1. He Let the Performances Speak for Themselves
Throughout this article, you'll notice that I've finished each entry with a clip from a Lumet film. If you've watched these clips (including the one below), you may notice one other thing. In almost every scene (aside from the
Dog Day Afternoon one), you'll find arguably the most important monologues in each of his films. And they're all filmed almost identically. We start with a full shot, normally encompassing everything there is to see on set, and then dolly in until we're at face-level with the actors. It happens in the clip from
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, midway through the 12 Angry Men scene, in the
The Verdict scene, and also down below in
Network. Because Lumet, in a stark contrast to Orson Welles'
Citizen Kane, does in fact do what Ebert said in an earlier quote. He makes the camera invisible. He gives his actors their playing room. Room to explore. He is all about the life inside. All about the rage and emotion and melodrama and sensationalism that is the human spirit. And a man who can capture that and replay it for the world to see is one hell of a filmmaker, indeed. http://youtu.be/WINDtlPXmmE