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:

Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar, John Cazale

Top 250 #180 | 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:

The Most Bizarre Bank Siege Ever

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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

A young Harvey Fierstein, appears (uncredited) as one of the gay demonstrators.

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Goofs

Sonny tells the police that they are both Vietnam veterans. Later Sal says that he's never been on an airplane before. Some people believe this to be a goof, but later in the film Sonny's mother refers to his time served in Vietnam and also Sonny says he is "entitled to" a military funeral. It may be that Sonny is a Vietnam vet and Sal is not, or that both men are vets and Sal simply has not flown before and rather traveled via ship.

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Quotes

Sonny: I don't wanna talk to some flunky pig trying to calm me man.
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: Now you don't have to be calling me pig for...
Sonny: [notices other officers moving toward him] What is he doing?
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: [shouts at officers] Will you get back there!
Sonny: What are you moving in there for?
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: [runs toward closing officers] Will you get the fuck back there! Get back there will you!
Sonny: [to the other officers moving toward him] What's he doing? Go back there man! He wants to kill me so bad he can taste it! Huh? ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA ATTICA...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Fairly OddParents: Chin Up!/Dog's Day Afternoon (2001)

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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!