Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

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:

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
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)
Leslie Waller		book (uncredited)

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 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)
• Argentina Video Home (1996) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• 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:

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:12 | 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:

After the initial title sequence (Elton John, "Amoreena") there is no background or incidental music on the soundtrack.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In 1972, NYC police squad cars were dark green and white, not blue and white which debuted about two years later.

Quotes:

Sonny: Bank robbing is a federal offense. You got me on kidnapping, armed robbery. You're gonna bury me, man!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hill Street Blues: Dogsbreath Afternoon (#7.18)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Amoreena

great character study and a masterful actors' showcase

Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" is one of the most highly enjoyable and wildly funny movies I've ever seen - smart, sharp, complex, witty (and often quotable) dialogue, and superbly acted. Al Pacino stars as Sonny, an optimistic loser who decides to hold up a bank with his friend Sal (played by the late, great John Cazale) to get money for his lover Leon's sex-change operation.

The film is only worked around a few sequences, and may seem overlong to some, but it works excellently because it is held together by the fantastic acting. Al Pacino is astounding as Sonny, and his work here even eclipses the excellent work he did as Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" (and that's saying something, because I adore that movie and his portrayal). Pacino has the facial tics and the energy and the wide-eyed optimism down pat, and his performance is extremely engaging and entertaining. Take, for example, his scene where he rouses up the crowd against the police by chanting, "Attica! Attica! Put your f---ing guns down!" A lesser actor would have made it insipid, but Pacino makes it oddly poignant and hilarious at the same time. (And he was robbed of his Oscar for his role.) The late John Cazale is also superb as Sal, the dopey-eyed follower, the quiet laid-back calm to Pacino's maniacal energy. It's a less flashier role, but Cazale still brings on all the laughs, especially in his deadpan delivery of the line, "Sonny, they're saying there are two homosexuals in here...I'm not a homosexual."

Frank Pierson won an Oscar for his script for a reason - the dialogue is hilarious, sharp, and witty. Many of the lines in this movie are extremely quotable (and you can check some of them out under "memorable quotes"). This is intelligent writing, in the sense that you will laugh and be moved at the same time.

Great movie! It belongs in your VHS or DVD collection. 10/10