Dog Day Afternoon

Rating:
Summary: Dog Day Indeed
Review: Elton John throws us into a seemingly hot New York afternoon, with the wonderful Amoreena. As all kinds of people get on with their day to day life, Sonny(Pacino) and Sal(Cazale) get ready to rob a Brooklyn bank. What was meant to be a quick seanse, turns fatal and the show begins. This is one of my favourite Pacino movies. One must not forget John Cazale who also delivers a great performance.

Rating:
Summary: Pacino Heats Up The Screen
Review: Al Pacino burns up the screen in Dog Day Afternoon which is based on a true story and confirms that fact that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Mr. Pacino plays Sonny who teams up with the dullard Sal (John Cazale) to rob a Brooklyn bank on a sweltering summer afternoon. Sonny was a one-time bank employee, so he knows all the tricks of the trade to thwart bank robbers. Unfortunately for the robbers, the bank virtual has no money do to having made a deposit only hours before the robbery attempt. A shopworker across the street from the bank notices the strange proceedings and calls the cops. Before you know it, the bank is completely surrounded by cops. The cops (led by Charles Durning & James Broderick) start a hostage negotiation with Sonny. Even though Sonny's a crook, he isn't all bad and he, Sal and the hostage bank workers form a strange kinship. The story is shown on TV and a crowd gathers in the streets as well and Sonny becomes something of a cult hero. His scenes on the street outside the bank are scintillating including his famous Attica chant. Sonny is married with kids, but it turns out that he was robbing a bank to pay for a sex change operation for his gay lover, Leon (Chris Sarandon). The movie closes out at night at the airport in dramatic fashion. Sidney Lumet does a fine job translating the heat and humidity of the day and you can feel yourself sweating along with the characters. Mr. Pacino has been more heralded for his Godfather roles, Scarface, Serpico and Scent Of A woman, but in my book, he was never finer than he was in this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie On DVD
Review: I had never seen the movie before in my life but only heard about it. I saw it for DVD foronly 14 dollars so picked it up. I watched it that day and was amazed by how well it looked on DVD. Even though it was a 70's film the DVD made it look laki it was made in the 90's. Al Pacino was great as the bisexual who holds up the bank. Based on a true story about two men who ended up holding up a bank. Al Pacino had worked in a bank before and knew all the tricks to get by security. While burning the files the owner across the streets see's the smoke and so calls the police. This is where the fun begins. What turns out afterwords is exciting and a great story that never lets you go.

Rating:
Summary: A Small Scale Classic!
Review: I bought Dog Day Afternoon on DVD completly at random, just based on the actors, and the synopsis. On the back of the case, this movie is branded as a "boisterous comedy" that is "Bitingly Funny". And while the movie certainly has its funny parts, it never has one-liner jokes, or much situational humor. It is more of a comedy as a whole, and just about how the whole bank robbery got screwed up. Accually, it is really quite serious in tone.

So once you get past the aboslutly false statements that this is a comedy, you start to see the magic of this film. It is a very static movie, and the everything takes place in or around the bank throughout the entire movie until the very end. The story isn't driven through action sequences, rather it is driven by the brilliant dialoge between characters.

When watching this movie, you will feel like you are right there, inside this movie. You will progress right along with the main character, Sonny. You watch his attitude change from being very optimistic and hopeful, into a more frustrated, disjointed, and confused character. Al Pacino does a brilliant job showing the many changes that Sonny goes through. You can literally see the preasure on Sonny's face as time is running out, and as his plans keep getting more and more screwed up.

Not only does Al Pacino do a brilliant job, but the other characters are amazingly protrayed as well. Other notable performances are Leon (Sonny's disconnected boyfriend), Sal (Sonn'y partner), and even Detective Moretti. Every character is so believable and real that you will truly feel like you have met them all first hand.

One thing that I have noticed about Dog Day Afternoon is its influences on more modern movies. As I was watching it, I couldn't help but recognize modern movies in it. Two examples that came to mind the most are Mad City, and Airheads. In Mad City, John Travoltra's character is also faced with a media circus as he holds a group of school kids and their teacher hostage in a meauseam. The frenzy of media coverage, the public reaction, and the way that the main character becomes friendly with the hostages all give a very big nod to Dog Day Afternoon. In Airheads, I noticed that the way one of the guys who had taken the radio station hostage would come outside to talk to the cops, and while he was out there, he would incite the crowd and start different chants. In Airheads, one of the hostage takers started the crowd in a "Rodney King" chant, while in Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino started the crowed in an "Attica" chant. These sequences are so familiar that I am convinced the screen writers had Dog Day Afternoon in mind when writing them.

Overall, this is a fantastic movie that is full of brilliant performances. But for some, it may seem way to static, and slow moving.

As far as DVD features go, the picture quality is superb, considering that the original film is from the mid 70's. The audio is Dolby Mono tracked, but nothing else is neccesary. There are no sound effects to speak of - it is all pretty much dialogue - so the mono track is sufficient. As far as extras, if you consider Scene Selections and Interactive Menus to be "extras", then you will be happy, but I would say that this DVD is as bare as they get. I can't stand when DVD Case designers try and pass off these standard 'features' as extras. That is like a CD advertising its ability to change tracks with the touch of a button.

Great movie - decent DVD transfer.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps Al Pacino's best film role?
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: I love this movie!
Review: "Dog Day Afternoon" still feels fresh to me. Maybe because Lumet packed so much talent and so many unforgettable moments into it. Why should you watch it?

It's the best Pacino has ever been. (I thought the Oscar belonged to him and not to Nicholson that year.) Want to see how far into a character a good actor can delve? Watch his face after he hangs up the phone from talking to his wife (no, not Chris Sarandon -- the other wife).

It's not only the late John Cazale in another of his brilliant 70s performances, but it's Pacino and Cazale together again after the two "Godfathers."

It's the quintessential New York location movie.

Sarandon's near-monologue in the barber shop is so convincing, you'll think, "No way was this guy ever married to Susan!"

Sully Boyar's naturalistic approach to his role of the bank manager might have you thinking, if you've never seen him before, that he's not a professional actor.

James Broderick's performance as the FBI agent is a masterpiece of iceberg acting (in which 90% of what's going on is beneath the surface, making the 10% you do see that much more powerful).

Pacino again, this time -- well, not to give anything away -- let's just say the look on his face the last time he sees the bank staff.

Oh, so much more! I guess I'll quit here with two final words. "Attica! Attica!"

Rating:
Summary: Want to Get Away?
Review: This is one of those rare films that, having never seen before, I would come across one lazy Sunday afternoon of channel surfing, and the cinematic imagery on screen strangely grasps my attention instead of instantly propelling me to move on and find a football game or something. I guess it's kinda comparable to a bad traffic accident; you know it's wrong to gawk, but you just can't look away.

So what makes this true story of a disheveled loaf (Al Pachino), who decides to alleviate some of his more bizarre economic needs by taking a stab at the bank-robbing profession, such an intriguing mess? For one, the character development provides the viewer with many clever personality sketches of unique and involving individuals as opposed to typical, standard formula, two-dimensional stereotypes. There are no caricature cutouts here. In addition, there's the facetious irony of the NYPD and the FBI being out-witted by this hapless duo for most of the day, and it doesn't help law enforcement any that an on-looking crowd is loving every minute of it. You will never find two dumber criminals than Sonny and his mental-midget for a partner, Sal. Aside from devising no escape or back-up plan for the robbery, they show their ineptitude by negotiating ludicrous terms with the police. Sonny tells his partner that they need to fly out of the country. Sal suggests Wyoming. After discovering that Wyoming is not a country, they settle on Algeria of all places. The freak show reminds you of that Southwest Airlines commercial with the slogan "Want to get away?"

The movie seems to be no more than a retelling of that afternoon's events, but it does so in a very compelling way and without taking sides or manipulating the viewer's emotions. At the end we may feel some sympathy for the captors, but the film keeps us at enough distance so that we may soon shrug it off and objectively realize that what becomes of criminals, no matter how incompetent or simple minded, is typically what they deserve.

Rating:
Summary: Great real-life drama
Review: Brilliant film version of the real-life events that occurred when Brooklyn resident Sonny Wortzik and his pals tried to rob a bank to pay for Sonny's boyfriend's sex-change operation. It was supposed to be a ten-minute robbery, in and out, but when the police get news of the events, the boys have to take some bank tellers hostage and the street outside becomes a war zone; when the media and the public catch wind of this, all of Brooklyn becomes a circus. Al Pacino and John Cazale are fantastic as the criminals, Chris Sarandon wonderful as Sonny's suicidal boyfriend, and Penelope Allen (my favourite performance in the film) is just a genius as the smart-talking head teller of the bank who instantly gains the nickname "mouth". Other cast members include Charles Durning as the policeman in charge of handing the hostage situation and a very young Carol Kane (the same year she did Hester Street and got an Oscar nomination) as one of the tellers whose worried about jeopardizing her marriage by going home too late. Edge-of-your-seat tension (thanks to Dede Allen's editing) and the added bonus of some great comedy that comes from watching these guys and their lack of expertise in the matter of solid crime.

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Movies Ever
Review: "Dog Day Afternoon" is a perfect example of why the 70's were a shining decade for filmmaking... not only one of Al Pacino's best performances, but Sidney Lumet's best film as well. From start to finish, it is a humorous, energetic, piece of pure entertainment (even though it is depicting a real incident). Every scene is engrossing, every performance a vital component to the overall endproduct. Unfortunately, the DVD does not offer any special features other than the widescreen option, and I would have loved to hear commentary or even see the original theatrical trailer. Maybe a special edition in the future? Regardless, the film itself is worth owning.

Rating:
Summary: One of Pacinos Best
Review: This 1975 hit based on a true bank robbery in the Midwood section of Brooklyn in 1972 was filmed in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Sonny (Pachino) plays a nervous troubled bank robber who wants money for his wifes sex change operation. He becomes surrounded by police and is turned into a media sensation. The 70s flick comes two decades before Natural Born Killers a movie in which criminals are glorified. This true story however is so much more down to earth and believable not to mention likeable that the bank personell who beccme hostages feel a sympathy mostly for Sonny. His partner John Cazale is less liked and a bit more sociopathic. Once the media is alerted and crowds and onseekers prevail the summer heat and hostility becomes transendant. Charles Durning plays the negotiator cop role and aside from one of the hostages boyfriend, does not win public appeal. The bottom line is that this movie is well acted and captures the amazment the real event caused in Brooklyn in the early 70's. Al Pachino was nominated for many Oscars on this one and to date ranks as one of his best films!