Influential director Sidney Lumet, best known for such hard-hitting classic films as "12 Angry Men," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Network," died Saturday at his home in Manhattan. He was 86.

A prolific and versatile filmmaker, Lumet directed more than 40 movies and had worked with some of Hollywood's greats, including Henry Fonda, Paul Newman, Peter Finch, Al Pacino and Faye Dunaway.

Lumet received an honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005 and had been nominated for Oscars five times without winning. He was nominated as Best Director for "12 Angry Men" (1957), "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), "Network" (1976) and "The Verdict" (1982), and for Best Screenplay as co-writer of "Prince of the City" (1981).

Lumet also directed 17 Oscar-nominated performances. The no-nonsense director told the New York Times in 2007, "Elia Kazan used to really try to get inside the head and psyche of everybody he worked with. I'm the exact opposite school. I don't like to get involved." He added, "And I try not to work with lunatics."

He continued to direct films well into his 80s, including the gritty crime melodrama "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" in 2007. "Devil" star Philip Seymour Hoffman told the Houston Chronicle about Lumet, "He has the energy of a young man and the mind of a young man."

He is survived by his fourth wife, Mary Gimbel, two daughters, nine grandchildren, and a great grandson.