News: R.I.P Sidney Lumet (1924-2011)

     Today came the regretful news of the passing of director Sidney Lumet. The auteur had a long and prolific career, including many films that have left their unmistakable mark of pop culture and cinematic history. His most famous work includes films such "Network", "Dog Day Afternoon", "12 Angry Men", "Murder on the Orient Express", "Equus", "The Verdict", and "Serpico". Lumet got his start doing television around the dawn of its ascendence into the American household during the 1950's, and his style as a filmmaker remained very influenced by norms of the medium even as he graduated into making full-length feature films later in his career. His debut effort in the world of cinema was amazingly "12 Angry Men", putting him with the likes of Quentin Tarantino for best debut film for a director, which earned him an Oscar nomination on his first time out. He would go on to receive a total of five Oscar nominations, four  Best Directors ("12 Angry Men", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", "The Verdict") and one Best Adapted Screenplay ("Prince of the City").

     Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of Mr. Lumet's work that I have seen, although I am ashamed to admit I have yet to see what are probably the two most famous films in his filmography, "Network" and "Dog Day Afternoon" (both films are very high up on my "to watch" list though). The reason why I am not an ardent admirer of his work as some seem to be, is because, undoubtedly due to his background of working in the small screen, all his film's have a "made for TV" feel to them. Some of his more famous and well regarded work, such as "Serprico" and "Murder on the Orient Express", are overrated in my book, mostly because of their stylistics similarities to television norms. Even my favorite Lumet film, the great "12 Angry Men", has a television-like quality from a stylistic standpoint. The amazing acting by a superb cast though, along with a good premise, put the film miles ahead of any drama you could catch on TV at the time (and most of the dramas that are on television today too for that matter). This ability to get great performances out of his cast was probably Mr. Lumet's strong suit, as even in some of his flawed films, he was still able to draw out great performances from his actors. Though I have some reservations with his stylistics choices, Sidney Lumet will be missed, and his legacy will live on in his movies for as long as their are people interested in watching them.