Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

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

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:

Real Time | Black Comedy | No Music | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Gritty

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
Lance Henriksen	...	Murphy
Judith Malina	...	Vi - Mother
Dominic Chianese	...	Vi's Husband - Father
Marcia Haufrecht	...	Vi's Neighbor
Susan Peretz	...	Angela 'Angie' Wortzik
Floyd Levine	...	Phone Cop
Carmine Foresta	...	Carmine
William Bogert	...	TV Anchorman
Ron Cummins	...	TV Reporter
Jay Gerber	...	Sam
Philip Charles MacKenzie	...	Doctor
Chu Chu Malave	...	Maria's Boyfriend
Lionel Pina	...	Pizza Boy
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Limo Driver
Frank Piazza	...	Actor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Bulleit	...	Sgt. Gillis (uncredited)
Robert Costanzo	...	New York Policeman (uncredited)
Todd Everett	...	Cop (uncredited)
Paul E. Guskin	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Ed Metzger	...	Sgt. Murray - NYPD (uncredited)
Thomas Murphy	...	Policeman with Angie (uncredited)
Raymond Serra	...	New York Plainclothes Cop (uncredited)
Lynette Sheldon	...	Sadie (uncredited)
Tom Towles	...	Gunman (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
P.F. Kluge		(article) and
Thomas Moore		(article)
Frank Pierson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Martin Bregman	....	producer
Martin Elfand	....	producer
Robert Greenhut	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Victor J. Kemper

Film Editing by
Dede Allen

Casting by
Michael Chinich
Don Phillips

Production Design by
Charles Bailey

Art Direction by
Douglas Higgins		(as Doug Higgins)

Set Decoration by
Robert Drumheller

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
Max Henriquez	....	assistant makeup artist
Philip Leto	....	hair stylist
Reginald Tackley	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Burtt Harris	....	assistant director
Alan Hopkins	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Stanley Cappiello	....	scenic artist
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	property master (as Joe Caracciolo)
Carlos Quiles	....	chief carpenter
Joe Williams Sr.	....	construction grip (as Joseph Williams)

Sound Department
Richard P. Cirincione	....	sound editor (as Richard Cirincione)
Jack Fitzstephens	....	sound editor
Sanford Rackow	....	sound editor
Stephen A. Rotter	....	sound editor
James Sabat	....	sound mixer
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording supervisor (as Richard Vorisek)
Hal Levinsohn	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Robert Rogow	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Mel Zelniker	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Stunts
A.J. Bakunas	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom O'Connor	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James W. Finnerty	....	key grip (as James Finnerty)
Muky	....	still photographer
Richard Quinlan	....	gaffer
Fred Schuler	....	camera operator
Jack Brown	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ron Zarilla	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Clifford Capone	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Cliff Capone)
Peggy Farrell	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Angelo Corrao	....	assistant editor

Other crew
B.J. Bjorkman	....	script supervisor
Martin Danzig	....	location manager
Douglas Dean III	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Artists Entertainment Complex

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1976) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Varus Video (19??) (Russia) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (UK) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (special edition)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1976) (Sweden) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Panavision  photographic equipment provided by

Runtime:

124 min | Finland:131 min (1975)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:R18 (orginal rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2006) | Netherlands:12 (original theatrical version) | New Zealand:M (re-rating) (2006) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | South Korea:15 | West Germany:16 (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/18 | 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:

The Jet that Sonny, Sal and the hostages are to board at the airport is a CV -990 and the airline is Modern Air. Modern air went out of business the year the film was released which was 1975.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: New York State license plates of the time were orange on blue, not blue on yellow.

Quotes:

[Sal is pointing the gun at Sheldon]
Sal: Tell the TV to stop saying there's 2 homosexuals in here.
Sheldon: I will, Sal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Amoreena

My Ten Commandments of Dog Day Afternoon! ;-)

I've watched this film for the third time in a few years last night. Instead of writing a straight review, I'd like to jot down ten thoughts just off the top of my head concerning this exquisite movie:

1) Watching this film will change forever your perception of the bank heist genre, making you question the contrived cinematic conventions these films usually make use of.

2) The source of this film's paradoxical and/or farcical elements spring from life itself, not from film or pre-existing cinematic conventions. Sometimes, the absurdities of life are so great, they dwarf those included in any form of fiction. Without even trying to make that point, this film captures that concept beautifully.

3) Its tone in relation to the homosexual theme is ahead of its time. In fact it's ahead of OUR time, even, in hardly making an issue out of it at all - it just IS.

4) It captures the climate of the 70s in a manner so sober, you'll remember its unshowy yet authentic feel forever.

5) Lumet's film brings to life the concept of the distorting lens of the media and how different groups with different agendas will turn an outlaw into a hero, with far more efficiency than Oliver Stone's brash, bloated, childish and repetitive Natural Born Killers.

6) Watching this film will illustrate to the younger generations exactly why Al Pacino has earned himself the legendary status he probably no longer would deserve with his performances of the last 10 years alone. **SPOILERS**: Just watch those last ten minutes of him handcuffed against the bonnet of a car, where he doesn't say a word, but speaks volumes with his eyes and his soul just oozing out of every frame at the end of the movie; you'll remember those eyes for as long as you live!

7) Watching this film, you'll realise that firing a gun-shot is a BIG DEAL in real life, and that other films make too much use of gun fire in a highly contrived way.

8) All that tension deriving from pointed guns unable to fire a shot OR move away… you realise Tarantino must've taken notes sometime along the way.

9) No genre is old or done too many times before if it's handled with this amount of freshness, inspiration and talent.

10) Watching Dog Day Afternoon for the third time has filled me with the same amount of wonder at the power of truly inspired but unobtrusive film-making as it did first time round.