Sidney Lumet, Director
If he’d only made 12 Angry Men and The Verdict, he’d be in the top pantheon of our best directors. Uploaded by gawker.com.
In any field, there are huge talents that never quite get their due. At any given time, there are only a handful of top-flight film directors working. From the 1950s through the 1980s, Sidney Lumet was one of the very best – and yet he is rarely thought of when America’s best directors are named.
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And that’s a shame, which will become clear with even a cursory look at some of his finest productions:
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962)
- The Pawnbroker (1964)
- Fail-Safe (1964)
- Serpico (1973)
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Network (1976)
- The Wiz (1978)
- The Verdict (1982)
- Deathtrap (1982)
Looking at that list, you’d guess that Lumet won at least a handful of Best Director Oscars. Though he was nominated four times, he never won. (He did, however receive an Honorary Oscar in 1983.) Even the Hollywood crowd didn’t recognize his genius. But, at least, now you do.