A – Z Challenge | Directors Series

Sidney Lumet is one of those great filmmakers who never won an Oscar for their works(although he was awarded an honorary Oscar). This American filmmaker is very well known for his conversational and courtroom dramas. He is one of the most underrated filmmakers of his time. What makes him a great filmmaker is that he does what the story requires without any signature of his. There were no forced cliches, the people were real, the streets and set up reflected the reality. This again was a reason for him to be overlooked by many. He deals with the moral dilemma and human emotions in a unique way which makes it worth your thoughts.

The movie to be spotlighted is Fail Safe (1964). Fail Safe is a cold war thriller drama. A Sudden technical glitch sets off a nuclear attack and how the President of United States deals with it forms the rest of the movie. The screenplay was perfect and performances were top notch. When Henry Fonda and Sidney Lumet join hands again after 12 Angry men then there is no way that this might movie might fail or looked down. But the release of Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick on the similar theme was a satire on the subject and it took away the mood from the audience. After years Fail Safe attained a cult status and widely regarded as one of the best cold war movies.

Other notable works of Sidney Lumet are Before the devil knows you’re dead, The network, Find me Guilty ( Watch it to see a different Vin Diesel), 12 Angry Men, The Verdict, and The Hill.