I won’t argue with a single one of the films you’ll be hearing about in the obituary pages and tributes to come. Network, Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Serpico and especially The Verdict are all standalone masterpieces brought to visceral life by a one-of-a-kind director who leaves behind a legacy that will live on for as long as there’s a civilization. Anyone with just one of those films on their resume could sit back in the satisfaction of knowing that they had achieved something very rare today — artistic perfection. “Fail Safe” and “The Pawnbroker” both come romantically close to that kind of perfection, as well.
But I’m a “deep cut” kind of movie lover, someone who likes to see absolutely everything in the hopes of digging up a gem everyone else appears to have missed. The only thing I love more than my secret stash of cinematic gems, is the sharing of them. And the beauty of Lumet is that he had a number of sleepers, chief among them one of my wife’s all-time favorites, A Stranger Among Us with Melanie Griffith. The film was written by our own Robert Avrech and not only ranks as a terrific murder mystery/urban thriller, but also a delicately crafted love letter to both human dignity and the Jewish faith. Beneath all the drama and mystery, you’ll find a life-affirming subtext and thematic drive that tenderly examines the big issues of fidelity, faith, and loyalty in ways movies then, and especially now, simply don’t anymore. For this reason it stands out in Lumet’s work, which is both a credit to the director and my friend Robert.
Here are some others worth seeking out if you haven’t already…
Garbo Talks (1984): One of Lumet’s few escapist films with a perfectly cast Ron Silver as a Manhattan worker bee who drops everything to fulfill his dying mother’s (a never better Anne Bancroft) wish to meet the elusive Greta Garbo.
Running On Empty (1988): A sleeper and near-masterpiece I ranked as #18 in my countdown of the Top 25 Greatest Left-Wing Films of All Time.
Q & A 1990: A relentlessly brutal noir piece with an unforgettable central performance from Nick Nolte as a depraved police detective slowly spiraling out of violent control as a young district attorney (Timothy Hutton) attempts to bring him down. Armand Assante and Luis Guzman were never better in a couple of supporting roles that made me a lifelong fan of both.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007): The best compliment I can pay this unbelievably engrossing thriller (on of the best of that year) that stirs your guts with a stick, is that it plays like the kind of movie a first-time director would create to make his mark and take his place in the world of cinema. This is Lumet’s “Reservoir Dogs,” a young man’s film made by a then 83 year-old living legend with nothing to prove.
Sure, Lumet was a left-wing filmmaker, but he was so damned brilliant you didn’t notice and after you did, you simply didn’t care. My thanks to Mr. Lumet for the many, many, hours of pleasure he has brought — and thanks to DVD, will continue to bring into my life.
May he rest in peace.
I now turn you over to… The New York Times.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.