grantss Easy to dismiss initially as just another bank heist caper, it gets better and better the more it goes on. Lumet feeds the viewer details and subtle twists, revealing more of the characters and their stories over time. By the end it is as much a theme- and character-driven movie as a plot-driven movie. The social commentary is brave and innovative, especially for a movie from 1975.The other change is in the seriousness of the subject. Initially the movie is quite funny. Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale)'s attempt to rob the bank is so bad it is hilarious. However, their is always the thought that tragedy is not far away, and Lumet keeps this idea ticking throughout the movie.Great acting by Al Pacino. Great direction by Sidney Lumet.

JLRVancouver Al Pacino delivers an outstanding performance as somewhat incompetent bank robber Sonny Wortzik, who, along with his partner Sal (played with understated melancholia by John Cazale), decides to knock over the First Brooklyn Savings Bank to pay for his 'wife's' (Chris Sarandon) gender-reassignment surgery. The heist quickly goes wrong, leaving the bemused and unprepared criminals and their hostages stuck in a stinking-hot bank, surrounded by cops, the media, and crowds of on-lookers. Based on a true story and once again affirming the adage that 'truth is stranger than fiction', "Dog Day Afternoon" is one of the best films to come out of the early 70's, with fantastic acting, tight direction and an excellent script (although much of the dialogue was improvised). Notable for being one of the five full length films Cazale starred in before dying of lung cancer, all of which were nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (three of which won the award).

George Wright I was delighted to get Dog Day Afternoon as a Christmas gift. I still watch DVDs and thank goodness for them. Other than TCM, there is only a slim chance of viewing this movie on television. Finally getting to see the movie and its star Al Pacino was a bigger treat than I expected. Watching this robbery/hostage drama made me feel like I was right there minute by minute as the story unfolded. Sidney Lumet, a director of so many great movies set in New York, knew the territory. The movie is set in Brooklyn in 1972 and it captures the squalor and the mood of the working class neighbourhood. At the time, New York was dealing with crime, bankruptcy, racial strife and the loss of faith in government. Pacino, playing Sonny, is an unemployed Italian-American in a failing marriage. Part of the story is an alliance he builds with neighbours who cheer for him as he is surrounded by police, FBI, and media reporters. John Cazale plays the buddy Sal and Charles Durning is the seasoned police chief caught in a highly charged environment between the police and a crowd of rabble rousers cheering on the hostage takers. The full cast is great. Glad I finally saw this movie, which I can now add to the many other great movies I've seen from the 1970's. Highly recommend.

mydecipheredcode Even before the midpoint I was heading to IMDb for a 10 on 10 rating. Tons of bank robbery movies out there and this is just mind-blowing. Unique, funny, natural (thanks to the casting and performance) and awesome till the end. I could not get over Cazale's dialogue of not wanting to have a smoke. He may have had cancer during that time. He died three years later of lung cancer. Great performance by him too.I can't thank Sidney Lumet and the writer enough for the experience I had gone through while watching this masterpiece. Fact indeed is incredibly stranger than fiction. I am watching for the first time and could not seriously believe the movie was made in 70s. I will watch again to enjoy, and learn. In our language, we call it "Otha, maasu!"