Official Synopsis:
On a hot Brooklyn afternoon, two optimistic nobodies set out to rob a bank. Sonny (Al Pacino) is the mastermind, Sal (John Cazale) is the follower and disaster is the result. Because the cops, crowds, TV cameras and even the pizza man have arrived. Pacino and director Sidney Lumet (collaborators on Serpico) reteam for this boisterous comedy thriller that earned six Academy AwardŽ nominations (including Best Picture) and won an OscarŽ for Frank Pierson's streetwise screenplay. Based on a true incident, Dog Day Afternoon "is one of the big ones, swarming with energy, excitement and drama." (Gene Shalit, Today/NBC-TV)
Our Take:
Somehow or another, I've managed to go my entire life without seeing one of the most acclaimed films of the 70's. I'm not really sure how it happened, but I was happy to rectify that situation with the release of the Dog Day Afternoon two-disc special edition. The film surprised me; at first for it's humorous energy, and then for its unexpectedly dramatic turn.
But that same dramatic turn threw the film for me a little bit. I can appreciate Al Pacino's masterful performance, but when it's revealed that (Spoiler Warning!) he's bisexual (end Spoiler Warning), the film goes off into much more depressing and dialogue-based territory. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the first half of the film is brimming with such energy and black comedy that it's an abrupt switch. Honestly, the effect is more than a little jarring. Still, there's no denying that director Sidney Lumet and Pacino crafted an impressive movie, one that still holds up as one of the great films of the 70's.
The two-disc set only comes with a few extra features, but they are pretty noteworthy ones.
* The Making of Dog Day Afternoon (58 minutes) - A four-part documentary focusing on the story, the casting, recreating the true events, and the reaction to the film. Includes new interviews with Pacino, Lumet, screenwriter Frank Pierson, and others.
* Commentary - Sidney Lumet reminisces about making the film.
* Lumet: Filmmaker (10 minutes) - A vintage featurette from the set of the film.
* Trailer.
Part of what made Dog Day Afternoon so successful and so memorable was the atmosphere of the time period; it's hard to imagine a crowd of onlookers cheering for a bank robber the way they did in the age of the Attica Prison tragedy. However, Dog Day Afternoon is still a powerful portrait of a different time, and it's now available in a package that complements the film's place in cinematic history.
Overall Picture:
Movie: B+
DVD: A-
- Mike Spring
Editor
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