Directed by Sidney Lumet
Written by Frank Pierson from a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore
1975/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Angie: I know you can’t stand me to say I’m fat: but, I can’t stand you being a bank robber, Sonny. That’s what love is.
Great writing and directing capped off by several powerhouse performances make for an off-beat crime classic.
Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) is a mad man with a death complex. He likes to yell a lot. He is unemployed. He has a wife and two children. He also underwent a marriage ceremony with his gay lover Leon (Chris Sarandon). Leon wants sex change surgery. Sonny wants whatever Leon wants.
So Sonny decides to rob a bank. He brings along his certifiable, gun crazy friend Sal (John Cazale). They are inexperienced and expect everything to go smoothly. The bank employees are cooperative. But the bank has very little money since its cash was recently picked up. Somehow this triggers Sonny to take the manager and tellers hostage and all hell breaks loose.
Soon enough Sonny gets a call from Detective Moretti (Charles Durning) informing him that the bank is surrounded by cops and he should surrender. Instead, Sonny goes out in the street and launches into a tirade ending with the famous “Attica!” chant. Sonny’s antics attract a crowd and numerous TV cameras. Sonny demands a helicopter to fly the robbers and hostages to a jet that will take Sonny and Sal to a foreign country. Sal suggests Wyoming. Sonny prefers Algeria.
As Moretti is building up a tentative sort of rapport with Sonny, the FBI shows up. The agents are not big on talking or doing favors.
I’ve seen this movie more than once and never thought of it as a black comedy. But in many ways it is. The script just crackles. Pacino is fabulous as are Cazale, Sarandon, and Durning. Highly entertaining and recommended.
Dog Day Afternoon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Sarandon), Best Director, and Best Film Editing.
I saw Dog Day Afternoon on network TV when I was 12 or 13, and it’s always felt like my introduction to intense, mature, thoughtful cinema. (Even moreso than Psycho, which I had seen a little earlier.) It shocked me and entertained me in a way I hadn’t realized was possible with cinema.
A few months later I saw Lady in a Cage, which was even more shocking! I remember feeling “I shouldn’t even be watching this!”
I’ve seen both films a few times over the years, and I still feel shocked and entertained every time.
Thanks for reminding me of “Lady in a Cage”! It was indeed shocking and entertaining.
“Sonny demands a helicopter to fly the robbers and hostages to a jet that will take Sonny and Sal to a foreign country. Sal suggests Wyoming. Sonny prefers Algeria.”
That just says it all…
This was also such a great screenplay in addition to everything else!