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

Colour:

Colour (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:

In the original script, Sonny and his trans-sexual lover were supposed to take part in a scene outside the bank in which a heart-felt goodbye was to take place along with a kiss. Al Pacino refused to do this, claiming it would take away from the phone conversation between Sonny and Leon. Frank Pierson was forced to make appropriate changes. This resulted in the just telephone conversation instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sonny first meets the FBI agent he holds his hand up to shield his eyes from the light, when the camera cuts to the FBI Agent from the back of Sonny's waist, his hand is immediately at his side. When we see Sonny's face again he is raising his hand to shield his eyes from the light once again.

Quotes:

Sonny: [talking to Sal, waiting for his wife to answer the phone] You know I can call anybody, they'd put it on the phone? The Pope, an astronaut, the wisest of the wise... Who do I have to call?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Amoreena

Empathic masterpiece

This high-tension thriller captures the true events of one summer afternoon when accomplices Sonny (Pacino) and Sal (Calzale) walk into a Brooklyn bank, and rob it.

Of course not all goes to plan. An hour later they're still inside and the bank is surrounded. Cops, media, crowds of fans and the FBI are each hanging to Sonny's every word – and why? Because he has 9 hostages as pawns, a bank as his board and all the time in the world to think up a strategy. Inside the bank however is a different story. You can't help but sympathise with Sonny (due to Pacino's terrific performance) as the first-time bank robber who's unprepared, out of his depth, and just trying to think up a way out. Even the audience begin to feel the effects of Stockholm Syndrome as Pacino's character gains our affections. The 'villain who's a nice guy at heart' could have been disastrously cliché but Pacino's portrayal is nothing short of brilliance. Even Sal with his morbid disposition is magnetising as his childlike innocence shines through. Calzale was wonderfully cast as this awkward accomplice, wordlessly following Sonny. A huge success combining the skills of Lumet with the talent of Pacino for the second time in Pacino's best role yet. A true story that's compelling and tragic but most of all tangible – and that's what makes it so powerful.