Dog Day Afternoon
1975
Before Peter Finch was 'mad as hell' in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American television industry, Al Pacino played an equally ferocious and fed-up bank robber in Lumet's classic film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Pacino is heartbreakingly real as Sonny, a smart and tough if self-destructive Brooklyn tough whose .. Read more
| Starring | Al Pacino, Charles Durning, James Broderick, John Cazale |
|---|---|
| Director | Sidney Lumet |
| Genres | Drama |
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Dog Day Afternoon
Before Peter Finch was 'mad as hell' in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American television industry, Al Pacino played an equally ferocious and fed-up bank robber in Lumet's classic film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Pacino is heartbreakingly real as Sonny, a smart and tough if self-destructive Brooklyn tough whose plan to rob the local bank to fund his male lover's (Chris Sarandon) sex change goes absurdly wrong. Accompanied only by his doltish accomplice, Sal (John Cazale), Sonny resorts to kidnapping a handful of bank employees when he realizes that all the money had been removed before his arrival. As the lengthy August day drags on, Sonny and the hordes of local police, led by Sergeant Moretti (Charles Durning), make little progress, and eventually Sonny's wife and lover are brought to the scene. The crowd's sympathy is immediately captured by the charismatic Sonny, whose antagonism with the police is played out before an audience of millions, leading to an inevitably tragic finish.
Balancing suspense, violence, and humor, the film's depiction of a grand scale media event craftily dives from the political to the personal, evoking a piercing portrait of a single man and his devastating downward tumble into the cracks of the system that Lumet made a career of chronicling. DOG DAY AFTERNOON reunites Pacino with his SERPICO director Lumet, and stands as one of the finest films of the 1970s.
| Starring | Al Pacino, Charles Durning, James Broderick, John Cazale, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon, Chris Sarandon |
|---|---|
| Director | Sidney Lumet |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 59 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Top Thrillers |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, English |
| Released | DVD: 07 Oct 2002 Production year: 1975 |
| Format | DVD |
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
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Sign up Dog Day Afternoon - Feature
Before Peter Finch was "mad as hell" in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American televisio...
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Before Peter Finch was "mad as hell" in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American televisio...
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This is a film about a bank robbery, the proceeds of which are needed to pay for a sex-change operation. Weird but apparently true — well, this is New York. From this material, Sidney Lumet creates a marvellous patchwork of a movie, cutting between the inept but passionate bank robbers (Al Pacino and John Cazale) whose bungled heist turns into a hostage situation, the corpulent cop leading the police siege (Charles Durning) and the mob that gathers outside the bank. It's an insane circus and you know that something, or someone, is going to blow a gasket. Pacino's performance (which earned him a fourth Oscar nomination) is a multilayered display and the whole picture seems infected by his jitters.
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Recreation of a tragi-comic episode from the newspaper headlines; for half its length a fascinating and acutely observed film which then bogs itself down in a surplus of talk and excessive sentiment about homosexuality.
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Most helpful member's review
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13 out of 14 people found this review helpful
This film is the 'mostly true' story of Sonny Wortzik (in real life his name was John Wojtowicz), a married man who tries to rob a bank in order to pay for his male lovers sex change operation. If you're an Al Pacino fan you're in for a real treat -- this is certainly among his finest performances.
'Dog Day Afternoon' is a classic crime movie with some great comic moments in there as well. The fact that Sonny is gay isn't a huge issue in the film. He's just a man who's robbing a bank, and the film shows that his intentions or his sexuality aren't really as important as the media make them seem. On the whole he's portrayed as a sympathetic character, but there are hints of a darker side to his personality, such as the descriptions of him coming from his wife and lover.
From start to finish this is a very entertaining film, with plenty of memorable scenes and moments. If you're an Al Pacino fan or a fan of crime thrillers, odds are you'll love this. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
The Dog gets the bone
Coming during his purple patch in the mid-70's when Pacino could not put a foot wrong in terms of the roles he chose. "Dog Day Afternoon" is based on the true story of incompetent bank robbers Sonny and Sal who for a brief period at the start of the social unrest of the 1970's became cultural anti-heroes amongst the people of New York.
Pacino's character attempts to appear menacing but his genuine vulnerability breaks through on many occasions, as a result he always commands tremendous empathy from the viewer. The audience is also drawn to Sal's character, played by John Cazale, whose genuine simplicity is exposed, for all to see.
As a result, Pacino's character is grappling with maintaining a relationship with those in the bank, Sal, the police and the crowd outside.
The strain caused by this as the film develops is expertly shown by the deterioration of Sonny.
Predating, the media age in which the "cult of celebrity" reigns supreme by at least 15 years. The film expertly satires the media and its all consuming power which would extend over the coming decades.
The real reward in the vault is another top notch Pacino performance. -
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