Maura Spiegel's book, Sidney Lumet, provides wonderful insight on the life and work of the man who was raised in the theater and spent his life telling stories via stage and screen. 

Born as the son of a struggling actor, Sidney started as a young boy surpassing what his father could only wish to achieve. He grew up on the stages of New York City which remained his home throughout his life and where he chose to make most of his films. His heart and soul were part of the grit of that city and evident in much of his work such as "The Pawnbroker", "Serpico", "Network", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "12 Angry Men." He liked to tell stories that revealed something about society rather than just retelling old news. This, in part, was what made him one of the most important filmmakers of our time. 

This is not a book that gets lost in such details as aspect ratios, why certain film stock or lens were used, or how bigger and better special effects were incorporated. That would be boring. A piece of such workings were mentioned here and there but only enough to provide a little insight in how Sidney worked and a little of what helped to set him above so many others. It's not a film school text. It is a biography on the man, his works, his loves, and his life. 

Sidney was a man who loved family and people as much as he loved his art. We are treated to an insider's view of his life with ex-wives Rita Gam, Gloria Vanderbilt, Gail Jones and then his final wife, Mary Gimbel. Don't go looking for dirt though because there's not much there, especially considering that he seemed to remain on quite good terms with all of his exes throughout his life. Gee, what a guy! That sort of tells you what a special man he was and why he was so well loved. That special relationship quality apparently worked its charm on his actors also. He understood that it was essential to make them feel confident and supported in order to get the best work out of them. 

This book delves into those sorts of stories. A man with an amazing body of work who had also led a rich, personal life. A man who will live on in the archives of the Silver Screen and within the hearts and minds of those of us who love a good film that stays with us long after the lights go out. 


Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the eBook for a fair and honest review.

When it is snowy and cold outside, superspeed readers like me can read 150 - 200+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today. LOL

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.  

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

The first-ever biography of the seminal American director whose remarkable life traces a line through American entertainment history

Acclaimed as the ultimate New York movie director, Sidney Lumet began his astonishing five-decades-long directing career with the now-classic 12 Angry Men, followed by such landmark films as Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network. His remarkably varied output included award-winning adaptations of plays by Anton Chekhov, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O’Neill, whose Long Day’s Journey into Night featured Katharine Hepburn and Ralph Richardson in their most devastating performances.

Renowned as an “actor’s director,” Lumet attracted an unmatched roster of stars, among them: Henry Fonda, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Ethan Hawke, and Philip-Seymour Hoffman, accruing eighteen Oscar nods for his actors along the way.

With the help of exclusive interviews with family, colleagues, and friends, author Maura Spiegel provides a vibrant portrait of the life and work of this extraordinary director whose influence is felt through generations, and takes us inside the Federal Theater, the Group Theatre, the Actors Studio, and the early “golden age” of television.

From his surprising personal life, with four marriages to remarkable women—all of whom opened their living rooms to Lumet’s world of artists and performers like Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson—to the world of Yiddish theater and Broadway spectacles, Sidney Lumet: A Life is a book that anyone interested in American film of the twentieth century will not want to miss.

Sidney Lumet (Loom-ETT not my French Loom-ay) was an incredible director and person all around. This is an incredible biography that any movie fan will enjoy - well, maybe not those who line up for comic book or Star Wars movies, but I digress.  The book is spectacular as it draws on Lumet and his father's unpublished memoirs and it covers the whole gamut of his life.  A Lumet gamut is quite a thing to write or say.  Any movie fan (Lumet hated the word FILM) will enjoy this book_ I did, for me, because this book is not in the scope of our special library and selfishly asked for it to review for myself!


As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I love emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥

I can't get enough of learning about Sidney Lumet and why his films were so compelling.  This is an extremely well researched biography in that Spiegel had access to unpublished memoirs not only by Sidney himself, but also from Baruch, his father, who was responsible for his lifelong immersion in the world of theater, beginning with the Yiddish Theater of the Lower East Side from the time he was four.  His liberal viewpoints were honed at an early age, and as the material moved into the more familiar territory of film, his attention to detail became most apparent.