R.I.P. Sidney Lumet

[Sonic Youth]

or even to be simply silent (till when? how many days should this silence last?).

5 days, 17 hours and 16.3 minutes.

[Mister Tee]

I've been off at a family function, and this is my first opportunity to weigh in.

To the general matter of what's appropriate to say upon the death of someone one didn't admire...I have to admit feeling a spark of agreement when I recently read an opinion saying it was ridiculous to hate someone through his entire life and into eternity, but designate a fortnight around his passing when only positive things were allowed to be said. It's not as if anyone is suprised to hear this is Damien's opinion.

I didn't dislike Lumet's output on nearly that level, though I'll agree with two things already said here: he's not remotely the giant many press/blog reports are claiming, and such films as he made as are memorable are so because of the strength of the material, not what he brought to them.

I was very frustrated with Lumet in the mid-70s, after having seen Serpico and Murder on the Orient Express in succession. The former was a gripping, gritty story, but seemed to me utterly slapdashly filmed, carried only by the lead performance and the inherent appeal of the content. Orient Express was even worse: what needed to be stylish as hell came off like a leaden souffle, and was barely fun despite all the effort. (I'd even say the mediocre Death on the Nile follow-up offered more pleasure) I was ready to write Lumet off for good.

But, I have to say, I found Dog Day Afternoon and Network tremendously engaging. Again, it was primarily the material that was strong, but Lumet himself seemed to have for once found the right tone -- a sort of antic comedy that led in to tragedy far more seamlessly than I'd have expected. I can't say he exactly deserved to win best director for Network, but I would say taking it away from Avildsen and giving it to Lumet would be something of a mark-up in my eyes.

After that, he foundered by again latching on to projects (Equus and The Wiz) for which he had nothing like the appropriate style. But then he made Prince of the City, which I think may be his finest work...as close to Greek tragedy as any American film has come in recent decades. (I do caution, it's been 30 years since I saw the film, but I was old enough at the time that I take adult responsiblility for my opinion)

All in all, not a director for the pantheon, but one who made too many interesting films for me to dismiss out of hand.

[ITALIANO]

I think death, any death, deserves respect. This is the human side, and can't be ignored. And then there's the artistic/professional side, and yes, it would be hypocritical to praise someone whose work we deeply hate, or even to be simply silent (till when? how many days should this silence last?). It's our right, our duty even, to speak honestly about any artist's, any director's oeuvre even on the day of his departure.

But again, being happy for someone's death can be only accepted as a paradox, or applied, and even in this case I'd be careful, to people like Hitler or Mussolini.



Edited By ITALIANO on 1302465041

[anonymous1980]

I just read that the man who played the pizza delivery boy delivering pizzas to the hostages in Dog Day Afternoon also played the cop delivering the pizzas to the hostages in Spike Lee's Inside Man. So, yeah, the man's a fan.

[Sonic Youth]

But here, where we all know each other so well, most people are aware of my utter disdain for Sidney Lumet, and it would have been hypocritical -- even condescending to the man -- if I suddenly changed my tune.

If you stayed quiet, it wouldn't have been hypocritical. You still wouldn't have said anything nice, and no one would have felt you've gone soft on him. When people are so devoted to movies, the figures (onscreen and offscreen) are practically family members. Regardless of what anyone thought of Lumet, losing the oldest active American filmmaker (does Clint Eastwood hold that title now?) is like losing a grand patriarch. You're not obligated to attend anyone's funeral, but why begrudge others for mourning? Of course, I'm sure you've heard/read similar comments like these over the years, so feel free to disregard this one as well.

On the flipside, I'm loving it that Spike Lee is tweeting about his favorite "Sidney Lumet joints".

http://twitter.com/SpikeLee

[Big Magilla]

Damien, no one is suggesting that you be a hypocrite, but you could have waited until the guy was buried.

I agree some of the praise for Lumet on other sites has been a bit much, but that happens.

I personally thought the coverage of Elizabeth Taylor's death was way more than it should have been. Until she became involved in her AIDS charity and became St. Elizabeth, my percerption of her was that of a spoiled, pamerered, over-indulged Hollywood brat who never really grew up despite all her marriages.

Even after she became known for her charity, she still had all those jewels and put her name on two brands of perfume, married Larry Fortensky and had that strange relationship with Michael Jackson. I don't know if she was a lousy actress or just a lazy one. She was certainly capable of giving a good performance when she felt the project was worth it, but most of the time she walked through her roles. Still it was heartbreaking to watch her go through the long decline of the last ten years or so. The world is certainly going to be a less colorful place without her just as movies set in New York are going to be less interesting without Sidney Lumet to make them.

[Damien]

Sidney Lumet died? As Dorothy Parker said upon hearing of the demise of Calvin Coolidge, How could they tell?

Sidney Lumet: "“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”

Yes, gets you wondering when the hell is this thing going to be over. And, thinking whether Sidney just told his DP to drop the camera at any random spot on the set and start shooting?

NY Times: In 2007, in an interview that was videotaped to accompany this obituary online, Mr. Lumet was asked how it felt to win an Academy Award at long last. He replied, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

Pompous fool.

No more Sidney Lumet movies -- Yay!!!

Now, now – what about a little bit of, you know, compassion? We don't want to be bitter, sarcastic hags, do we? What would Leo McCarey say?

All over Facebook and other sites, people I know have been lamenting Lumet's death -- one Facebook friend even called him the best director of the second half of the 20th century -- and I bit my tongue -- and typing fingers -- and kept quiet.

But here, where we all know each other so well, most people are aware of my utter disdain for Sidney Lumet, and it would have been hypocritical -- even condescending to the man -- if I suddenly changed my tune. Of course I'm not happy that he died, but now that he has died, let's not be phony and maudlin and adorn him with accolades he didn't deserve when he was living and breathing.

What would Leo McCarey say? Probably, "Sidney Lumet was a goddamn Communist."

[Uri]

Sidney Lumet died? As Dorothy Parker said upon hearing of the demise of Calvin Coolidge, How could they tell?

Sidney Lumet: "“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”

Yes, gets you wondering when the hell is this thing going to be over. And, thinking whether Sidney just told his DP to drop the camera at any random spot on the set and start shooting?

NY Times: In 2007, in an interview that was videotaped to accompany this obituary online, Mr. Lumet was asked how it felt to win an Academy Award at long last. He replied, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

Pompous fool.

No more Sidney Lumet movies -- Yay!!!

Now, now – what about a little bit of, you know, compassion? We don't want to be bitter, sarcastic hags, do we? What would Leo McCarey say?

[Damien]

The film for which Lumet, rightly or wrongly, felt he should have won an Oscar for was Network, for which the writer and three of his actors won. It wasn't losing so much that he minded, it was losing to Rocky.

Well, slap my ass and call me Fanny.

Back in late 76/early 77 in college, my friends and I expended a fair amount of time as to which movie was more execrable, Rocky or Network. Pretty much a draw. Two incompetently made films, but Network was perhaps a bit more aggressively awful because of Chayefsky's grotesque script.



Edited By Damien on 1302411324

[markyboo]

Maybe I am old-fashioned or a little too sensitive, but I don't understand celebrating someone's death, particularly someone like Sidney Lumet who, in the scheme of things, was harmless...



Edited By markyboo on 1302390104

[Big Magilla]

NY Times: In 2007, in an interview that was videotaped to accompany this obituary online, Mr. Lumet was asked how it felt to win an Academy Award at long last. He replied, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

Pompous fool.

Shades of Shirley MacLaine's "it's about time", no?

The film for which Lumet, rightly or wrongly, felt he should have won an Oscar for was Network, for which the writer and three of his actors won. It wasn't losing so much that he minded, it was losing to Rocky.



Edited By Big Magilla on 1302377782

[Big Magilla]

He should not have gotten a Best Director Oscar because he's not a great director. Except for 12 Angry Men, I can't think of a single time he used the camera effectively.

Long Day's Jounrey Into Night is a perfect example of his effective use of the camera.

In any other production, the emphasis is on the father, but in Lumet's film the emphaisis is on the mother because she's played by the film's biggest star. Yet Lumet accomplishes this without changing a single word of O'Neill's dialogue. He does it by focusing his camera on Hepburn.

One can argue whether this was appropriate, but to say that Lumet did not know how to point the camera is an insult not only to Lmet but to his various d.p.'s who in the absnece of any real direction would certainly have known what to do. While there may be no memorable cinematic shots in any of Lumet's films - he wasn't a visusal artist - there are plenty of things to like about them including the performances of so many great actors, some of whom gave their best performances in his films.



Edited By Big Magilla on 1302377656

[Sabin]

(Damien @ Apr. 09 2011,12:41)

NY Times: In 2007, in an interview that was videotaped to accompany this obituary online, Mr. Lumet was asked how it felt to win an Academy Award at long last. He replied, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

Pompous fool.

Oh, whatever. After five trips to the Kodak and losing to the likes of John G. Avildsen, Richard Attenborough, and Ernest Thompson, you're validated in being brutally honest.

[Damien]

Sidney Lumet died? As Dorothy Parker said upon hearing of the demise of Calvin Coolidge, How could they tell?

Sidney Lumet: "“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”

Yes, gets you wondering when the hell is this thing going to be over. And, thinking whether Sidney just told his DP to drop the camera at any random spot on the set and start shooting?

NY Times: In 2007, in an interview that was videotaped to accompany this obituary online, Mr. Lumet was asked how it felt to win an Academy Award at long last. He replied, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

Pompous fool.

No more Sidney Lumet movies -- Yay!!!

[ITALIANO]

I don't know if there has been, in the history of movies, a director who has worked with a higher number of great actors/stars: Magnani, Signoret, Hepburn, Redgrave, Mason, Pacino, Loren, Fonda, Connery, Brando, Gielgud, Bergman, Dunaway, Newman, Steiger, Finch, Burton... and many more. Amazing, really.

He's considered a great director, I guess, because anyone can find - according to his or her personal tastes - at least one great movie among the many he made. I can find more than one: 12 Angry Men, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Deadly Affair, Dog Day Afternoon. It's possible that he lacked a strong or personal visual style, but that's not the only quality a good director must have. And he certainly chose some very good scripts and did them justice.