45 Quotes by Sidney Lumet

All good work requires self-revelation.

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.

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

In drama, the characters should determine the story. In melodrama, the story determines the characters.

Life has a cruel way of balancing pleasure with pain. To make up for the joy of seeing Sophia Loren every morning, God punishes the director with the mix.

There is a kind of crazy bravery about this guy.

He was prescient. What can I tell you? He was a Jewish soothsayer. One of the things I admire stylistically is how he was able to give you the bitter pill with such good laughs.

I thought back to the O.J. Simpson trial. I would have voted him guilty. But there was no doubt that Johnnie Cochran overwhelmed the jury.

People make the great mistake with action heroes. They think that because generally the plots are simpler and their behavior is one-note that they can't act. But most of the time they can.