Though his 50-year directorial career has included every type of movie, Sidney Lumet is best known for his gritty, moody Gotham tales: Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of the City. Even those who don’t worship at the altar of faded Kodak stock can admire how Lumet injected a potent humanity into his “Horror City” stories, turning these urban fables into something beyond cheap thrills. The director’s latest is technically another crime thriller, filled with desperate New Yorkers engaging in illegal activities and drowning in their own immorality. But as he did in those aforementioned landmark films, Lumet treats the genre as a starting point; he’s essentially using a heist flick to mount a devastating Eugene O’Neill play in disguise.

Brothers Hank (Hawke) and Andy (Hoffman, borrowing Martin Scorsese’s eyebrows) each need financial solvency stat. The latter comes up with the idea of a quick, easy burglary, which naturally means things will go horribly wrong. Given that the target was their parents’ jewelry store, it’s only a matter of time before Pops (Finney) gets suspicious and the siblings turn into self-preserving beasts. Lumet continually flips between perspectives, letting each drum ’n’ bass–scored transition tighten the noose and giving the cast space to craft nuanced, fine-tuned performances. The movie, however, belongs to Lumet: The fact that he’s produced such a vital work as an octogenarian is amazing enough, but the way this tragedy unfolds without a single false move puts the film among the best work of a very prestigious career.