Happy Birthday, Sidney Lumet! Born today in 1924 as Sidney Arthur Lumet, this American actor, screenwriter, producer and director had over fifty films to his credit.
A member of the maiden cohort of New York's Actors Studio, Lumet began his directorial career in Off-Broadway productions, then became a highly efficient television director.
His first film was the 1957 American black and white courtroom legal drama film '12 Angry Men' that centered on a tense jury deliberation. This was the first film of which Lumet is best known for directing.
On a budget of $337,000, the film went on to gross $2 million at the box office. Henry Fonda, playing Juror #6, had co-produced the film as well.
The film was shot by Russian-American cinematographer Boris Kaufman, A.S.C. He was the younger brother of the Ukrainian Soviet pioneer documentary film and newsreel director Dziga Vertov ('Man with a Movie Camera').
Kaufman was also the younger brother of Russian cinematographer and photographer Mikhail Kaufman.
After '12 Angry Men', Lumet subsequently divided his energies among political and social drama films, as well as adaptations of literary plays and novels, big stylish stories, New York-based black comedies, and realistic crime dramas.
These included the 1973 American neo-noir biological crime/drama film 'Serpico' and the 1981 American neo-noir crime drama film 'Prince of the City'.
Of these, the former film is the second feature of which Lumet is best known for directing.
The film and principals were nominated for numerous awards, earning recognition for its score, direction, screenplay, and Al Pacino's performance as the bribe-refusing idealistic New York City cop Frank Serpico.
Adapted from American journalist and author Peter Maas' 1973 biographical true crime book Serpico. It told of NYPD officer Frank Serpico, the film was a commercial success.
The script for the film was co-written by American screenwriter Waldo Salt. Four years prior, he had written the screenplay for English film and stage director and actor John Schlesinger's Best Picture-winning 1969 American drama/buddy film 'Midnight Cowboy'
Salt's daughter, American producer, screenwriter, and former actress Jennifer Salt, appeared in the film as "Crazy" Annie from Texas.
As a result of directing '12 Angry Men', Lumet was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made a successful transition from television to film.
Two years after directing 'Serpico', Lumet directed the third film of which he is best known, This was the 1975 American biographical neo-noir crime/drama film 'Dog Day Afternoon',
The film had been inspired by American novelist P. F. Kluge's 1972 Life magazine article The Boys in the Bank. Its title refers to the sultry "dog days" of summer.
The following year, 'Dog Day Afternoon' won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Frank Pierson). This occurred at the 48th Academy Awards in late March 1976.
Later that same year, Lumet directed his fourth and final film of which he is best known. This was the 1976 American satirical/drama film 'Network'.
The film had been written by American playwright, screenwriter and novelist Paddy Chayefsky. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays.
The other two included American television and film director Delbert Mann's 1955 American black and white romance/drama film 'Marty' and Canadian-American television and film director Arthur Hiller's 1971 American satirical drama/comedy film 'The Hospital'.
One year later, 'Network' won two Oscars, in the categories of Best Actor (Peter Finch), Best Actress (Faye Dunaway), Best Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight) and Best Original Screenplay (Paddy Chayefsky).
Originally, the film had been nominated for tenOscars but won
Four. It was also the first film to win a posthumous Best Actor award, as Finch had passed just two months before the event.
This occurred at the 49th Academy Awards in late March 1977.
In 2000, 'Network' was selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2002, 'Network' was it was inducted into the Producers Guild of American Hall of Fame as a film that has "set an enduring standard for American entertainment".
Three years later, Lumet received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his "brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture." This occurred at the 77th Academy Awards in late February 2005.
Also in 2005, 'Network' the two Writer's Guild of America voted Chayefsky's script one of the 10 Greatest Screenplays in the history of cinema.
In 2007, '12 Angry Men' was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The film was also selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list.
Also in 2007, 'Network' was 64th among the 100 Greatest American films as chosen by the American Film Institute, a ranking slightly higher than the one AFI had given it ten years earlier.
In 2009, 'Dog Day Afternoon' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry,
According to AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" ranked in at #19 and "Attica! Attica!" ranked in at #86.
A few months after Lumet's death on April 9, 2011 in New York City, New York, a retrospective celebration of his work was held at New York's Lincoln center with numerous speakers and film stars.
According to The Encyclopedia of Hollywood, Lumet was one of the most prolific filmmakers of the modern era, directing more than one movie a year on average since his directorial debut in 1957.
Turner Classic Movies notes his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work.
American film critic, historian, journalist, screenwriter and author Roger Ebert described Lumet as "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors."
Lumet was also known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director".
Lumet had been active from 1930–2007.
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