched robbery. He was said to be working on new projects up to his death. Mr. Lumet’s first three marriages, to actress Rita Gam, socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and writer Gail Jones — the daughter of singer Lena Horne — ended in divorce. He had two daughters from his third marriage, Amy Lumet and actress and screenwriter Jenny Lumet. Other survivors include his fourth wife, Mary Gimbel, whom he married in 1980; two stepchildren; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Summing up his career in 2005, Mr. Lumet said: “Most people won’t admit it, but all good work is accidental. . . .

All you can do is prepare the groundwork, then you have to hope.” Sidney Lumet, director of ‘12 Angry Men,’ dies at age 86 | Toronto Star Entertainment Sidney Lumet, director of ‘12 Angry Men,’ dies at age 86 Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network&quot; and “12 Angry Men” has died. He was 86. Gloria Vanderbilt and her new husband, director Sidney Lumet following their wedding in New York. Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as "Network," "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "12 Angry Men," has died at age 86. (Anthony Camerano / AP) By Bob Thomas David B. CarusoAssociated Press Sat., April 9, 2011 NEW YORK, N.Y.—Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “12 Angry Men,” has died. He was 86.

Lumet’s death was confirmed Saturday by Marc Kusnetz, who is the husband of Lumet’s stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel. He said Lumet died during the night and had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as “Prince of the City,” “Q&A,” “Night Falls on Manhattan” and “Serpico” looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers. “Dog Day Afternoon” told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. “It’s not an anti-L.A. thing,” Lumet said of his New York favouritism in a 1997 interview. “I just don’t like to live in a company town.” Article Continued Below Although he didn’t work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget.

His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene. He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and although he never won, Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Serpico,” introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. “If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true,” the actor said. Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, “I guess I’d like to thank the movies (too).” Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957’s “12 Angry Men,” which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination.

Other Oscar nominations were for “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976) and “The Verdict” (1982). “Network,” a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet’s most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Peter Finch exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet’s resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” and Tennessee Williams’ “Orpheus Descending,” which was made into “The Fugitive Kind.” He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust (“The Pawnbroker”), nuclear war (“Fail-Safe”) and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (“Daniel”).

He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star “Murder on the Orient Express,” as well. Other popular Lumet films included “Running On Empty,” “Equus,” “Family Business’ and “The Wiz.” The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley’s acclaimed “Dead End,” and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt’s production of “The Eternal Road” and Maxwell Anderson’s “Journey to Jerusalem.” After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the “Danger” thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet’s reputation.

Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama’s Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, “100 Centre Street.” It was filmed in his beloved New York. In 2006, he brought out “Find Me Guilty,” starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007’s “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Lumet once claimed he didn’t seek out New York-based projects. “But any script that starts in New York has got a head start,” he said in 1999. “It’s a fact the city can become anything you want it to be.” His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. Thomas reported from Los Angeles.

‘12 Angry Men’ Director Sidney Lumet Dies At 86 | Access Hollywood ‘12 Angry Men’ Director Sidney Lumet Dies At 86 April 9, 2011 10:26 AM PDT Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network,” '‘Serpico,” '‘Dog Day Afternoon” and “12 Angry Men,” has died. He was 86. Lumet’s death was confirmed by relatives and friends, who said he died early Saturday morning at his Manhattan home. He had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as “Prince of the City,” '‘Q&A,” '‘Night Falls on Manhattan” and “Serpico” looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers.

“Dog Day Afternoon” told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. “It’s not an anti-L.A. thing,” Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. “I just don’t like to live in a company town.” Although he didn’t work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget. His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene. He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and actors in his films won 17 Oscars. But Lumet himself never won. “I’m also not a competitive man, but on two occasions I got so pissed off about what beat us,” he told The Associated Press in 2006.

“With ‘Network,’ we were beaten out by ‘Rocky,’ for Christ’s sake.” That year, the field also included “Taxi Driver” and “All the President’s Men.” In 1983, “The Verdict” lost to “Gandhi” — a year in which “E.T.” also finished as an also-ran. Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Serpico,” introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. “If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true,” the actor said. Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, “I guess I’d like to thank the movies (too).” The composer Quincy Jones, who scored music for five of Lumet’s films, said he was devastated to learn of his passing.

He told the AP in a statement that Lumet gave him his start in movies in 1963 with “The Pawnbroker.” “Sidney was a visionary filmmaker whose movies made an indelible mark on our popular culture with their stirring commentary on our society,” Jones said. “Future generations of filmmakers will look to Sidney’s work for guidance and inspiration, but there will never be another who comes close to him.” Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957’s “12 Angry Men,” which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. Other Oscar nominations were for “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976) and “The Verdict” (1982).

“Network,” a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet’s most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Howard Beale exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Beale, played by Peter Finch, is ultimately assassinated by his network bosses for lousy ratings. “That’s the only part of ‘Network’ that hasn’t happened yet, and that’s on its way,” Lumet later said. It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet’s resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” and Tennessee Williams’ “Orpheus Descending,” which was made into “The Fugitive Kind.” He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust (“The Pawnbroker”), nuclear war (“Fail-Safe”) and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (“Daniel”).

He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star “Murder on the Orient Express,” as well. Other popular Lumet films included “Running On Empty,” '‘Equus,” '‘Family Business’ and “The Wiz.” The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stageperformers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley’s acclaimed “Dead End,” and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt’s production of “The Eternal Road” and Maxwell Anderson’s “Journey to Jerusalem.” After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the “Danger” thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet’s reputation.

Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama’s Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, “100 Centre Street.” It was filmed in his beloved New York. His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. He is survived by his wife, daughters Amy and Jenny Lumet, stepchildren Leslie and Bailey Gimbel, nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Copyright © Legendary 'Network' director Sidney Lumet dead at 86 - NY Daily News Sidney Lumet, director of 'Network,' '12 Angry Men,' 'Serpico' dead at 86 of lymphoma Legendary 'Network' director Sidney Lumet dead at 86 Filmmaker Sidney Lumet poses for a photo with his Honorary Oscar backstage during the 77th Annual Academy Awards in 2005.

Lumet was confirmed dead at the age of 86 on Saturday. (Micelotta/Getty) DAILY NEWS MOVIE CRITIC Saturday, April 9, 2011, 1:39 PM Director Sidney Lumet, whose New York-based films trafficked in cops, criminals and the seductive power of corruption, died yesterday of Lymphoma at his home in Manhattan. He was 86. Among Lumet's 43 features, such films as "Dog Day Afternoon, " "Serpico," "Network," "Prince of the City," "Night Falls on Manhattan" and his final film, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," chronicled various aspects of the city's character: Life-or-death decisions by bank robbers and the NYPD, power plays by the media and justice system, and honor among thieves. Born in Philadelphia, Lumet was raised in Manhattan, where he was a child actor.

He attended the Professional Children's School and the Actors Studio and went on to direct live television in the 1950s before moving into film with "Twelve Angry Men." Like that 1957 Best Picture nominee, set inside a jury deliberation room, Lumet's subsequent films were often issue-oriented dramas, including "The Pawnbroker," about a Holocaust survivor in upper Manhattan, or "Fail-Safe," a thriller about a nuclear crisis. His work also favored heightened emotion in small spaces, whether in theatrical adaptations ("Long Day's Journey Into Night," "A View From the Bridge") or movies set in limited locations, ("Murder on the Orient Express," "Dog Day Afternoon"). Al Pacino was Oscar-nominated for Lumet's 1973's "Serpico" -- based on Peter Maas's nonfiction book about police officer Frank Serpico's account of crooked New York cops -- as well as for "Dog Day," based on the true story of a Brooklyn robbery gone bad. Lumet's film of Paddy Chayefsky's "Network" seems even more prescient today than when it was released in 1976.

The skewering satire of TV execs capitalizing on a newsman's mental breakdown is executed with the perfect blend of cynicism, social satire and derision. "Prince of the City" (1981) dealt again with corruption in law enforcement, and the following year, "The Verdict" - a triumph for Oscar-nominated star Paul Newman-was a burnished examination of a broken-down lawyer's last chance at redemption. His work of the 1980s and '90s was filled with his proud streak of liberal politics ("Daniel," "Running on Empty"), examinations of closed societies (gangsters in "Family Business," Hasidim in "A Stranger Among Us") and suspect legal maneuverings ("Q & A," "Night Falls on Manhattan"). He also directed episodes of TV's "100 Centre Street" and the 2004 HBO movie "Strip Search," with Glenn Close and Maggie Gyllenhaal. In 2007, Lumet enjoyed a renaissance with "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as brothers plotting to rob their parents' jewelry store.

Known as an actor's director, his films brought Oscar nominations not only to Pacino and Newman but also to Katharine Hepburn ("Long Day's Journey Into Night"), Rod Steiger ("The Pawnbroker"), James Mason ("The Verdict") and River Phoenix ("Running on Empty"). Ingrid Bergman won Best Supporting Actress for "Murder on the Orient Express," and "Network" nabbed Faye Dunaway Best Actress and Beatrice Straight Best Supporting Actress honors. At the 2005 Oscars, Lumet, who'd never won, got a Lifetime Achievement Award. Throughout a 54-year career, Lumet never let his personality grab the spotlight. "My job is to serve the material," he once said."I shift styles by picture and by subject matter. And by subject matter I mean not only the genre the picture's in, but what the picture's about emotionally." He was married four times, including to socialite Gloria Vanderbilt from 1956 - 1963 and Lena Horne's daughter, Gail Jones, from 1963 to 1978.

Lumet, director of 'Serpico,' 'Network,' dies at 86 | The Spokesman-Review SMS NEW YORK — Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “12 Angry Men,” has died. He was 86. Lumet’s death was confirmed by relatives and friends, who said he died early Saturday morning at his Manhattan home. He had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as “Prince of the City,” “Q&A,” “Night Falls on Manhattan” and “Serpico” looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers. “Dog Day Afternoon” told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. “It’s not an anti-L.A.

thing,” Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. “I just don’t like to live in a company town.” Although he didn’t work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget. His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene. He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and actors in his films won 17 Oscars. But Lumet himself never won. “I’m also not a competitive man, but on two occasions I got so pissed off about what beat us,” he told The Associated Press in 2006. “With ’Network,’ we were beaten out by ’Rocky,’ for Christ’s sake.” That year, the field also included “Taxi Driver” and “All the President’s Men.” In 1983, “The Verdict” lost to “Gandhi” — a year in which “E.T.” also finished as an also-ran. Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious D.W.

Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Serpico,” introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. “If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true,” the actor said. Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, “I guess I’d like to thank the movies (too).” The composer Quincy Jones, who scored music for five of Lumet’s films, said he was devastated to learn of his passing. He told the AP in a statement that Lumet gave him his start in movies in 1963 with “The Pawnbroker.” “Sidney was a visionary filmmaker whose movies made an indelible mark on our popular culture with their stirring commentary on our society,” Jones said.

“Future generations of filmmakers will look to Sidney’s work for guidance and inspiration, but there will never be another who comes close to him.” Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957’s “12 Angry Men,” which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. Other Oscar nominations were for “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976) and “The Verdict” (1982). “Network,” a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet’s most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Howard Beale exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Beale, played by Peter Finch, is ultimately assassinated by his network bosses for lousy ratings. “That’s the only part of ’Network’ that hasn’t happened yet, and that’s on its way,” Lumet later said.

It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet’s resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” and Tennessee Williams’ “Orpheus Descending,” which was made into “The Fugitive Kind.” He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust (”The Pawnbroker”), nuclear war (”Fail-Safe”) and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (”Daniel”). He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star “Murder on the Orient Express,” as well. Other popular Lumet films included “Running On Empty,” “Equus,” “Family Business’ and “The Wiz.” The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4.

He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley’s acclaimed “Dead End,” and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt’s production of “The Eternal Road” and Maxwell Anderson’s “Journey to Jerusalem.” After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the “Danger” thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet’s reputation. Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama’s Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, “100 Centre Street.” It was filmed in his beloved New York.

In 2006, he brought out “Find Me Guilty,” starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007’s “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Lumet once claimed he didn’t seek out New York-based projects. “But any script that starts in New York has got a head start,” he said in 1999. “It’s a fact the city can become anything you want it to be.” His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. He is survived by his wife, daughters Amy and Jenny Lumet, stepchildren Leslie and Bailey Gimbel, nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Thomas reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Published: April 9, 2011, 3:53 p.m.

Sidney Lumet, 86, director of classic American films - The Boston Globe Obituaries Sidney Lumet, 86, director of classic American films Sidney Lumet received an honorary Oscar, presented by Al Pacino, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press/File 2005) Associated Press / April 10, 2011 E-mail this article Add a personal message:(80 character limit) Your E-mail: Reprints | Text size – + NEW YORK — Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network,’’ “Serpico,’’ “Dog Day Afternoon,’’ and “12 Angry Men,’’ has died. He was 86. Mr. Lumet’s death was confirmed by relatives and friends, who said he died early Saturday morning at his Manhattan home. He had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Mr. Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side.

Such dramas as “Prince of the City,’’ “Q&A,’’ “Night Falls on Manhattan,’’ and “Serpico’’ looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers. “Dog Day Afternoon’’ told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. “It’s not an anti-LA thing,’’ Mr. Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. “I just don’t like to live in a company town.’’ His actors, with whom he always rehearsed for at least two weeks before starting production, were nominated for 17 Oscars for their performances in his films; several, including Faye Dunaway and Ingrid Bergman, won. The director was, in four nominations, always shut out until he was given a lifetime achievement award in 2005. He also received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Mr.

Lumet in both “Dog Day Afternoon’’ and “Serpico,’’ introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. “If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true,’’ the actor said. Mr. Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957’s “12 Angry Men,’’ which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. Other Oscar nominations were for “Dog Day Afternoon’’ (1975), “Network’’ (1976), and “The Verdict’’ (1982). “Network,’’ a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Mr.

Lumet’s most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Howard Beale exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!’’ Beale, played by Peter Finch, is ultimately assassinated by his network bosses for lousy ratings. “That’s the only part of ‘Network’ that hasn’t happened yet, and that’s on its way,’’ Mr. Lumet later said. It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia, to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4.

He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley’s acclaimed “Dead End,’’ and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt’s production of “The Eternal Road’’ and Maxwell Anderson’s “Journey to Jerusalem.’’ After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Mr. Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS -TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the “Danger’’ thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Mr. Lumet’s reputation. Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann, and other directors of television drama’s Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Mr. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing, and executive producing a cable series, “100 Centre Street.’’ It was filmed in his beloved New York.

In 2006, he brought out “Find Me Guilty,’’ starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007’s “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead,’’ starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Marisa Tomei. Mr. Lumet once claimed he didn’t seek out New York-based projects. “But any script that starts in New York has got a head start,’’ he said in 1999. “It’s a fact the city can become anything you want it to be.’’ His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. He he leaves his wife; daughters Amy and Jenny Lumet; stepchildren Leslie and Bailey Gimbel; nine grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company. Sidney Lumet, acclaimed movie director, dies | Minnesota Public Radio News Sidney Lumet, acclaimed movie director, dies Sidney Lumet Bebeto Matthews/ASSOCIATED PRESS DAVID B.

CARUSO and BOB THOMAS, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as "Network," "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "12 Angry Men," has died. He was 86. Lumet's death was confirmed Saturday by Marc Kusnetz, who is the husband of Lumet's stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel. He said Lumet died during the night and had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as "Prince of the City," "Q&A," "Night Falls on Manhattan" and "Serpico" looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers. "Dog Day Afternoon" told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. "It's not an anti-L.A.

thing," Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. "I just don't like to live in a company town." Although he didn't work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget. His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene. He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and although he never won, Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America's prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Serpico," introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards. "If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true," the actor said.

Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, "I guess I'd like to thank the movies (too)." Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957's "12 Angry Men," which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. Other Oscar nominations were for "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), "Network" (1976) and "The Verdict" (1982). "Network," a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet's most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Peter Finch exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress.

Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet's resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night," Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge," and Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending," which was made into "The Fugitive Kind." He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust ("The Pawnbroker"), nuclear war ("Fail-Safe") and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg ("Daniel"). He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star "Murder on the Orient Express," as well. Other popular Lumet films included "Running On Empty," "Equus," "Family Business" and "The Wiz." The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4.

He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley's acclaimed "Dead End," and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt's production of "The Eternal Road" and Maxwell Anderson's "Journey to Jerusalem." After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the "Danger" thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet's reputation. Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama's Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies. Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, "100 Centre Street." It was filmed in his beloved New York.

In 2006, he brought out "Find Me Guilty," starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007's "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Lumet once claimed he didn't seek out New York-based projects. "But any script that starts in New York has got a head start," he said in 1999. "It's a fact the city can become anything you want it to be." His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne's daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. --- Thomas reported from Los Angeles. (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.

All Rights Reserved.) Gallery Sidney Lumet, director of 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon, dead at 86 - World Socialist Web Site World Socialist Web Site Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) Sidney Lumet, director of 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon, dead at 86 By Hiram Lee 20 April 2011 American filmmaker Sidney Lumet died April 9 at the age of 86. The veteran film and television director, whose career spanned half a century, is perhaps best known for the films 12 Angry Men (1957), Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976). Lumet was renowned for his ability to draw rich performances from actors and for his classical technique behind the camera. He attempted, in his best work, to make a serious criticism of life in the US. Sidney Lumet Lumet was born June 25, 1924 in Philadelphia and grew up in New York City, where his family relocated in 1926.

His parents, Baruch and Eugenia, were both active in the Yiddish Art Theater and by the age of 4, Lumet was acting onstage alongside his father. The young Lumet achieved some success as a child actor, making his Broadway debut in 1935. He worked steadily in the theater until 1941 when he enlisted in the Army Signal Corps, serving as a radar technician during the Second World War. After the war, Lumet returned to the theater, where he began directing off-Broadway productions. By 1949, he had secured a job as a staff director with the CBS television network. He worked on hundreds of episodes of the drama “Danger,” which was known as a haven for blacklisted Hollywood writers and directors (including Walter Bernstein and Abraham Polonsky), and “You Are There” (with Walter Cronkite), which featured reenactments of historic events. The start of Lumet’s directing career coincided dispiritingly with the anticommunist witchhunts of the entertainment industry spearheaded by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

While working on “Danger” in 1950, Lumet was nearly blacklisted after his name appeared in the pages of the anticommunist newsletter Counterattack. Lumet had been identified as a Communist by Harvey Matusow, a paid FBI informant, who ratted on hundreds of people during the witchhunts and would later confess to having lied his head off. The young director was called in one day to meet the toothpaste company sponsor of “Danger,” Mel Block, Hearst newspaper columnist Victor Reisel and Matusow, and was reportedly shown a photo of someone alleged to be himself at a Communist Party meeting. When it became clear Lumet was not actually the man in the photograph, Matusow admitted he had the wrong man and Lumet was allowed to continue working. The incident provides some flavor of the foul conditions under which film and television artists were obliged to operate. In any event, whatever his organizational history, or lack thereof, Lumet’s sympathy with left-wing ideas and causes was well known. 12 Angry Men After a lengthy stint as a director of television, Lumet’s debut as a film director came in 1957, with 12 Angry Men.

The film follows the tense deliberations of a big city jury in a death penalty case. In a preliminary vote, eleven jurors favor a guilty verdict. One, played by Henry Fonda, holds out and attempts to convince the others the defendant may be innocent. As the men reconsider the facts of the case, they reveal and are challenged, one by one, to overcome certain prejudices. 12 Angry Men reveals both the strengths and weaknesses that would prevail in Lumet’s work. Outrage over social injustice and a real feeling of protest are present in this and many of the director’s other films. However, too many of Lumet’s works suffer from a variety of strained liberalism. As often as not, these were films which tried to convince their audience of certain truths or the correctness of certain beliefs through argument and impassioned monologues, rather than films that revealed or made alive certain features of social life through indelible images or dramatization. One encounters intelligence and seriousness in Lumet, but not great passion or artistic inspiration. Of course, the generally unfavorable intellectual climate has to figure in to any criticism of his efforts.

Lumet’s films treat large and often quite abstract ideas and themes: “Justice,” “decency,” “the fight against corruption,” etc. A more thorough and concrete, historically grounded grasp of social life was generally absent from the director’s work. As a result, his films had a tendency to feature heavy-handed, overwrought dramatic moments. There are too many overheated exchanges, such as one sees in 12 Angry Men, between those who stand up for justice and those who do not. Henry Fonda, as 12 Angry Men’s juror number 8, was all good and Lee J. Cobb’s juror number 3, all bad, and the two simply butted heads until one or the other’s persuasiveness won out. The remaining jurors stood in for the audience, being swayed at different points by this or that argument. Again, one is perhaps convinced, but not moved. 12 Angry Men was followed by a series of films, many of them adaptations of stage plays, which earned Lumet a reputation as a serious filmmaker.

There was The Fugitive Kind (1959), based on Tennessee Williams, starring Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani; Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962), an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s famed drama, with Katharine Hepburn and Jason Robards; and The Pawnbroker (1964), about a Holocaust victim who runs a pawnshop in Harlem, starring Rod Steiger. Lumet also made a version of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge (1962). Many of these films were well received at the time and continue for the most part to be highly regarded, but none of them is entirely satisfying. Some are even hard to take. Lumet was certainly hard-working, averaging more than a film a year from 1961 through 1990, thirty-two features in all.

Fail-Safe (1964), for example, looked at the danger of nuclear devastation; The Hill (1965) at British military brutality; The Group (1966), based on the Mary McCarthy novel, followed a number of Vassar College graduates during the Depression years; The Deadly Affair, based on John le Carré’s first novel, examined Cold War intrigue; Bye Bye Braverman (1968), a blackly comic film, with its hints of James Joyce’s Ulysses, represented something of a pleasant change—the performances of George Segal, Jack Warden and Joseph Wiseman in particular are outstanding. A worthy collection of films, all in all, but hardly one of them made a deeply enduring impact. It was not until the 1970s, and the emergence of a more radicalized social atmosphere in which the director clearly felt more at home and at ease, that Lumet would do his best work.

Serpico (1973) was based on the true story of Frank Serpico (played here by Al Pacino), a New York City police officer whose exposure of widespread police corruption throughout the 1960s was partly responsible for the formation of the Knapp Commission and its investigations of 1970-72. The film, particularly in its second half, presents a damning portrait of pervasive criminality in the police force. While it tends to remain on the surface of events rather than exploring more fully the social questions which drive them, the work nevertheless makes a strong impact. (Police and political corruption obviously concerned and fascinated Lumet. He turned to it also in Prince of the City[1981], with Treat Williams in one of his best roles, in Power [1986], with Richard Gere, in Q & A [1990], with Nick Nolte, and Night Falls on Manhattan [1997], with Andy Garcia.) In Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Lumet gave us what is likely his best, most fully realized film.

Based again on actual events, the film tells the story of Sonny Wortzick (Al Pacino), a Vietnam veteran burdened by financial difficulties who robs a bank in Brooklyn to pay for his lover’s sex-change operation. (A 2005 documentary, Based on a True Story, by a Dutch filmmaker, treats the real figure in the case.) From the moment it begins, the robbery goes horribly wrong. Police and TV news cameras quickly surround the building. The event quickly becomes a media frenzy and “errors in judgement” by the cops escalate the situation. Before long an array of snipers, police vehicles, and helicopters are lined up against Sonny. The film captures some of the explosive social tensions of the time, and in particular, the popular hatred of the New York police. The issuing of the Knapp Commission report and the Attica state prison riot of 1971, which was drowned in blood by state police on the orders of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, were still fresh in the collective memory when the film was shot. Dog Day Afternoon Al Pacino shouting “Attica! Attica!” as he parades in front of the bank in Dog Day Afternoon remains a remarkable moment.

As he shouts to supporters gathered on the street, the police suddenly fear they may have lost control of a crowd that has grown sympathetic toward the robber and instinctively hates the organized state violence directed towards him. “He wants to kill me so bad he can taste it!” shouts Pacino as one officer approaches him with his gun drawn. Network (1976), from a script by Paddy Chayefsky, was a scathing satire of television news and the corporate powers in charge of the major TV networks. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), an established network news anchor about to be fired from his job because of low ratings, threatens to kill himself live on air. He begins to deliver rants against the “bullshit” of official life and begins to attract an audience for himself. Network Rather than get the deeply disturbed man the help he needs, network executives decide to give him his own show, turning him into a populist demagogue. They cynically exploit the mass social anger Beale has tapped into, turning his catch phrase “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” into big bucks.

To suggest the film is heavy-handed would be an understatement, but if one can get past that element, it has a lot to offer. Lumet always insisted, only half jokingly, that the film was not satire so much as it was straight reportage. If that wasn’t entirely true then, it certainly seems so now. Beale looks tame alongside some of the current demagogues populating the cable news channels. In the early 1980s, Lumet directed two of his most serious and sensitive films. The Verdict (1982) was a courtroom drama about a self-absorbed lawyer (Paul Newman in one of his strongest performances) who takes on a medical malpractice case only for the money he will receive from the out-of-court settlement. Events in the case, however, including evidence of a cover-up by doctors at the Catholic hospital where his client was treated and the dirty tricks of a team of lawyers hired by the archdiocese in charge of the hospital, deeply affect him. Newman’s character chooses to take the case to trial and expose the criminal negligence that left his client in a coma rather than accept a settlement which would have left the truth concealed.

“If I take the money, I’m lost,” he says when offered a deal. Daniel (1983), based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel The Book of Daniel, was an attempt to deal with the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and the devastating consequences their execution at the height of the anticommunist frenzy in 1953 had on the lives of their children. In the 1960s, Daniel Isaacson (Timothy Hutton) begins to reconsider the lives of his parents, two young Communist Party members framed-up and executed as Soviet spies, after his sister, haunted by their death, suffers a mental breakdown. Daniel struggles to clear his parents’ names in the 1960s, while flashbacks tell the story of their lives in the 1930s and 1940s. The film is intelligently made and well performed by all of the actors involved. Lumet always considered the project one of his most important and his command of his craft was rarely more sure. His revulsion over the execution of the couple at the center of the story is genuinely felt.

Maintaining his interest in significant social episodes and trends, Lumet directed Running on Empty in 1988, about a couple (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) who participated in a Weatherman-style anti-war bombing in the early 1970s and have been on the run ever since. A decade and a half later, their teenage son, well played by River Phoenix, begins to have a life independent of his parents and this produces a crisis. Again, real intelligence and sensitivity are at work. Lumet continued directing up until 2007, when his final film, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, was released. As noted, he was a prolific director, with more than 70 films and television shows to his credit. Although relatively few of the works were entirely successful or satisfying, itself a reflection in part of some of the cultural problems of the postwar decades in the US, Lumet will be remembered as a figure of genuine artistic integrity and honesty. Lumet, ’12 Angry Men,’ ‘Network’ director, dead at 86 | New York Post Modal Trigger Director Sidney Lumet poses with his honorary Oscar in 2005.

Lumet inspired top-notch performances in a stream of classic films including "12 Angry Men," "Dog Day Afternoon," "Network" and "Fail-Safe." REUTERS Sidney Lumet, the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as “Network,” ”Serpico,” ”Dog Day Afternoon” and “12 Angry Men,” has died. He was 86. Lumet’s death was confirmed Saturday by Marc Kusnetz, who is the husband of Lumet’s stepdaughter, Leslie Gimbel. He said Lumet died during the night and had suffered from lymphoma. A Philadelphia native, Lumet moved to New York City as a child, and it became the location of choice for more than 30 of his films. Although he freely admitted to a lifelong love affair with the city, he often showed its grittier side. Such dramas as “Prince of the City,” ”Q&A,” ”Night Falls on Manhattan” and “Serpico” looked at the hard lives and corruptibility of New York police officers.

“Dog Day Afternoon” told the true-life story of two social misfits who set in motion a chain of disastrous events when they tried to rob a New York City bank on an oppressively hot summer afternoon. “It’s not an anti-L.A. thing,” Lumet said of his New York favoritism in a 1997 interview. “I just don’t like to live in a company town.” Although he didn’t work in Los Angeles, the director maintained good relations with the Hollywood studios, partly because he finished his pictures under schedule and budget. His television beginnings had schooled him in working fast, and he rarely shot more than four takes of a scene. He was nominated four times for directing Academy Awards, and although he never won, Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar in 2005 for lifetime achievement. He also received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. Al Pacino, who produced memorable performances for Lumet in both “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Serpico,” introduced the director at the 2005 Academy Awards.

“If you prayed to inhabit a character, Sidney was the priest who listened to your prayers, helped make them come true,” the actor said. Accepting the award, Lumet thanked the many directors who had inspired him, then added, “I guess I’d like to thank the movies (too).” Lumet immediately established himself as an A-list director with his first theatrical film, 1957’s “12 Angry Men,” which took an early and powerful look at racial prejudice as it depicted 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict in a trial involving a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder. It garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. Other Oscar nominations were for “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976) and “The Verdict” (1982).

“Network,” a scathing view of the television business, proved to be Lumet’s most memorable film and created an enduring catch phrase when crazed newscaster Peter Finch exhorted his audience to raise their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” It won Academy Awards for Paddy Chayefsky for best screenplay, Finch as best actor (presented posthumously) and Faye Dunaway as best actress. Although best known for his hard-bitten portrayals of urban life, Lumet’s resume also included films based on noted plays: Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” and Tennessee Williams’ “Orpheus Descending,” which was made into “The Fugitive Kind.” He also dealt with such matters as the Holocaust (“The Pawnbroker”), nuclear war (“Fail-Safe”) and the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (“Daniel”). He directed a highly successful Agatha Christie mystery, the all-star “Murder on the Orient Express,” as well.

Other popular Lumet films included “Running On Empty,” ”Equus,” ”Family Business’ and “The Wiz.” The director was born June 25, 1924, in Philadelphia to a pair of Yiddish stage performers, and he began his show business career as a child actor, appearing on radio at age 4. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 with a small role in Sidney Kingsley’s acclaimed “Dead End,” and he twice played Jesus, in Max Reinhardt’s production of “The Eternal Road” and Maxwell Anderson’s “Journey to Jerusalem.” After serving as a radar repairman in India and Burma during World War II, Lumet returned to New York and formed an acting company. In 1950, Yul Brynner, a friend and a director at CBS-TV, invited him to join the network as an assistant director. Soon he rose to director, working on 150 episodes of the “Danger” thriller as well as other series. The advent of live TV dramas boosted Lumet’s reputation. Like Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann and other directors of television drama’s Golden Age, he smoothly made the transition to movies.

Lumet continued directing features into his 80s, and in 2001 he returned to his television roots, creating, writing, directing and executive producing a cable series, “100 Centre Street.” It was filmed in his beloved New York. In 2006, he brought out “Find Me Guilty,” starring Vin Diesel and based on a true story about a mob trial in New Jersey. His final film was 2007’s “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei. Lumet once claimed he didn’t seek out New York-based projects. “But any script that starts in New York has got a head start,” he said in 1999. “It’s a fact the city can become anything you want it to be.” His first three marriages ended in divorce: to actress Rita Gam, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Jones. In 1980, he married journalist Mary Gimbel. Share this:

Question: Who was the director of 'Twelve Angry Men', 'Serpico' and 'Network' who died in 2011?
Answer: Sidney Lumet