Serpico

"A remarkable record of one man's rebellion against the sort of sleaziness and second-rateness that has affected so much of American life, from the ingredients of its hamburgers to the ethics of civil servants and politicians." – Vincent Canby, The New York Times

Lumet's first - and best - film about New York City police corruption recounts the true-life exploits of Frank Serpico (Al Pacino in another Oscar-nominated performance), a plainclothes cop whose landmark testimony helped to expose the biggest corruption scandal in NYPD history. Filmed on location in four of the five boroughs and set to composer Mikki's Theodorakis's Grammy-nominated score, Serpico endures as one of the great New York crime stories, and a remarkable portrait of one man's unwavering resolve in the face of widespread intimidation.

For a half-a-century he made some of your favorite American movies. For Sidney Lumet, the work was the thing and his craft, self-effacing. Though his films earned a combined total of 46 Oscar nominations, it was not until he received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar - for his "brilliant service to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture" six years before his death in 2005 that the coveted statuette eluded him. With the revealing self-portrait, By Sidney Lumet, and seven of his most beloved films, CGAC pays long overdue tribute to an American master and his classics.

Check out the rest of our At Long Last Lumet program!