Sidney Lumet Biography

Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet is an Academy Award-winning film and television director known for his rough, often low-budget films. His credits include such acclaimed films as Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Network (1976). A native of Philadelphia, Lumet moved to New York as a child, where he began a lifelong love affair with the city. He chose New York City as the location for more than 30 films, often showing its grittier side. "Any script that starts in New York has got a head start. It's a fact the city can become anything you want it to be," Lumet said in a 1999 interview. He finished his pictures on time and under budget, which helped him maintain good relations with the Hollywood studios. Lumet was nominated four times for the Academy Award for best director. Although he never won, Lumet did receive an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2005. In 1993, he received the prestigious D.W. Griffith Award for lifetime achievement from the Directors Guild of America. In 1995, he authored Making Movies (1995), an incisive account of the movie-production process. Although many of Lumet's films dealt with social issues, he once said in a New York Times interview that he didn't think art changed anything. When asked why he made movies, he replied, "I do it because I like it and it's a wonderful way to spend your life."