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113-439: Sidney Arthur Lumet ( / l uː ˈ m ɛ t / loo- MET ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York dramas which focused on the working class , tackled social injustices , and often questioned authority. He received several awards including an Academy Honorary Award and

226-423: A Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for nine British Academy Film Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award . He was nominated five times for Academy Awards : four for Best Director for the legal drama 12 Angry Men (1957), the crime drama Dog Day Afternoon (1975), the satirical drama Network (1976) and the legal thriller The Verdict (1982), and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Prince of

339-574: A Henry Lynn short film Papirossen (meaning "Cigarettes" in Yiddish ), co-produced by radio star Herman Yablokoff . The film was shown in a theatrical play with the same title, based on the song " Papirosn ". The play and short film appeared at the Bronx 's McKinley Square Theatre. In 1939, at age 15, he made his only feature-length film appearance in ...One Third of a Nation... . World War II interrupted Lumet's early acting career and he spent four years in

452-639: A Drama Series nomination for NBC Sunday Showcase (1961). He also directed for Goodyear Television Playhouse , Kraft Television Theatre and Playhouse 90 . Lumet was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan . He studied theater acting at the Professional Children's School of New York and Columbia University . Lumet's parents, Baruch and Eugenia (née Wermus) Lumet, were Jewish and veterans of

565-410: A TV interview that the film was his favorite as an actor. It was the social realism which permeated his greatest work that truly defined Lumet – the themes of youthful idealism beaten down by corruption and the hopelessness of inept social institutions allowed him to produce several trenchant and potent films that no other director could have made. — Turner Classic Movies Serpico (1973)

678-459: A belief in the importance of justice for a democracy , a subject that he tried to put in his films. He admitted, however, that he did not believe that the movie business itself has the power to change anything. Rapf writes, "There is, as he says, a lot of 'shit' to deal with in the entertainment industry, but the secret of good work is to maintain your honesty and your passion." Film historian David Thomson writes of his films: He has steady themes:

791-470: A cinematic showcase for their abilities and help them deepen their acting contribution. Actor Christopher Reeve , who co-starred in Deathtrap (1982), also pointed out that Lumet knew how to talk technical language: "If you want to work that way – he knows how to talk Method, he knows how to improvise, and he does it all equally well". As a movie goes on, it gets more and more grueling and you really need

904-612: A decade between Irish immigrants and Black people for work. Rioters burned the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground. At least 120 people were killed. Eleven Black men were lynched over five days, and the riots forced hundreds of Blacks to flee. The Black population in Manhattan fell below 10,000 by 1865. The White working class had established dominance. It was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history . In 1886,

1017-413: A director who will help remind you where your character is at all times. Sidney Lumet was like that. All wonderful directors will do that. — Al Pacino Joanna Rapf, writing about the filming of The Verdict (1982), states that Lumet gave plenty of personal attention to his actors, whether listening to them or touching them. She describes how Lumet and star Paul Newman sat on a bench secluded from

1130-424: A documentary, letting his actors square off like random predators, insisting on the most natural light possible, making offices look as ugly and bureaucratic as they were because he knew, beneath that, that they weren't just offices but lairs, and that there was a deeper intensity, almost a kind of beauty, to catching the coarseness of reality as it truly looked. "Lumet generally insisted on the collaborative nature of

1243-454: A film producer/director/writer, 1932-1939. During WWII Lynn created a business to manufacture plastic products for the war effort, and he was a news commentator on radio station, WEVD. Henry Lynn is survived by his daughter, Lila Lynn, who appeared as a child actress in his 1938 film, The Power of Life . Lynn's wife, Kitty Cooperman, also appeared in The Power of Life . From 1932 to 1939, Lynn

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1356-476: A jury must decide the guilt or innocence of a young man, to Q&A (1990), in which a lawyer must determine the question of guilt and responsibility of a maverick policeman, guilt is a common thread that runs through many of his films. In Murder on the Orient Express (1974), all of the suspects are guilty. His films are also characterized by a strong emphasis on family life, often showing tensions within

1469-539: A minimum of two weeks before filming. During those weeks, recalls Faye Dunaway , who starred in Network (1976), he also blocked the scenes with his cameraman. As a result, she added that "not a minute is wasted while he's shooting, and that shows not only on the studio's budget, but it shows on the impetus of performance". She praised his style of directing in Network , in which she won her only Academy Award: Sidney, let me say,

1582-510: A part of the colony of New York . It became a center of slavery , with 42% of households enslaving Africans by 1730. Most were domestic slaves ; others were hired out as labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banking and shipping industries trading with the American South . During construction in Foley Square in

1695-510: A reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church , and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship. In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls , without bloodshed. The terms of the surrender permitted Dutch residents to remain in

1808-524: A result of Sandy, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $ 19 billion. The disaster spawned long-term efforts towards infrastructural projects to counter climate change and rising seas, with $ 15 billion in federal funding received through 2022 towards those resiliency efforts. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed. With its population density and its extensive exposure to global travelers,

1921-476: A speech denying the request, which was paraphrased on the front page of the New York Daily News as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD." The Municipal Assistance Corporation was formed and granted oversight authority over the city's finances. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into

2034-406: A successful transition from TV to movies. A controversial TV show that he directed in 1960 gained some notoriety: The Sacco-Vanzetti Story on NBC . According to The New York Times , the drama drew flack from the state of Massachusetts (where Sacco and Vanzetti were tried and executed) because it was thought to postulate that the condemned murderers were, in fact, wholly innocent. However,

2147-430: A vortex of events that they can neither understand nor control but are forced to resolve. Like other Jewish directors from New York, such as Woody Allen , Mel Brooks and Paul Mazursky , Lumet's characters often speak overtly about controversial issues of the times. They felt unconstrained as filmmakers, and their art became "filtered through their Jewish consciousness", wrote film historian David Desser . Lumet, like

2260-628: Is Papirossen by radio star Herman Yablokoff . This theatrical play was based on a current hit song, Papirosn . Lynn's short 15-minute film featured Sidney Lumet , as an 11-year-old cigarette vendor. The play and short film were booked into the Bronx McKinley Square Theatre in 1935. This was one of Henry Lynn's most unusual productions. Lynn and Joseph Green, a contemporary actor and film producer/director, collaborated and distributed Bar Mitzvah (1935) in Europe, notably Poland, where it

2373-476: Is a global center of finance and commerce , culture , technology , entertainment and media , academics and scientific output , the arts and fashion , and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations , international diplomacy . With an estimated population in 2023 of 8,258,035 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km ), the city is the most densely populated major city in

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2486-551: Is a valentine to New York". In an interview in 2006, Lumet said that he had always been "fascinated by the human cost involved in following passions and commitments, and the cost those passions and commitments inflict on others". This theme is at the core of most of his movies, notes Rapf, such as his true-life films about corruption in the New York City Police Department or in family dramas such as Daniel (1983). Film historian Stephen Bowles believes that Lumet

2599-467: Is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023 , New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has by a wide margin the highest U.S. city residential rents; and Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world. New York City is home by a significant margin to the highest number of billionaires , individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$ 30 million), and millionaires of any city in

2712-500: Is directly related to pictures of quality". Because he started his career as an actor, he became known as an "actor's director" and worked with the best of them over the years, a roster probably unequaled by any other director. Acting scholar Frank P. Tomasulo agreed and pointed out that many directors who are able to understand acting from an actor's perspective were all "great communicators". According to film historians Gerald Mast and Bruce Kawin, Lumet's "sensitivity to actors and to

2825-404: Is important to confront reality on a daily basis. For Lumet, "New York is filled with reality; Hollywood is a fantasyland." He often used New York City as the backdrop—if not the symbol—of his "preoccupation with America's decline", according to film historians Scott and Barbara Siegel . Lumet was attracted to crime-related stories in New York City urban settings, where the criminals get caught in

2938-399: Is one of, if not, the most talented and professional men in the world...and acting in Network was one of the happiest experiences I have ever had...He's a really gifted man who contributed a good deal to my performance. Partly because his actors were well rehearsed, he could execute a production in rapid order, which kept his productions within their modest budgets. When filming Prince of

3051-570: Is the quintessential Lumet hero, who he described as a "rebel with a cause". An earlier example of psychodrama was The Pawnbroker (1964), starring Rod Steiger . In it, Steiger plays a Holocaust survivor whose spirit has been broken and who lives day-to-day as a pawn shop manager in Harlem . Lumet used the film to examine, with flashbacks, the psychological and spiritual scars with which Steiger's character lives, including his lost capacity to feel pleasure. Steiger, who made nearly 80 films, said during

3164-539: The 1962 Cannes Film Festival . Film critic Owen Gleiberman observed that Lumet was a "hardboiled straight-shooter" who, because he was trained during the Golden Age of Television in the 1950s, became noted for his energetic style of directing. The words, "Sidney Lumet" and "energy", he added, became synonymous. "The energy was there in the quietest moments. It was an inner energy, a hum of existence that Lumet observed in people and brought out in them...[when he] went into

3277-605: The Academy Honorary Award in 2004. A member of the inaugural class at New York's Actors Studio , Lumet started acting Off-Broadway and made his Broadway acting debut in the 1935 play Dead End . He went on to direct the Broadway plays Night of the Auk (1956), Caligula (1960) and Nowhere to Go But Up (1962). Lumet is also known for his work on television. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for

3390-837: The Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes . Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall , a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants . In 1831, New York University was founded. Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant , Washington Irving , Herman Melville , Rufus Wilmot Griswold , John Keese , Nathaniel Parker Willis , and Edgar Allan Poe . Members of

3503-876: The Crown , with as many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation, the largest such community on the continent. When the British forces evacuated New York at the close of the war in 1783, they transported thousands of freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia , England, and the Caribbean . The attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin , and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after

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3616-699: The New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers. The area was rebuilt with a new World Trade Center , the National September 11 Memorial and Museum , and other new buildings and infrastructure, including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , the city's third-largest hub. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the seventh-tallest building in

3729-947: The Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company . He sailed up what the Dutch called North River (now the Hudson River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange . Hudson claimed the region for the Dutch East India Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay was claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (' New Netherland '). The first non–Native American inhabitant of what became New York City

3842-617: The Statue of Liberty , a gift from France , was dedicated in New York Harbor. The statue welcomed 14 million immigrants as they came to the U.S. via Ellis Island by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the United States and American ideals of liberty and peace. In 1898, the City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city),

3955-683: The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village . They are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . Wayne R. Dynes , author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality , wrote that drag queens were

4068-562: The U.S. Army . After returning from service as a radar repairman stationed in India and Burma (1942–1946), he became involved with the Actors Studio , then formed his own theater workshop. He organized an Off-Broadway group and became its director, and continued directing in summer stock theatre while teaching acting at the High School of Performing Arts . He was the senior drama coach at

4181-635: The Yiddish theatre ; they had immigrated to the United States from Poland . His father, an actor, director, producer and writer, was born in Warsaw . Lumet's mother, who was a dancer, died when he was a child. He had an older sister. Lumet made his professional debut on the radio at age four and his stage debut at the Yiddish Art Theatre at age five. As a child, he also appeared in many Broadway productions, including 1935's Dead End and Kurt Weill's The Eternal Road . In 1935, aged 11, Lumet appeared in

4294-586: The steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River , killing 1,021 people. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , the city's worst industrial disaster, killed 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York's non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City

4407-909: The waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the natural relief in topography has been evened out, especially in Manhattan. Henry Lynn Lynn was born in the region of Białystok , then Russian Empire , now in Poland . Frustrated by difficulties of obtaining an education in Białystok, he emigrated to America, arriving in Boston in 1914. Initially, he taught languages in Boston and suburbs, Dorchester , Lynn , and Revere . Later he moved to New York City where he taught Hebrew and Russian, then became

4520-417: The "decorator's look", for which the camera could call attention to itself. He edited his films so that the camera was unobtrusive. His cinematographer Ron Fortunato said, "Sidney flips if he sees a look that's too artsy." Lumet disliked CinemaScope and never filmed in an aspect ratio wider than 1.85:1. New York City New York , often called New York City or NYC , is the most populous city in

4633-535: The 1990s, the African Burying Ground was discovered; the cemetery included 10,000 to 20,000 graves of colonial-era Africans, some enslaved and some free. The 1735 trial and acquittal in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger , who had been accused of seditious libel after criticizing colonial governor William Cosby , helped to establish freedom of the press in North America . In 1754, Columbia University

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4746-525: The 19th century, the city was transformed by both commercial and residential development relating to its status as a national and international trading center , as well as by European immigration, respectively. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which expanded the city street grid to encompass almost all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected

4859-671: The British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York destroyed nearly 500 buildings, about a quarter of the structures in the city, including Trinity Church . In January 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York City the national capital. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of

4972-470: The Bronx , and Staten Island . Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan , New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022 , the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a gross metropolitan product of over US$ 2.16 trillion. If

5085-420: The City (1981), for example, although there were over 130 speaking roles and 135 different locations, he was able to coordinate the entire shoot in 52 days. As a result, wrote historians Charles Harpole and Thomas Schatz, performers were eager to work with him, for they considered him to be an "outstanding director of actors". The film's star Treat Williams said that Lumet was known for being "energetic": He

5198-512: The City (1981). Other films include A View from the Bridge (1962), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), The Pawnbroker (1964), Fail Safe (1964), The Hill (1965), Serpico (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Equus (1977), The Wiz (1978), The Morning After (1986), Running on Empty (1988) and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007). He received

5311-558: The County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904,

5424-585: The Dutch West India Company relinquished its monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food, timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies ). In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as the last Director-General of New Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Netherland grew from 2,000 to 8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order; however, he earned

5537-529: The Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit , as charged by the Dutch West India Company , purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie , a small Lenape band, for "the value of 60 guilders " (about $ 900 in 2018). A frequently told but disproved legend claims that Manhattan was purchased for $ 24 worth of glass beads. Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly. To attract settlers,

5650-597: The Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen ( patroons , or patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded land, local political autonomy, and rights to participate in the lucrative fur trade. This program had little success. Since 1621, the Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General . In 1639–1640, in an effort to bolster economic growth,

5763-580: The Native Americans and epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizeable population losses for the Lenape between 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200. New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population in 1702 alone. In the early 18th century, New York grew in importance as a trading port while as

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5876-470: The New York metropolitan area were its own country , it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world . Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system , New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion . The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . New York City

5989-519: The New York streets...he made them electric." He also wrote: It was a working class outer-borough energy. Lumet's streets were just as mean as Scorsese's, but Lumet's seemed plain rather than poetic. He channeled that New York skeezy vitality with such natural force that it was easy to overlook what was truly involved in the achievement. He captured that New York vibe like no one else because he saw it, lived it, breathed it – but then he had to go out and stage it, or re-create it, almost as if he were staging

6102-699: The Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-Black population gradually developed in Manhattan. The New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate Black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state . Free Blacks struggled with discrimination and interracial abolitionist activism continued. New York City's population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 (10,886 of whom were Black and of which 518 were enslaved) to 312,710 by 1840 (16,358 of whom were Black). Also in

6215-512: The United States , located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors . The city comprises five boroughs , each coextensive with a respective county . The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area , the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area . New York

6328-415: The United States . As the U.S. capital, New York City hosted the inauguration of the first President, George Washington , and the first Congress , at Federal Hall on Wall Street . Congress drafted the Bill of Rights there. The Supreme Court held its first organizational sessions in New York in 1790. In 1790, for the first time, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's largest city. At

6441-436: The United States . As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement

6554-416: The United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles , the nation's second-most populous city. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities . The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to

6667-564: The appearance of spontaneity in both his actors and settings, which gave his films an improvisational look by shooting much of his work on location. Lumet was a strong believer in rehearsal and felt that if an actor rehearsed correctly, the actor would not lose spontaneity. According to critic Ian Bernard, Lumet felt that it gives actors the "entire arc of the role", which gives them the freedom to find that "magical accident". Director Peter Bogdanovich asked him whether he rehearsed extensively before shooting, and Lumet said that he liked to rehearse

6780-432: The area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême (New Angoulême ). A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V , arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of the Hudson River , which he named Río de San Antonio ('Saint Anthony's River'). In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor while searching for

6893-493: The beginning of the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification , and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. New York City's population exceeded 8 million for the first time in the 2000 United States census ; further records were set in 2010 , and 2020 U.S. censuses. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in

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7006-534: The business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park , which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, of whom more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860, representing over a quarter of the city's population. Extensive immigration from the German provinces meant that Germans comprised another 25% of New York's population by 1860. Democratic Party candidates were consistently elected to local office, increasing

7119-510: The city from New Jersey. The East River—a tidal strait —flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River , another tidal strait between the East and Hudson rivers, separates most of Manhattan from the Bronx. The Bronx River , which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County , is the only entirely freshwater river in the city. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along

7232-439: The city rapidly replaced Wuhan , China as the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, straining the city's healthcare infrastructure. Through March 2023, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. New York City is situated in the northeastern United States , in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston . Its location at

7345-447: The city's economy. The advent of Y2K was celebrated with fanfare in Times Square . New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks . Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people, including 343 first responders from

7458-615: The city's ties to the South and its dominant party. In 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood called on the aldermen to declare independence from Albany and the United States after the South seceded, but his proposal was not acted on. Anger at new military conscription laws during the American Civil War (1861–1865), which spared wealthier men who could afford to hire a substitute, led to the Draft Riots of 1863 , whose most visible participants were ethnic Irish working class. The draft riots deteriorated into attacks on New York's elite, followed by attacks on Black New Yorkers after fierce competition for

7571-456: The colony and allowed for religious freedom. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after the Second Anglo-Dutch War , the victorious Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname , which they had gained from the English, and in return the English kept New Amsterdam. The settlement was promptly renamed "New York" after the Duke of York (the future King James II and VII). The duke gave part of

7684-442: The colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . On August 24, 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , Anthony Colve of the Dutch navy seized New York at the behest of Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and rechristened it "New Orange" after William III , the Prince of Orange . The Dutch soon returned the island to England under the Treaty of Westminster of November 1674. Several intertribal wars among

7797-417: The development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County , with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power. The United Nations headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York's global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York's displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. In 1969,

7910-437: The emotional drama of his films. The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City have copies of some of these films. DVD and VHS copies of Mothers of Today , Where is my Child and Bar Mitzvah are available from TCM, Brandeis, Ergo, and Israel-Store. The Intolerance of 1933 is available from Glenn Studio, EmGee Films, Reseda, California Archived 2008-10-24 at

8023-406: The end of 1790, the national capital was moved to Philadelphia . During the 19th century, New York City's population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. Under New York State's gradual emancipation act of 1799, children of slave mothers were to be eventually liberated but to be held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after

8136-708: The family. This emphasis on the family included "surrogate families", as in the police trilogy consisting of Serpico (1973), Prince of the City (1981), and Q&A . An "untraditional family" is also portrayed in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Sidney was a visionary film-maker whose movies made an indelible mark on our popular culture with their stirring commentary on our society. Future generations of film-makers will look to Sidney's work for guidance and inspiration but there will never be another who comes close to him. —composer Quincy Jones Lumet preferred naturalism or realism, according to Joanna Rapf. He did not like

8249-403: The film, sometimes ridiculing the dominance of the 'personal' director," wrote film historian Frank R. Cunningham. As a result, Lumet became renowned among both actors and cinematographers for his openness to sharing creative ideas with the writer, actors and other artists. Lumet "has no equal in the distinguished direction of superior actors", added Cunningham, with many coming from the theater. He

8362-457: The founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam , later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam extended from the southern tip of Manhattan to modern-day Wall Street , where a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden stockade was built in 1653 to protect against Native American and English raids. In 1626,

8475-420: The fragility of justice, and the police and their corruption. Lumet quickly became esteemed ... [and he] got a habit for big issues – Fail Safe , The Pawnbroker , The Hill ,  – and seemed torn between dullness and pathos. ...  He was that rarity of the 1970s, a director happy to serve his material – yet seemingly not touched or changed by it. ... His sensitivity to actors and to

8588-579: The great actor lurking within," wrote film critic Mick LaSalle . When necessary, Lumet chose untrained actors, but he stated that "over ninety percent of the time, I want the best tools I can get: actors, writers, lighting men, cameramen, propmen". Nonetheless, when he did use less experienced actors, he could still bring out superior and memorable acting performances. He did with Nick Nolte , Anthony Perkins , Armand Assante , Jane Fonda , Faye Dunaway , Timothy Hutton and Ali MacGraw , who referred to him as "every actor's dream". In Jane Fonda's opinion, "He

8701-440: The high turnover required by television. As a result, while working for CBS , he directed hundreds of episodes of Danger (1950–1955), Mama (1949–1957) and You Are There (1953–1957), the latter a weekly series that featured Walter Cronkite in one of his early television appearances. Lumet chose Cronkite for the role of anchorman "because the premise of the show was so silly, was so outrageous, that we needed somebody with

8814-466: The ice (and its subsequent retreat) contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a relatively shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay . Between New York City and Troy, New York , the river is an estuary . The Hudson River separates

8927-542: The last American stronghold in Manhattan, causing George Washington and his forces to retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey , pursued by British forces. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, the British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom promised by

9040-494: The main set, where Newman had taken his shoes off, to privately discuss an important scene about to be shot. Lumet's actors walked through their scenes before the camera rolled. This preparation was done because Lumet liked to shoot a scene in one take or two at the most. Newman liked to call him "Speedy Gonzales", adding that Lumet did not shoot more than he had to. "He doesn't give himself any protection. I know I would," Newman said. Film critic Betsey Sharkey agreed, adding that "he

9153-417: The most American, homespun, warm ease about him", he said. He also directed original plays for Playhouse 90 , Kraft Television Theatre and Studio One , directing approximately 200 episodes, which established him as "one of the most prolific and respected directors in the business", according to Turner Classic Movies . His ability to work quickly while shooting carried over to his film career. Because

9266-419: The most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London . The metropolitan area surpassed 10 million in the early 1930s, becoming the first megacity . The Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and

9379-598: The mouth of the Hudson River , which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean , has helped the city grow in significance as a trading port. Most of the city is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. During the Wisconsin glaciation , 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet . The erosive forward movement of

9492-443: The new 46th Street building of "Performing Arts". The 25-year-old Lumet directed the drama department in a production of The Young and Fair . Lumet began his directorial career with Off-Broadway productions and evolved into a highly efficient television director. He began directing television in 1950 after working as an assistant to friend and then-director Yul Brynner . He soon developed a "lightning quick" method for shooting due to

9605-492: The only " transgender folks around" during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. Growing fiscal deficits in 1975 led the city to appeal to the federal government for financial aid; President Gerald Ford gave

9718-607: The others, sometimes turned to Jewish themes to develop ethnic sensibilities that were characteristic of American culture, by dynamically highlighting its "unique tensions and cultural diversity". This was partly reflected in Lumet's preoccupation with city life. A Stranger Among Us (1992), for example, is the story of a woman undercover police officer and her experiences in a Hasidic community in New York City. The subject of "guilt", explains Desser, dominates many of Lumet's films. From his first feature film, 12 Angry Men (1957), in which

9831-537: The popular radio star Esther Field . The production companies were Lynn Productions, Menorah, Empire Films, S & L Films, Sov-Am Films, Judea Films and Apex Films. Jack Stillman was the musical director of most of Lynn's films, several of which had excellent original compositions by Joseph Rumshinsky , Art Shryer , Ludwig Satz , and William Mercur . Original composition was featured in Shir Hashirim ( Songs of Songs ). Lynn made effective use of music to heighten

9944-473: The quality of many television dramas was so impressive, several of them were later adapted as motion pictures. His first movie, 12 Angry Men (1957), a courtroom drama centered on a tense jury deliberation that was based on a CBS live play , was an auspicious beginning for Lumet. It was a critical success and established him as a director skilled at adapting properties from other mediums to motion pictures. Fully half of Lumet's complement of films originated in

10057-502: The resulting controversy did Lumet more good than harm, sending several prestigious film assignments his way. He began adapting classic plays for both film and television, directing Marlon Brando , Joanne Woodward and Anna Magnani in the feature film The Fugitive Kind (1959), based on the Tennessee Williams play Orpheus Descending . He directed a live television version of Eugene O'Neill 's The Iceman Cometh , which

10170-523: The rhythms of the city have made him America's longest-lived descendant of the 1950s Neorealist tradition and its urgent commitment to ethical responsibility". They cited his film The Hill (1965) as "one of the most politically and morally radical films of the 1960s". They added that beneath the social conflicts of Lumet's films lies the "conviction that love and reason will eventually prevail in human affairs", and that "law and justice will eventually be served – or not". His debut film Twelve Angry Men

10283-653: The rhythms of the city have made him America's longest-lived descendant of the 1950s Neorealist tradition and its urgent commitment to ethical responsibility. Lumet preferred to work in New York City and shunned the dominance of Hollywood . As a director, he became strongly identified with New York City. "I always like being in Woody Allen's world," he said. He claimed that "the diversity of the City, its many ethnic neighborhoods, its art and its crime, its sophistication and its corruption, its beauty and its ugliness, all feed into what inspires him". He felt that in order to create, it

10396-442: The rise of Hollywood. During World War II Lynn and Joseph Seiden suspended their film careers to assist the war effort. Lynn founded a small plastic products manufacturing company. Many of Lynn's films used popular theatre actors of the era: opera singer/actor, Boris Thomashefsky , actor and director, Sidney Lumet , Celia Adler , Morris Strassberg , Dora Weissman , actor/singer, Seymour Rechzeit , Michal Michalesko , and

10509-542: The system, about the little guy against the system". This includes the women characters, as in Garbo Talks (1984). Its star Anne Bancroft embodied the kind of character portrayal that attracted him: "a committed activist for all kinds of causes, who stands up for the rights of the oppressed, who is lively, outspoken, courageous, who refuses to conform for the sake of convenience, and whose understanding of life allows her to die with dignity  ... Garbo Talks in many ways

10622-410: The theater. Following his first film, Lumet divided his energies among political and social drama films, as well as adaptations of literary plays and novels, big stylish stories, New York-based black comedies and realistic crime dramas (including Serpico and Prince of the City ). As a result of directing 12 Angry Men , he was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made

10735-518: The world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m), a reference to the year of U.S. independence . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. New York City

10848-551: The world. In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England ). James's elder brother, King Charles II , appointed the Duke as proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland , including the city of New Amsterdam , when the Kingdom of England seized it from Dutch control. In the pre-Columbian era , the area of present-day New York City

10961-422: Was Juan Rodriguez , a merchant from Santo Domingo who arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–14, trapping for pelts and trading with the local population as a representative of the Dutch colonists. A permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States , with

11074-552: Was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Sandy's impacts included flooding that led to the days-long shutdown of the subway system and flooding of all East River subway tunnels and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel . The New York Stock Exchange closed for two days due to weather for the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888 . At least 43 people died in New York City as

11187-410: Was a maestro of one or two takes years before Clint Eastwood would turn it into a respected specialty". Sharkey recalls, "[Faye] Dunaway once told me that Lumet worked so fast it was as if he were on roller skates. A racing pulse generated by a big heart." Biographer Joanna Rapf observes that Lumet had always been an independent director, and liked to make films about "men who summon courage to challenge

11300-450: Was a master. Such control of his craft. He had strong, progressive values and never betrayed them." While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing. —Sidney Lumet Lumet believed that movies are an art, and "the amount of attention paid to movies

11413-525: Was a prime destination in the early 20th century for Blacks during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition . The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height. New York City became

11526-508: Was able to draw powerful performances from actors, such as Ralph Richardson , Marlon Brando , Richard Burton , Katharine Hepburn , James Mason , Sophia Loren , Geraldine Fitzgerald , Blythe Danner , Rod Steiger , Vanessa Redgrave , Paul Newman , Sean Connery , Henry Fonda , Dustin Hoffman , Albert Finney , Simone Signoret and Anne Bancroft . "Give him a good actor, and he just might find

11639-597: Was an acclaimed picture in its day, representing a model for liberal reason and fellowship during the 1950s. The film and Lumet were nominated for Academy Awards, and he was nominated for the Director's Guild Award. The Encyclopedia of World Biography states that his films often featured actors who studied " Method acting ", noted for portraying an earthy, introspective style. A leading example of such "Method" actors would be Al Pacino , who, early in his career, studied under Method acting guru Lee Strasberg . Lumet also preferred

11752-399: Was followed by his film A View from the Bridge (1962), another psychological drama, from the play written by Arthur Miller . This was followed by another Eugene O'Neill play -turned-to-cinema, Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), with Katharine Hepburn earning an Oscar nomination for her performance as a drug-addicted housewife; the four principal actors swept the acting awards at

11865-821: Was founded. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765, as the Sons of Liberty organization emerged in the city and skirmished over the next ten years with British troops stationed there. The Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War , was fought in August 1776 within modern-day Brooklyn. A British rout of the Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 eliminated

11978-521: Was inhabited by Algonquians , including the Lenape . Their homeland, known as Lenapehoking , included the present-day areas of Staten Island , Manhattan , the Bronx , the western portion of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens ), and the Lower Hudson Valley . The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano . He claimed

12091-405: Was intrigued by obsessive conditions, writes Bowles. Lumet's protagonists tended to be antiheroes , isolated and unexceptional men who rebel against a group or institution. The most important criterion for Lumet was not simply whether the actions of the people are right or wrong, but whether they were genuine and justified by the individual's conscience. Whistleblower Frank Serpico , for example,

12204-462: Was just a ball of fire. He had passion for what he did and he "came to work" with all barrels burning. He's probably the most prepared director I've ever worked with emotionally. His films always came in under schedule and under budget. And everybody got home for dinner. Harpole added that "whereas many directors disliked rehearsals or advising actors on how to build their character, Lumet excelled at both". He could thereby more easily give his performers

12317-458: Was most comfortable and effective as a director of serious psychodramas , as opposed to light entertainments. His Academy Award nominations, for example, were all for character studies of men in crisis, from his first film, Twelve Angry Men , to The Verdict . Lumet excelled at putting drama on the screen. Most of his characters are driven by obsessions or passions, such as the pursuit of justice, honesty and truth, or jealousy, memory or guilt. Lumet

12430-468: Was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York , before being permanently renamed New York in November 1674. New York City was the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs : Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens ,

12543-476: Was playing in 1937 in Warsaw with another film, Green Light with Errol Flynn . Boris Thomashefsky , a popular opera singer and actor at the time, was a co-producer and starred in the film. He sang in Lynn's film, as he had in the earlier 1924 play, Bar Mitzvah , a hit song, Erlekh Zayn ( Being Virtuous ). Despite the advent of "talkies" Lynn did not recognize the new technology and saw his film style disappear with

12656-473: Was the first of four "seminal" films that Lumet made during the 1970s that marked him as "one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation". It was the story of power and betrayal in the New York City police force, with an idealistic policeman battling impossible odds. Lumet was a child during the Depression , and grew up poor in New York City, witnessing poverty and corruption. It instilled in him at an early age

12769-736: Was writer and/or producer/director of at least 10 films, emphasizing family life and the challenges to traditional values. He directed 9 films. The first two: The Intolerance of 1933 (1933), and The Youth of Russia (1934), are documentaries and contain rare footage of historical events, e.g., labor union marches in New York City in the early 1930s. Lynn was an innovator, implementing Joseph Seiden 's new sound technology in The Unfortunate Bride , his 1932 remake of silent film, Broken Hearts (1926). Lynn included Hebrew dubbing in Shir Hashirim by Tel Aviv exhibitor Ya'acov Davidon and produced some short films for theatrical shows. One example

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