3. He Understood the Filmmaking Process as a Whole, Not Just in Parts
Of course, this is a given to anyone who's read his book, which separates its chapters into different elements of the filmmaking process. Lumet enjoyed the hands-on approach of doing everything there was to be done. He worked closely with the screenwriters and the actors, but some of his greatest stories from
Making Movies comes from stock screenings where he reviews his day's work. He was very cautious and aware of the pieces of the movie puzzle that are editing, sound, and cinematography, which is something that is sometimes overlooked by directors working today. Lumet took nothing for granted. Joel Segal told me in our conversation that Lumet had "every shot already set up in his head." He was a director with the ability to do exactly what he wanted in one take. He could set up the actors, the camera, shout action, and have it step-by-step the way he imagined it to be. Segal said this was a major contrast to fellow filmmaker Woody Allen's process that included lots of takes and cuts. Of course, neither style of filmmaking is the "right" or "more efficient" way of producing a movie, but a director that comes to the shoot knowing exactly what he's looking for is most definitely a director the cast and crew have no problem trusting.
"To say he lacked a noticeable visual style is a compliment. He reduced every scene to its necessary elements, and filmed them, he liked to say, "invisibly." You should not be thinking about the camera. He wanted you to think about the characters and the story." - Roger Ebert
http://youtu.be/gTDhgR3p12w