The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Arguably the finest director in film history... what do you feel his best film is? We're talking about a man who made 12 Angry Men, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, The Verdict, Fail Safe, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Serpico, The Pawnbroker, and Prince of The City, to name the main players.

For me, it has to be 12 Angry Men... my choice for the best film of all time. The camerawork, acting, plot, and dialogue of this film are just off the charts brilliant.

Network would be 2nd. I consider Network one the top 10 best films ever... and in third place would be the HIGHLY UNDERRATED masterpiece The Verdict.

Thoughts?

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Been waiting for this thread! I am guilty of not seeing 12 Angry Men yet, and my Network memory is in the red, so I need a re-watch, but my current memory has me leaning towards The Verdict as my favorite that I've seen. Such a great movie, and that ending!

12 and dog day i think. still need to see more as i had only seen five of his. i love find me guilty but it was like long ago, probably i should watch it back

The Verdict is perfection. Arguably the best Paul Newman performance.

So, what is your take on that ending?

My understanding is that he let the phone ring because he knew who it was and had finally earned his self respect back. Seemed like a simple and rewarding way to end the film. But I always wonder if I missed something in the bigger picture in the way of subtext...

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Coin toss between 12 Angry Men and Network for me.

I’d also shoutout Serpico. A great slow burner and one of my favorite Pacino performances. Spares no detail.

That was basically my understanding as well. Basically, he cared about her but felt too betrayed and too vindicated to pick up the phone.

Great ending.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

The one Lumet film that I'm not that high on is Q&A. It just didn't reasonate with me the way his other works have.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

For me it has to be The Verdict, such a powerful believable film. The others mentioned are good to great. After years of wanting to I watched The Pawnbroker last year, really did leave me cold. Think maybe a re-watch is in order.

The Verdict is a work of art! The time it takes to establish Newman's character. Playing pinball, drinking before work, forging secretary notes for his office door, not finishing jokes at the local pub...if it is underrated then someone needs to be fired! :p

I couldn't believe it was based on a book, the whole thing seemed patched together.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Network
12 Angry Men is also one of the great movies ever... shows what great writing/acting can do (making an amazing movie in a single room)

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Definitely 12 Angry Men.
After that would be a tie between Dog Day Afternoon and Network.

How do you feel Serpico and Prince of the City compare?

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Haven’t seen Prince of the City.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

Speaking of Lumet films, who else is a fan of Deathtrap? Great movie! One of the best thrillers of the 80s.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

For me, 12 Angry Men as well. Beautifully made, doesn't bore for a second even when it's mostly in one room. High on my list of favorite movies.

01. 12 Angry Men
02. Dog Day Afternoon
03. Network
04. Serpico
05. The Verdict

That's all i've seen, like them all to some degree.

Re: The best Sidney Lumet film?
 

in the heat of the night

No contest...Network