Salute Sidney Lumet (1924-2011)

One of American film's most revered directors, Sidney Lumet died at the age of 86 on Saturday. He had been ill with lymphoma and passed away at his home in Manhattan.

Lumet was nominated by Hollywood's film academy four times for best director.

In 1957, he received an Oscar nomination for his debut feature film: 12 Angry Men.
Before this film, he had worked on various off-Broadway films.

He went on to win Oscar nominations for 1975’s Dog Day Afternoon, 1976’s Network and 1982’s The Verdict. He received his final Oscar nomination for the co-writing the screenplay to 1981’s Prince of City.

Some people have argued that he is not quite as good as Martin Scorsese or other directors but how does one really rate directors at that stratospheric level of filmmaking?

For one thing, he told New York's stories like few others have.

The following list of selected Lumet films in a five decade Hollywood career make for exceptionally good viewing:

12 Angry Men (1957) - A crisp adaptation of a play

The Pawnbroker (1964) - One of the early films to consider the effects of the Nazi regime's concentration camps on their survivors

Serpico (1973) - A true story that challenges police corruption in New York about an honest New York cop who blew the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - An exciting adaptation of the classic novel, featuring a list of strong actors

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) - This film challenged the drama genre because it was based on such an unusual but true story. The Chase Manhattan Bank in Flatbush, Brooklyn, was held siege by a homosexual bank robber determined to steal enough money for his lover to undergo a sex change operation. Al Pacino's performance is unforgettable.

Network (1976) - The movie studies how the media can be abused for the gain of a few.

The Verdict (1982) - This film is about redemption. It features Paul Newman as a career trying to resurrect his life. It may be his best ever performance, at least one of the performances that stretches him as an actor and not just an action hero.

Find Me Guilty (2006) - A fan of true stories, Lumet directs Vin Diesel as Jack DiNorscio, a mob man who defended himself in court in a mafia trial. Paul Newman may have also made The Colour of Money but Vin Diesel has not acted this well since and its hard to believe he ever will.

The CelebrityCafe.com wrote:

On NJ.com, Stephen Witty said his films “shared a dedication to character and performance, a feel for the sweaty rhythms of New York, a preference for narrative clarity over fanciful artistry.”

"He had a unique gift with actors, an unusually dynamic feeling for drama, and a powerful sense of place, of the world of the picture," Martin Scorsese said.

He said Lumet was a "New York filmmaker at heart".

"Sidney Lumet will be remembered for his films. He leaves a great legacy, but more than that, to the people close to him, he will remain the most civilized of humans and the kindest man I have ever known," Al Pacino said.

"Sidney gave me my start in film composing in 1963 with 'The Pawnbroker' and I was privileged to work with him on four additional films including 'The Wiz,'" composer Quincy Jones said.

"Sidney was a visionary filmmaker whose movies made an indelible mark on our popular culture with their stirring commentary on our society," he said.

A director who began to tell New York stories, especially involving the city's minority populations, Spike Lee, said on Twitter:

"We all lost a Master Filmmaker yesterday, the Great Sidney Lumet. There could have been no INSIDE MAN without his superb DOG DAY AFTERNOON."


"Sidney was a visionary filmmaker whose movies made an indelible mark on our popular culture with their stirring commentary on our society" (Quincy Jones)


With AFP
Alistair Anderson

This article also appeared on http://screenforum.blogspot.com

More words on Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur

After some deliberations with my football brains' trust, I can confirm that, earlier this week, Spurs got maimed by Real Madrid and not just because they lost Peter Crouch to a red card.

Spurs were awful. There may have been this idea that they had one strategy which relies on Crocuh and is deadly but that's a lie. Spurs were played off of the park.

Another earthquake just hit Japan

Another quake has ravaged Japan's North East coast. This one managed 7,4 on the Richter scale. There is a Tsunami alert. Mercy on the people of Japan.

Real Madrid and Schalke are brilliant

Real Madrid just made Paella with chicken - Tottneham Hotspur chicken.

A cooking uncertainty was matched by a Barcelona-esque performance from Real Madrid.

Real Madrid destroyed Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 and Schalke massacred Inter Milan 5-2 away.

This was one of the best nights for a non-Inter, non-Spurs fan. It was probably only second to when Liverpool - my favourite English team beat AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League final, after being 3-0 down.

One of my national teams is Germany so these results gave me a really good feeling.
Hamburger SV is my German club team but I'll take a Schalke win over Inter Milan.

How did Real Madrid do it - they overwhelmed Hotspur. And Schalke? Maybe Raul channelled his old Madrid presence and spread it around his new team? Inter were hopeless at the back though.

More analysis to come, once I've chatted to the footie oracles (mates) then.

Jay-Z wants to buy Arsenal football club

He said this last year. It seems more poignant now that Arsenal are so hopeless.

Here's the rap I wrote about it.

Jay-Z - great rapper. Good businessman. He's a real mensch but he cannot run a footie club. Can anyone?

I got 99 problems but injuries aint one
Hit me

And it's a hard knock life
For Cesc
It's a hard knock life for him
Barca has bet-ta weather
Barca has hot-ter chicks
It's a hard knock life

I love goals
goals
goals
goals
goals i do adore
put my fot to that ball run it alon the ground
long balls are so Liver-fool

LCD Soundsystem - A great band plays its last show

It saddens me that I will probably never experience LCD Soundsystem live.

This New York born band has created some of the most entertaining music on the alternative-dance-rcok scene in a decade.

The band played a three and a half hour set on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. That's a massive set - they played everything they had ever done I'd assume which makes it tougher to stomach that it's too late for me to hear any of their brilliance anywhere on Earth.

Frontman James Murphy and company started gaining notoriety for their original sound in 2002. They soon released a double self-titled album. The opening track "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" was their break-out hit, playing all over alternative music lists and in video games, including SSX on Tour and FIFA 06.

Soon the band had received Grammy nominations for the album and for the track.

They became well-loved in New York and they showed their appreciation for this affection by releasing their song - New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down.

The song appeared on the band's second album, Sound of Silver. Murphy also released a track called 45:33 in 2006, as part of a promotion with Nike for download fro iTunes. He was one of the first artists to take advantage of the iTunes technology.

A third album, This is Happening, followed in 2009. It also garnered praise.

So, why then did the band split? Well, they wanted to leave on a high note.

"We get to do our last show and reunion show all together because we’re fucking old," Murphy said last Monday.

He wanted to put an end to something that was dear to him before it collapsed naturally.

He's 41 so maybe there is another musical project in him. Maybe he'll go into film next?

I'm eager to find out.



LCD Soundsystem at Denmark's Roskilde in 2010.

Picture free to use from Wikipedia.

What's the best South African music video ever?

I watched Lark on MK yesterday. Their debut for Moonlight was incredible. It's the best South African music video that I have seen yet. It's something to do with people breaking into a compound and using a baby robot bear to blow things up.
It looks very cool - I love the use of blues and whites. Anyway, I'm on the hunt to find other good local music videos. aKing's "Safe As Houses" comes to mind. I think that video is a homage to Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" - both the singers have crowns and look like they're playing "medieval times". aKing's has nice rain effects.

So, what other videos come to mind as being nice on the eyes or as evoking other things in audiences?