Filmstudion

Sidney Lumet has never been one to rest after a success. He’s been quoted as saying, “If I don’t have a script I adore, I do one I like. If I don’t have one I like, I do one that has an actor I like or that presents some technical challenge.” This workmanlike approach to filmmaking may come from his history as a television director. Whatever the case, his remarkable track record (more than 50 films since 1957) has paid offhe received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005. No projects are announced in development right now, but Lumet has not announced a retirement from directing. While you wait for his next picture, catch up on some that you might have missed. If you’re lucky, you may even catch some playing on DIRECT TV.12 Angry Men (1957): Lumet’s debut is still recognized as a classic, and is shown in numerous high-school classes. The film is remarkable for capturing different personalities attempting to make order in a claustrophobic settingthe majority of the film takes place in one set.The Anderson Tapes (1971): Sean Connery plays a charismatic burglar plotting to rob an apartment complex. However, the focus is not entirely on the robbery, but on the complicated surveillance methods that numerous government and private agencies are using in an attempt to foil unrelated plots.Deathtrap (1982): Lumet adapted Ira Levin’s popular play (which holds the record for Broadway’s longest-running comedy-thriller) with stars Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. Caine plays Sidney Bruhl, a once-famed playwright looking to turn around his failing career.Q & A (1990): Q&A was considered by many to be a return to form for Lumet and a stunning achievement after a career already spanning more than thirty years. The story chronicles an inquiry into a violent NYPD detective, and the secrets that come to the surface as a result.Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007): Lumet’s latest film to date is also one of his most acclaimed. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei, the film is the story of a family ripped apart by a robbery gone wrong.