Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

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

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

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

Stars:

Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen

Top 250 #179 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penelope Allen	...	Sylvia
Sully Boyar	...	Mulvaney
John Cazale	...	Sal
Beulah Garrick	...	Margaret
Carol Kane	...	Jenny
Sandra Kazan	...	Deborah
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Miriam
Amy Levitt	...	Maria
John Marriott	...	Howard
Estelle Omens	...	Edna
Al Pacino	...	Sonny Wortzik
Gary Springer	...	Stevie
James Broderick	...	Sheldon
Charles Durning	...	Moretti
Carmine Foresta	...	Carmine

Storyline

Based upon a real-life story that happened in the early seventies in which the Chase Manhattan Bank in Flatbush, Brooklyn, was held siege by a gay bank robber determined to steal enough money for his male lover to undergo a sex change operation. On a hot summer afternoon, the First Savings Bank of Brooklyn is held up by Sonny and Sal, two down-and-out characters. Although the bank manager and female tellers agree not to interfere with the robbery, Sonny finds that there's actually nothing much to steal, as most of the cash has been picked up for the day. Sonny then gets an unexpected phone call from Police Captain Moretti, who tells him the place is surrounded by the city's entire police force. Having few options under the circumstances, Sonny nervously bargains with Moretti, demanding safe escort to the airport and a plane out of the country in return for the bank employees' safety.

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Plot Keywords:

Bank | Police | Hostage | Bank Manager | Airport | 

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Taglines:

In August, 1972, Sonny Wortzik robbed a bank. 250 cops, the F.B.I., 8 hostages and 2,000 onlookers will never forget what took place.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarde de perros

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artists Entertainment Complex

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 131 min (1975)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Pierson wrote his Oscar-winning script around only 12 sequences.

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Goofs

Opening scene shows the World Trade Centres. The building of these was not completed until 1973. The movie is set in August 1972.

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Quotes

Leon: He won't listen to anybody. He's been very crazy all summer. Since June he's been trying to kill me.

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Connections

Referenced in Best Men (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Easy Livin'"
Written by Ken Hensley
Performed by Uriah Heep

User Reviews

Pacino - Lumet: as good as De Niro - Scorsese

Wow! The seventies were sure a great decade, just look at all the movies that battled for an Oscar in 1975 to have a good idea about it!This movie has everything anyone could wish in a great movie: a good script, even if the story is based on real events, great direction (Lumet knows how to deal with tense situations as he had already demonstrated it in his debut film 12 Angry Men), great acting (Pacino in his splendor, even better than in Godfather, Part I). The pacing is extremely good: it is very nervous and the camera moves a lot in the first third of the movie but then the whole thing seems to melt into a lifeless, tensionate and slow movement suggesting very well the whole situation as the bank robbery that was supposed to be fast and eventful turns into a hostage situation which is challenging and tensionate. The issue of homosexuality was very well dealt with, not preaching in any way, understanding and considerate, everything was far better than any politically correct angle we may find in today's movies. The movie is hard to place in a single genre, it is essentially a drama of the rejected (Sonny is a war veteran, a homosexual, an unemployed, and by the end of the movie an outcast), but it starts as a thriller and it touches elements of social satire( the family angle, the issue of police corruption and incompetence etc.), comedy and even absurd. This is a movie that I will surely see as soon as possible!