Sidney Lumet Quotations

There is a kind of crazy bravery about this guy.

He was prescient. What can I tell you? He was a Jewish soothsayer. One of the things I admire stylistically is how he was able to give you the bitter pill with such good laughs.

I thought back to the O.J. Simpson trial. I would have voted him guilty. But there was no doubt that Johnnie Cochran overwhelmed the jury.

People make the great mistake with action heroes. They think that because generally the plots are simpler and their behavior is one-note that they can't act. But most of the time they can.

That's the only part of 'Network' that hasn't happened yet, and that's on its way.

We're all, and I include myself in this, big snobs about action heroes, we relegate them. It's what we used to do with beautiful actresses ... if you're an action hero and a star it means you cannot act - and all of this despite the fact that we know different.

We all have a prejudice about action films. It's sort of like, if they're beautiful and blonde, she can't act, and we should know better by now. I've heard it from people, 'What are you doing, doing a picture with Vin Diesel?' They're not giving him the credit he deserves. Sometimes, I just say, 'Wait till you see him in the picture.

I knew I wasn't buying a pig in a poke. I knew how good he was.

Galvin uses the word 'faith' several times in his summation to the jury, ... He says, 'In my faith, we are told you have only to act as if you have faith and faith will be given you.... You have only to act with justice,' and so on. He is using 'faith' absolutely synonymously with 'love.'

I don't know how to choose work that illuminates what my life is about. I don't know what my life is about and don't examine it. My life will define itself as I live it. The movies will define themselves as I make them. As long as the theme is something I care about at the moment, it's enough for me to start work. Maybe work itself is what my life is about.

Dolby was in the driver's seat. "Surround Sound" was added. Now we had three speakers behind the screen, two more on the left side of the theater, and two on the right. A closely guarded secret about all this is that you hear the correct balance only if you're sitting in the center of the theater. On the left or right side, those speakers tend to dominate.

If I don't have a script I adore, I do one I like. If I don't have one I like, I do one that has an actor I like or that presents some technical challenge.

There's a powerful magic about being a writer that I still marvel at.

There are no minor decisions in movie making. Each decision will either contribute to a good piece of work or bring the whole movie crashing down around my head many months later.

It's art. It's commerce. It's heartbreaking and it's fun. It's a great way to live.

There are no personal revelations other than feelings arising from the work itself

Good style, to me, is unseen style.

Over-length is one of the things that most often results in the destruction of the movie in the cutting room.

The nature of the work is to prepare for a good accident .

There's no such thing as a small part. There are just small actors.

Work is my norm. I have mad energy, insane energy, a kind of stamina in terms of work that's a little crazy.

Suffice to say that the theme (the WHAT of the movie) is going to determine the style (the HOW of the movie).

The varying physical characteristics of the actors may also necessitate changes. Sean Connery is six feet four. Dustin Hoffman isn't.

Don't let the difficulty of actually achieving a shot make you think that the shot is good.

All great work is preparing yourself for the accident to happen.

In drama, the characters should determine the story. In melodrama, the story determines the characters.

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.

I only said 'Titanic' is unwatchable because one can not watch it.

All good work requires self-revelation.

Everything becomes creative if the person doing the job is

For any director with a little lucidity, masterpieces are films that come to you by accident.