At the close of business on a bristling hot Brooklyn summer day, two bank robbers (Al Pacino and John Cazale) seeking to procure a sex change operation for the former's boyfriend (Chris Sarandan) inadvertently find themselves the center of a hostage situation and media sideshow. Satirically stinging and drawn from a real life incident, Sidney Lumet's realization of Frank Pierson's flavorful, funny script is crisp and empathetic with a brilliant, complicated Pacino performance supported by fine work from Cazale and Charles Durning as a stressed out, genuinely concerned negotiator.

**** out of ****

** 1/2 out of ****

A reviled industrialist (Richard Widmark) lies murdered in his sleeping car on the Orient Express leaving quite literally an entire train full of suspects (Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael York, Anthony Perkins, and John Gielgud among others) and, conveniently, the renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, now tapped to lead the proceedings. Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel takes a long time to get moving, but the inquest is a lot of fun and Poirot's outing of the guilty party is downright delectable if not completely ludicrous. Extraordinary exterior visuals prevail and an astounding and unrecognizable Finney dominates over an all-star cast.

*** out of ****

A Puerto Rican slum kid is on trial for the murder of his father, an open and shut case as far as members of all-white mostly middle aged jury is concerned. As the restless tribunal settles into the jury room to deliberate, anxious to depart on the mercilessly hot summer day, one lone juror insists on respecting the defendant's right of due process and thoroughly examining every bit of evidence. For his feature film debut Sidney Lumet took his know how from an early career in television and, through the brilliant use of lighting, close ups, and camera angles, the benefit of a tried and tested group of veteran actors, and an enlightened, informative microcosmic treatise on the legal system by Reginald Rose, transformed a one-set story into one of the finest dramas ever put to film. Atop the fine cast (without forgetting to mention a supremely composed turn from a hostile and bigoted Lee J. Cobb) stands Henry Fonda in one of his most nobly idealistic and memorable performances.

**** out of ****

A couple (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) once involved in the bombing of a government weapon's facility remain political fugitives from justice with their two sons in tow. As the elder of the boys (River Phoenix) approaches adulthood, he seeks to break free from their nomadic, surreptitious lifestyle and strike out a normal life of his own. Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty is an assuredly made and somewhat fantastical film with Hirsch and Martha Plimpton incredibly irritating in key roles, Lahti offering a few glimmering moments, and Phoenix phenomenal in a standout performance, with the film working best when the story focuses on him.

*** out of ****

The dysfunctional Tyrone family, consisting of a penny pinching, alcoholic father (Ralph Richardson), a morphine addicted, unstable mother (Katharine Hepburn), an angry, bitter, and also alcoholic older brother (Jason Robards), and a fragile, tubercular younger brother (Dean Stockwell), gather for a summer afternoon at their Connecticut ocean home as festering resentments and blame come swelling to the service. Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical play is both challenging and somewhat redundant but is opened up for the screen quite well by Sidney Lumet who gives it a thorough and unabridged treatment and presents a cast that is roundly excellent.

*** 1/2 out of ****

When longstanding TV news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) learns from his producer/best friend (William Holden) that he will be replaced at his post due to sagging ratings, he announces on live television that he will commit suicide during an upcoming broadcast and goes on a tirade on the state of the industry and the state of affairs in general. With ratings at an all-time high, the studio turns the crisis into an opportunity and seeks to promote "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves." Sidney Lumet's masterful indictment of both the morally bankrupt and boundless television news industry and the audiences who soak it up is an illustrious production firing on all cylinders beginning with a brilliant, caustic, satirical, and shockingly prescient (as most viewers will point out) Paddy Chayefsky screenplay. The story centers around Finch's mad, showy, dazzling, Oscar winning performance but Holden's worn and weary news producer captures the heart of the film. Additionally, Faye Dunaway (also an Oscar winner) as the soulless, ladder climbing executive, Robert Duvall as the ruthless axeman, the jilted, sobering Beatrice Straight (who took home yet another acting trophy), and Ned Beatty as the bizarre, evangelistic corporate chairman round out the uniformly excellent cast.

**** out of ****

A once great playwright (Michael Caine) is nursing his latest Broadway flop when he receives a script in the mail from an admirer and aspiring writer (Christopher Reeve) who hopes his idol will have the time to glance it over. In a flash of diabolical inspiration, he invites his devotee over in a plot to knock him off and present his play as his own. Working with screenwriter Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Ira Levin's twisty, popular stage production opens up well (perhaps too well) on the screen with a delicious first act followed by a belabored second. Caine, Reeve, and Dyan Cannon are all on point.

** 1/2 out of ****

At a military prison in Libya during WWII, a brutal sergeant major (Harry Andrews) subjects his prisoners to grueling and interminable tasks. When a new inmate dies under such conditions, his squad leader (Sean Connery) defies the warden and finds himself the target of his sadism. "The Hill" is a gritty prison movie from master director Sidney Lumet, made at the height of (and assumedly as an antidote to) Connery's successes in the Bond films, who proves truly effective here. He is supported by a well-rounded cast highlighted by Andrews, chilling as the barbarous R.S.M., and Ossie Davis playing a member of Connery's squad. "The Hill" must have served as inspiration for Rod Lurie's "The Last Castle", a tepid, similarly plotted film starring Robert Redford and James Gandolfini, which took to moralizing and lost much of the message that was demonstrated here (if it indeed sought to retain it). In his film, Lumet grimly captures the horrors of a military prison and makes a more profound statement on the human spirit.

When a safe-cracker, just sprung from prison after a ten year stint, borrows money from the mob to finance his latest operation, a burglary of every tenant in a posh Upper East Side flat, he finds himself being monitored from more angles than one, by a slew of government agencies looking to bring down his backers. "The Anderson Tapes" was adapted for the screen by Frank Pierson from Lawrence Sanders book, where it received a fairly inert treatment by master director Sidney Lumet in the film that reunited him with his "The Hill" star Sean Connery who is enjoyable in the lead role as the know nonsense and seemingly dimwitted ex-con. There are also some other notable performances here: Martin Balsam as a queen/fence, comedian Alan King playing a mob boss, and Christopher Walken in his film debut. The film itself though never seems to gel completely, and moves sluggishly until its fantastically clever closing scenes.

Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an insolvent real estate broker and his employee brother (Ethan Hawke) is doing much better. To relieve their financial woes, they decide to knockoff their parent's suburban jewelry store in an in-and-out kind of deal. But, of course, the job goes horribly awry and Andy's sexy wife (Marissa Tomei) and her revelations that she is sleeping with Hank, along with their father's (Albert Finney) tenacious pursuit of the culprits leads everything spiraling towards a bleak and tragic climax. "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" was the final film of legendary director Sidney Lumet ("12 Angry Men", "Network", "Dog Day Afternoon") and is a fitting sendoff for a filmmaker who specialized in gritty urban fare. Aside from the cheap, stark look of the film itself (which is probably intentional), this is a brilliantly acted and ingeniously constructed film. Having seen it once before, I was amazed how well Kelly Masterson's time jumping screenplay conceals a central secret for so long. The grim script is also carried out to perfection by a top cast led by an intense performance from P.S. Hoffman. Ethan Hawke, who is capable of good work, turns in one of his better performances here, as does Marissa Tomei as an aging siren fearing she is losing her looks. The great and often overlooked Albert Finney is in fine form in a wrought, operatic role.  "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a shattering and beyond bleak film that is a testament to its prodigious director.

Frank Galvin is a washed up attorney with a failing private practice who spends his time handing out his business card at funerals and playing pinball while getting drunk at the local watering hole. One day, his old partner does him a favor and throws him a case involving a young woman who was incorrectly administered anesthesia at the Diocesan of Boston hospital and now lies in a vegetative state. Visiting the woman in order to take photographs to secure an easy settlement, Frank is moved by the woman's condition and sees in this case a chance to redeem both her life and his own. "The Verdict" is a remarkable courtroom drama made strong by a triumvirate of artists. For Paul Newman, his work as the alcoholic Galvin represents the finest in a career of illustrious roles. He inhabits the role of a desperate and passionate man, and his final appeal to the jury is truly excellent. The unsung director Sidney Lumet demonstrates his prowess as well, impeccably capturing the city of Boston and finding just the right tone, angles, and colors to tell his story. This also represents a great early film credit of playwright David Mamet who received an Oscar nomination for penning the screenplay. Additionally, the supporting cast is top notch as well which includes James Mason as the ferocious defense attorney for the Catholic diocese, Jack Warden as Newman's long suffering law partner, and Charlotte Rampling whose role is slightly flimsy, but is excellent nonetheless as a woman who figures into Newman's life. "The Verdict" can be seen as a top notch cast and crew giving their best work to a stellar, intelligent courtroom drama that avoids the trappings of the genre.