Per The Washington Post:
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.
"Dog Day Afternoon" is on of my all-time favorite films... (and if you've never seen the movie, then you may NOT want to watch this trailer... gives away a few too many plot points...)
Or how about "The Pawnbroker" from 1964 with Rod Steiger...
7 comments:
Don't forget "12 Angry Men," a riveting movie, set almost exclusively in one room.
From the Times: "By the time he finished shooting “Night Falls on Manhattan” in 1996, Mr. Lumet had made 38 films, 29 of them on location in New York City."
And he had a neighborhood connection. His parents were Yiddish theater vets. and according to Yiddishist and Klezmer singer Elizabeth Schwartz, Lumet's stage debut was as a small child in "Der Payets" at the Yiddish Art Theatre on Second Avenue. He sang the Yiddish song Papirosn ("cigarettes") -- at 11 he appeared in a short film with the same title.
Dog Day Afternoon is amazing. I also love Network, Prince of the City and The Verdict. And FINE, Murder on the Orient Express! Shut up, it's awesome.
Another neighborhood connection - he often held his rehearsals/production meetings at the Ukrainian National Home on 2nd ave between 8th and 9th.
I've always liked Sidney Lumet's movies, and I've always liked the ideaof Sidney Lumet's movies, the elevation of sheer storytelling craft over self-indulgent personal expression. Lumet had plenty to express, all right, but he did it with a minimum of fuss and always with his full attention on entertaining the viewer in an intelligent way.He will be missed..RIP.
He was best described as one of his movies "Prince of the City."
He was an incredible director who made some classic movies with great actors who won much acclaim
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