Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

P.F. Kluge (article) and
Thomas Moore (article) ...

Release Date:

21 September 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The robbery should have taken 10 minutes. 4 hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow. 8 hours later, it was the hottest thing on live T.V. 12 hours later, it was all history. And it's all true

Plot:

A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Police | Airport | Media Circus | Siege

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Sonny Wortzik
John Cazale	...	Sal
Charles Durning	...	Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti
Chris Sarandon	...	Leon Shermer
Sully Boyar	...	Mulvaney
Penelope Allen	...	Sylvia
James Broderick	...	Sheldon
Carol Kane	...	Jenny
Beulah Garrick	...	Margaret
Sandra Kazan	...	Deborah
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Miriam
Amy Levitt	...	Maria
John Marriott	...	Howard
Estelle Omens	...	Edna
Gary Springer	...	Stevie

Runtime:

125 min | Finland:131 min (1975)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | New Zealand:M (re-rating) (2006) | New Zealand:R18 (orginal rating) | Netherlands:MG6 | Portugal:M/18 | Netherlands:12 (original theatrical version) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1976) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

10th Street, Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Artists Entertainment Complex

Trivia:

Early in the writing proceedings, Frank Pierson considered dropping out of the project but had to continue because he had already spent his advance. Struggling to find a hook, he discovered while researching the story of Sonny Wojtowicz, that everyone who knew him had a contradictory story about the man. One thing they all agreed on was that Sonny was always saying "I'll take care of you. I'll make you happy." Pierson then knew that he had found his way in to the story.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Sonny tells the police that they are both Vietnam veterans. Later Sal says that he's never been on an airplane before. However this could be a lie, seeing as how they are robbers. It could have been made up to gain the hostages' sympathy.

Quotes:

Sal: What'd he say?
Sonny: He was talkin' about arrangements . we were talkin' about the TV.
Sal: Why couldn't he talk about that here?
Sonny: He was showin' me how the airport bus is comin' in, like that, Sal.

Movie Connections:

Featured in You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Easy Livin'

D Day for Pacino

By the time Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" came around he had already learned to let Al Pacino loose. Forget the holdbacks of "Serpico"; here we get a glimpse into the real Al, the actor who would bring Tony Montana to life in the years to come and the same man who provided Michael Corleone with such heartfelt warmth that was lacking in some of his lesser characters.

There's essentially the Al Pacino as an actor and the Al Pacino as a character, and here he's the character, and it works splendidly. Al Pacino the actor comes into play when he is given a recycled script and a talentless director, which has been happening a lot lately, although fortunately his comparison, De Niro, has been lucky enough to generally avoid these blunders of older-age film-making.

This is based on a true story, like "Serpico," only it's better and more involving. It connects with the audience more than "Serpico" because it doesn't jump through the same old hoops; it goes for the long trek and comes off better than it would have had the team behind it been lazy. The clichés are gone and the originality creeps in early on. Watch Pacino indulge himself in character and let the plot sink in. It's more touching than it seems at first.

Pacino is Sonny Wortzik, a Brooklyn man who takes a bank hostage in order to pay for his "wife's" operation. The wife is actually Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon who was Oscar-nominated for this, his first role in a mainstream film), Sonny's gay lover who doesn't have the money for a sex operation.

The bank robbery was going to be what one of classic cinema's greatest bad guys once described as a quick "in and out," but Sonny gets held up inside the bank and soon he's all over the news and police are standing outside the building with guns drawn. It's like Denzel's movie only better and more original. Oh, and true. This one actually happened and we can tell.

Sonny's partner in crime, Sal (John Cazale), is worried that he'll be treated as a homosexual by the media outside. His fretting is comic relief and one of the connections between the film and the audience. Charles Durning is the frustrated cop handling the situation. His performance is as subtly convincing as Cavale's.

Pacino's performance is exceedingly excellent, manic and energetic. He'd display this same talent in "Scarface" again eight years later; only he would be bashed by the critics for going over-the-top. (Although they really just had problems with the excessive profanity and violence, just like Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will soon become a well-known classic and people will laugh when they hear that someone once called it the most violent film ever made.)

There's also one of the best scenes of all time in this movie that rivals Montana's Last Stand in "Scarface" or the Baptism Scene in "The Godfather," which involves Sonny speaking on the phone to his "wife," carefully concealing his motive from any listeners nearby. Watch Pacino delve into character here and you're immediately hooked. We like his character because he seems real and Pacino makes him real, and that's why this will go down as one of the best tour de force performances of all time.

Is this Hollywood trying to ease our culture onto homosexuality and sex change operations? Is Hollywood trying to gradually introduce us to gay characters in the hope that the uptight American families will be increasingly invaded by the images of gay men? No. This is Hollywood showing us a true story, regardless of the homosexuality. Pacino could be playing a frustrated postal worker and it would still work because it all settles down to the fact that the suspense and dramatics of the movie affect us, not the background of its characters.

Sarandon's Oscar nomination was more than worthy; here he displays the smarmy talent that would shine through in his characters in the years to come. Prince Humperdink from "The Princess Bride" is equally memorable but less realistic. Here he seems more real, which is good for this film and would have been quite bad for "Bride." We don't like real characters in fantasy tales, do we?

Lumet, who ruined "Serpico" with his bad editing, out-of-place music, clichéd dialogue/events and unnecessary scenes, directs "Dog Day Afternoon" with style and flair and good pacing and a surprisingly heartfelt sense of emotion and care. This isn't exactly a good example of a perfect motion picture but it's pretty close.