Sidney Lumet

Biography

Sidney Lumet (June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his name. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He did not win an individual Academy Award, although he did receive an Academy Honorary Award and 14 of his films were nominated for various Oscars, such as Network, which was nominated for 10, winning 4. The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He was noted by Turner Classic Movies for his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work. Film critic Roger Ebert described him as having been "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors." Lumet was also known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director." Lumet began his career as an Off-Broadway director, then became a highly efficient TV director. His first m…

Directed

1. 12 Angry Men (1957) — Director
2. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) — Director
3. Serpico (1973) — Director
4. Network (1976) — Director
5. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) — Director
6. Murder on the Orient Express (1974) — Director
7. The Verdict (1982) — Director
8. Find Me Guilty (2006) — Director
9. Fail Safe (1964) — Director
10. Running on Empty (1988) — Director
11. The Wiz (1978) — Director
12. Deathtrap (1982) — Director
13. Family Business (1989) — Director
14. The Hill (1965) — Director
15. Q & A (1990) — Director
16. Prince of the City (1981) — Director
17. The Anderson Tapes (1971) — Director
18. The Pawnbroker (1965) — Director
19. The Offence (1973) — Director
20. Gloria (1999) — Director
21. Guilty as Sin (1993) — Director
22. Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) — Director
23. Equus (1977) — Director
24. The Morning After (1986) — Director
25. The Fugitive Kind (1960) — Director
26. A Stranger Among Us (1992) — Director
27. The Deadly Affair (1967) — Director
28. Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) — Director
29. Power (1986) — Director
30. Child's Play (1972) — Director
31. Strip Search (2004) — Director
32. Critical Care (1997) — Director
33. Daniel (1983) — Director
34. The Group (1966) — Director
35. Garbo Talks (1984) — Director
36. Stage Struck (1958) — Director
37. Just Tell Me What You Want (1980) — Director
38. The Appointment (1969) — Director
39. That Kind of Woman (1959) — Director
40. A View from the Bridge (1962) — Director

Also appeared in

1. The Manchurian Candidate (2004) — Political Pundit
2. I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009) — Self
3. Inside the Actors Studio (1994) — Self
4. A Decade Under the Influence (2003) — Self
5. Breakdown: 1975 (2025) — Self - Director of Dog day afternoon (archive footage)
6. The Tramp and the Dictator (2002) — Self (uncredited)
7. American Masters (1986) — Self
8. The Dick Cavett Show (1968) — Self - Guest
9. Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (2000) — Self - Director, 'Fail Safe'
10. Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004) — Self
11. By Sidney Lumet (2015) — Self
12. You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) — Self
13. The 400 Million (1939) — Additional Voice (voice)
14. Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood (2010) — Self
15. One Third of a Nation (1939) — Joey Rogers
16. Film '72 (1971) — Self
17. The Evolution of an American Filmmaker (2003) — Self
18. New York at the Movies (2002) — Self
19. The Sun... the Sand... the Hill (1965) — Self
20. The Education of Gore Vidal (2003) — Self
21. Making 'Murder on the Orient-Express' (2004) — Self
22. Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made (2008) — Self
23. Night of 100 Stars III (1990) — Self
24. Wiz on Down the Road (1978) — Self - Director
25. The Making of 'Dog Day Afternoon' (2006) — Self
26. Fonda on Fonda (1992) — Self
27. Spécial cinéma (1974) — Self
28. Inside 'Serpico' (2002) — Self
29. Serpico: From Real to Reel (2002) — Self
30. Intimate Portrait: Sean Connery (1998) — Self
31. Funny (1988) — Self
32. Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows (1999) — Self
33. Dziga and His Brothers (2002) — Self
34. Revisiting 'Fail-Safe' (2000) — Self
35. Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film (2006) — Self
36. William Holden: The Golden Boy (1989) — Self
37. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men' (2008) — Self
38. The Making of 'Network' (2006) — Self
39. Prince of the City: The Real Story (2007) — Self
40. One Step Further: Becoming Lumet (2023) — Self