Sidney Lumet recommends Dodsworth directed by William Wyler

Sidney Lumet recommends the magnificant Dodsworth directed by William Wyler. How did we ever miss this one?

Dodsworth
William Wyler
1936

Despite an over-the-top performance by Ruth Chatterton, I've always felt that Dodsworth was one of the finest American movies. William Wyler's simplicity, Sidney Howard's language, and, above all, Walter Huston's and Mary Astor's performances result in one of the most mature and powerful movies in my memory. The glory and debasement that love can bring into one's life have never been explored so tellingly. In fact, because of our sentimentality about love, rarely do we consider its destructive power. Dodsworth plunges into this world unhesitatingly with art and power and subtlety. In my view, a great film.

Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet has directed more than forty films, including 12 Angry Men (1957), The Pawnbroker (1964), Network (1976), The Wiz (1978), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Prince of the City (1981), and The Verdict (1982).  In 2007, he directed the critically acclaimed film Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007). Lumet has garnered more than fifty award nominations, including an honorary Academy Award in 2005 and the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.