Sidney Lumet: One Brilliant Man

Sidney Lumet, one of my favourite directors, has died.  His greatest film was his first - 12 Angry Men - but unlike Welles, who also faced that challenge, he went on to direct more than 39 other feature films, many of them classics.  I think my favourites are his great 70s gritty cop films with a young Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico.  Fanously, he directed his last film at age 83, and it wasn't half-bad.  Other classics include The Pawnbroker, Network, and The Verdict.  So far, that's by my count six of the greatest American films.  Throw in Murder on the Orient Express, Fail-Safe, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and Deathtrap, and you have a very impressive list.  He will be missed.