Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sidney Lumet

 
So, why do I have to keep posting about people who have just died? Easy. I'm at that age where the people who made my world, i.e. those about a decade or two older, are dying. The latest is Sidney Lumet, who fits in the two decade category. Like many show biz veterans of his age cohort, he got his start, through his parents, in the Yiddish theater. From there, he made his way to Hollywood, first as an actor, then as a director, where he had his success. I don't agree with his assertion, made in an interview, that art can't change the world. I do think that it's less likely to be effective the more the artist self-consciously strives to make it so.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only seen two of his movies: Twelve Angry Men (clip above) and Network. How I could have missed Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico, two classics about my city, is beyond me. I'll have to rectify this soon.

2 comments:

  1. RIP. He had quite an eye, and certainly opened mine!

    Serpico was an amazing movie and hugely affecting when I saw it as a teen. And even though so many of his films were deep and dark, he had such a sense of humor.

    Quite a legacy he has left.

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  2. 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.

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