...open for debate, of course (i'm only sorry i haven't seen more of his movies):
1. "network"
2. "deathtrap"
3. "serpico"
4. "dog day afternoon"
5. "night falls on manhattan"
6. "fail safe"
7. "before the devil knows you're dead"
8. "running on empty"
9. "equus"
10. "prince of the city"
honorable mention: "critical care"
gregory 12211.
prince of the city is # 1.
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Shuji Terayama forever.
I'm a huuuuuuuuge Lumet fan. Here're my thoughts, not meant to betray anyone else's opinions.
Critical Care -- a completely tonally deaf "comedy"
Night Falls on Manhattan -- completely underrated.
Serpico -- completely overrated (yeah, Pacino's great, but there's a lot of silly *beep* in it, like the party scene)
Running on Empty -- underrated, gets me teary every time
Prince of the City -- though great, it's a bit histrionic in style
12 Angry Men -- how could this not be in your top ten of Lumet? It is still genius.
Pawnbroker -- great
The Hill -- awesome acting, a bit of a dirge
Anderson Tapes -- totally enjoyable, smart heist film
Murder on/in/around the Orient Express -- visually beautiful mystery
Q & A -- underrated but darrrrrrk
THE VERDICT -- I put this one in all caps. If that ain't on your best 10 of Lumet, you're crazy
Really, though, the fact that it's hard to come up with a Top Ten for the man's work, is a testament to his filmography and influence. Easily one of the greats.
1. prince of the city
2. dog day afternoon
3. network
4. before the devil knows you're dead
5. serpico
6. running on empty
7. 12 angry men
8. pawnbroker
9. night falls on manhattan
10. the verdict
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Shuji Terayama forever.
I second polysicsarebest regarding Prince of the City. It's also number one to me.
Ironically Night Falls on Manhattan I regard as one of his absolute worst, in spite of the two movies on the surface being pretty similar. To me NFOM doesn't make his top 10, not even his top 20.
The guy has made too many good movies to mention. Some of his most rewatchable movies to me are:
12 Angry men.
Q and A.
Family Business.
Dog day Afternoon is great but too depressing to watch again.
Ed Powers = Woody Allen