Sidney Lumet

[7] Director Sidney Lumet (Network, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead) brings Ira Levin’s hit play to the big screen, showcasing Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve as warring playwrights who resort to real murder to further their careers. Caine plays the mentor desperate for a comeback after suffering a series of duds. Reeve plays the idolizing student whose written a new play Caine thinks will …

[6] Al Pacino stars in the true story of Frank Serpico, a New York City cop who discovers a city-wide bribe scheme police are profiting from and rejects becoming part of it. But in doing so, he loses the trust of all the other cops and becomes a laughing stock… and then a target. I love Sidney Lumet movies and I love Al Pacino, but …

[8] Two brothers plot to rob their parents’ jewelry store, sending their lives and the lives of their loved ones into a tragic, downward spiral. Sidney Lumet (Network, Dog Day Afternoon) directs his final film with a stellar cast in this melodramatic thriller. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the scheming brother who holds a grudge against their father, while Ethan Hawke plays the more insecure younger …

[5] Sidney Lumet (Network, Dog Day Afternoon) directs the true story of a New York cop seeking redemption for some corrupt deeds. The undercover cop, played by Treat Williams, reluctantly becomes an informant for a special investigatory committee, only to have the committee strong-arm him into ratting out his friends and fellow cops. Williams is all right in the role, but I feel that perhaps …

[6] Sidney Lumet directs this fictionalized account of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were accused of being Soviet spies and executed in the midst of 1950s’ McCarthyism hysteria. Lumet cuts back and forth in time throughout the movie, balancing flashbacks with Julius and Ethel, played by Mandy Patinkin and Lindsay Crouse, with the story of their children ten or fifteen years after …

[8] Director Sidney Lumet showcases a true story ripped from the headlines, about two amateur bank robbers who started a media sensation that exploded further when the public learned of their unusual circumstances. Al Pacino stars as the master-mind of the heist plan that goes to hell and Charles Durning costars as the police captain who tries to manage the 24-hour siege. What’s most remarkable …

[10] A suicidal TV news anchorman strikes a nerve with the public, prompting his network to bastardize their news hour with his crackpot proselytizing. Before long, the network embraces pure tabloid sensationalism — live assassinations and all. Network is now famous for being ahead of its time, foretelling the Jerry Springer and Honey Boo Boo phenomenons decades in advance. But there’s more to it than …