Director of "12 Angry Men" has died

Sidney Lumet, Director of American Film Classics, Dies at 86

Sidney Lumet, a director who preferred the streets of New York to the back lots of Hollywood and whose stories of conscience -- "12 Angry Men," "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon," "The Verdict," "Network" -- became modern American film classics, has died at his home in Manhattan.

"While the goal of all movies is to entertain," Sidney Lumet once wrote, "the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing."

His best films not only probed the consequences of prejudice, corruption and betrayal but also celebrated individual acts of courage.