On August 1972, a bank robbery occurred with two armed men whose names are Sonny & Sal. At first all was according to plan, until the cops showed up, forcing the robbers to stay inside the bank along with the hostages, until they come up with a plan to get out of the area, while many bystanders, cops, and news reporters, surround the building, it becomes a mass hysteria for one entire day. Three Years Later a movie about the robbery was released in theaters under the name, “Dog Day Afternoon,” with Al Pacino playing Sonny. The film was directed by Sidney Lumet. (12 Angry Men, Network, The Wiz)
Dog Day Afternoon went on to earn a bunch of critical acclaim and it was also a box office success, making a lot of money. Dog Day Afternoon went on to become an eligible candidate at The 48th Academy Awards. The film was nominated for six awards including Best Actor, (Al Pacino) Best Supporting Actor, (Chris Sarandon) & Best Director, (Sidney Lumet) The only win it got was Best Original Screenplay.
Dog Day Afternoon is described as one of the best bank robbery films of all time. Celebrities including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Berg, & Christopher Nolan, (a fan of Sidney Lumet’s work) claimed that this movie got them inspired to make movies. Producers of the Netflix series, “Daredevil,” stated that this movie is one of the main influences for the show.
This article doesn’t contain any SPOILERS. You’re free to read this review, just in case if you haven’t seen it yet.
Cha-Ching & Bankrupt Elements
Cha-Ching: The Cast consisting of Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, & Charles Durning, all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Opening Sequence sets up a chain of events for the movie. Until all heck breaks loose forcing Sonny & Sal to remain inside the bank.
The Main Setting for The Bank was filmed and located in New York, where the actual bank robbery happened in real life.
Dominic Chianese, A.K.A. Uncle Junior, from “The Sopranos,” appears in the film as Sonny’s father.
Fun Fact: Dominic Chianese also appeared in “The Godfather Part II,” which also starred Al Pacino & John Cazale. Look it up, he participated in this film long before he went big with The Sopranos.
Most of The Dialogue is improvised by Al Pacino to make his lines feel natural as a defense mechanism to not worry about his lines written in the script. John Cazale also did some improv.
90 percent of the movie takes place in a single location over the course of a single day. Don’t expect this film to be guns a blazing throughout its entire duration. The whole picture is suppose to resemble a dramatic play.
Sonny’s motivation for robbing the bank is a big surprise. If you know what it is, please don’t grab your pitchforks and torches. I’ll keep this a secret for those who haven’t seen the movie yet.
Cinematography didn’t contain any Dutch Angles thank goodness.
Sonny mentions that The News can do whatever they want. Kinda scary the way he said it, reflecting our current society involving the media or anything online can be manipulative on any individual.
According to Hank Azaria, Moe from “The Simpsons,” is based on Al Pacino’s performance as Sonny.
I’m not gonna give away The Ending. You’ll have to see it for yourself, because I refuse to give away all the juicy details.
Bankrupt: Product Placement featuring the following brands such as McDonald’s, Pepsi, Sony, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, & Tab. I’m gonna give this con a pass, because this movie is based on true events.
To be honest fellas, I couldn’t find anything else wrong with the film. I’ll give this Extra Points to the producers, writers and director for making this movie as one of those rare gems without any really Big Boo Boos.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
My real thought about Dog Day Afternoon, is in fact that I actually enjoyed watching the entire film. I didn’t get bored from start to finish. If you got nothing planned for the week, I highly recommend this picture. Trust me, this’ll be worth all your time well spent!
Nickthemoviecritic.com 