Sidney Lumet Quotes & Sayings

My job is to care about and be responsible for every frame of every movie I make. I know that all over the world there are young people borrowing from relatives and saving their allowances to buy their first cameras and put together their first student movies, some of them dreaming of becoming famous and making a fortune. But a few are dreaming of finding out what matters to them, of saying to themselves and to anyone who will listen, "I care." A few of them want to make good movies. — Sidney Lumet

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

Sometimes, on particularly good takes, I'm so moved that I stop "doing" the scene and just watch in awe at the miracle of good acting. As I said earlier, that's life up there. When it flows like that, that's when I say "Print. — Sidney Lumet

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. — Sidney Lumet

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. — Sidney Lumet

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

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. — Sidney Lumet

Everything becomes creative if the person doing the job is — Sidney Lumet

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. — Sidney Lumet

Good style, to me, is unseen style. — Sidney Lumet

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

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

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

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

In drama, the characters should determine the story. In melodrama, the story determines the characters. — Sidney Lumet

But he meant beauty in the sense of its organic connection to the material. And this is the connection that, for me, separates true stylists from decorators. The decorators are easy to recognize. That's why critics love them so. — Sidney Lumet

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

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

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

All good work requires self-revelation. — Sidney Lumet

The basic 110-volt AC power line moves the electrons at 60 cycles. If a transformer is close to the power source (and all speakers have transformers), the 60 cycles produce an audible hum. Crackling, caused by dirt on the sound head, can also be heard. — Sidney Lumet

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. — Sidney Lumet

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

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

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

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