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Dog Day Afternoon | Year: 1975 Classification: Drama Directed: - Sidney Lumet Actors/Actresses: - Al Pacino - John Cazale Perhaps Al Pacino's best film role? Based on a true story of a botched Brooklyn bank robbery heist, "Dog Day Afternoon" is a suspenseful, attention-grabbing account of a young, innocent looking man named Sonny (Pacino), who attempts to rob a bank to pay for his boyfriend/lover's (Chris Sarandon) sex-change operation. One of the film's most chilling scenes occurs at the beginning, where Sonny enters the bank with his two cronies Sal (Jon Cazale) and Sonny's boyfriend (Sarandon) with a large, rectangular gift box, supposedly containing flowers. After presenting the teller with a withdrawal slip, Sonny calmly steps away from the counter, nervously, hurriedly opens the box, pulls out a rifle and shouts "Allright, freeze, nobody move!". His partner Sal also points an automatic gun at the bank manager (Sully Boyar), and the tone of the movie is set. Sonny then lets his boyfriend go when he is unable to go through with Sonny's plans. After what appears to be a clean getaway, someone outside the bank from across the street sees smoke appearing from the bank's ventilator, at which time Sonny attempts to burn up the account ledger. The police and the FBI are informed about the heist, and what follows is a some two-hour hostage of everyone inside the bank. In the meantime, Sonny is attempting to negotiate with the chief of police (Charles Durning) and the head of the FBI (James Broderick) to avoid any kind of possible tragedy regarding the bank's employees. Rather than give the ending of the movie away, I suggest you buy "Dog Day Afternoon" and see for yourself. The VHS version contains added bonus footage of cast and film staff interviews, so you're in for a real treat here! Entertaining - An Improvement From Lumet's 'Serpico' Well-done, tense drama of a botched bank robbery in Brooklyn in which two misfits commit one absurd blunder after another and turn a criminal act into a three-ring circus, what with the police, crowds and the media swarming upon the bank to observe the comedy of errors. Al Pacino is superb as Sonny who wants the money to finance a sex-change operation for his transsexual lover (well done by Chris Sarandon). Aiding and abetting Sonny is half-wit Sal (John Cazale in a solid characterization) who chooses Wyoming as a foreign country destination for a safe haven. Charles Durning scores as Detective Moretti who spars with Sonny throughout the afternoon and arranges "safe" passage for him and Sal to JFK and their would-be flight to freedom. There are snippets of dialogue from the 1956 feature film, "The Lone Ranger", that is heard in the background during the hostage standoff inside the bank. Ironic because the Ranger's law-and-order message falls on deaf criminal ears during the commission of the felony. Sidney Lumet's Oscar-nominated direction is sharp throughout. Based on actual events, "Dog Day Afternoon" is another great winner from the 1970s, Hollywood's second Golden Age. 5 stars out of 5. ONE OF THE GREATEST MOVIES EVER MADE! This has got to be one of the greatest films ever. The story, the plot, the acting is just amazing. Al Pacino is an original in this film. Once you watch it once, you will want to watch it over and over again. Great movie to watch on a hot weekend, summer afternoon. Buy Dog Day Afternoon at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Dog Day Afternoon Search with the Priority Search Engine on Dog Day Afternoon This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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