Sidney Lumet - I Love New York
Trailer · Background Material · Pictures · Official Site
directed by: Jaromil Jires
produced by: Karel Dirka
genre: Documentary
running time: appr. 60 minutes
In January 2008, Sidney Lumet will be awarded by the Losn Angeles Film Critics Association for his Lifetime Achievement.
Synopsis:
Sidney Lumet (born June 25, 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) directed over 50 films, including the critically acclaimed “12 Angry Men” (1957) starring Henry Fonda, Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982) with Paul Newman and Charlotte Rampling. His films earned him several Academy Award nominations for Best Director. He won an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005, for his "brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture".
His parents were Polish Yiddish theater actor Baruch Lumet and dancer Eugenia Wermus. A graduate of the Professional Children's School, Lumet was an actor before he was a director. Lumet made his stage debut at New York's Yiddish Art Theater at the age of four and acted in Yiddish theater and on Broadway into the 1950s.
In this documentary, Sidney Lumet talks about his passion for acting and directing and – for New York., his preferred place to live and to work. He talks about the art of directing and guiding the actors, about the art of editing, and gives as example for his unusual editing techniques “The Pawnbroker” (1964). Scenes of his films are shown in this documentary, where also his so-called “justice pictures” are mentioned: “The Offence” starring Sean Connery, “Serpico”, “Prince of the City” and “The Verdict”.
About the director:
Jaromil Jireš (1935 – 2001) was one of the leading Czech film directors and scriptwriters. In 2001 he died in a car accident.
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