Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

I've seen this movie and for me it's Al Pacino at his best! The movie has a very simple premise, two guys rob a bank, but everything that can go wrong does. In the beginning the women who work in the bank are afraid, but once the situation escalates into a sideshow, some the women become comfortable with the situation. Basically, the entire movie is in the bank and all types of comedy and drama surrounds it. This is Al Pacino early in his career and for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, I definitely recommend it. Just keep in mind between all the madness you see in the film that this is a true story, and very entertaining!

Fmovies: It was so freshening and attractive to see His Majesty, Mr. Al Pacino, in this breathtaking movie of 1970s. The first thing that a discerning eye would notice throughout the film is the undying uniqueness of Pacino's originality. This was just another movie destined to reassuring viewers of Al's status of an icon. The movie itself is endearing and entertaining. Though the movie is supposed to appear like a bank robbing, and in a sense it is, but deep in the heart robbing is simply a way to achieve a totally different goal, of course other than money! It is about affection and mutual caring. It's about what situations a person is ready to embark into in order to show how much he cares for another one. And I guess this is the point of the whole movie, which is stylistically decorated with dozes of sarcasm and pleasantry with sporadic undertones of bravery. The characters are all innocent which innocence seems to relate them to each other. What I deem as very courageous here are the thematic elements, homosexuality. I guess the time when the movie was made the society had still been ruled by prejudiced mentalities that could really ruin this innocuous piece of art. For this, I praise the very daring Sidney Lumet, one of my favorite directors. 10/10

Personally, this is one of the most touching films I've seen.

The acting is superb, both Al Pacino and John Cazale deliver outstanding and memorable performances as the unexperienced bank robbers Sonny Wortzik and Sal.

I should highlight the late John Cazale's performance of Sal, a character that says more with his face than he does with dialogue. Perhaps the most realistic character ever portrayed on film.

Al Pacino as usual delivers a great performance as was nominated for an Academy Award playing the role of Sonny.

This is a very entertaining film, filled with humor, social issues and moral issues, definitely a must-watch.

Dog Day Afternoon fmovies. By the time Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" came around he had already learned to let Al Pacino loose. Forget the holdbacks of "Serpico"; here we get a glimpse into the real Al, the actor who would bring Tony Montana to life in the years to come and the same man who provided Michael Corleone with such heartfelt warmth that was lacking in some of his lesser characters.

There's essentially the Al Pacino as an actor and the Al Pacino as a character, and here he's the character, and it works splendidly. Al Pacino the actor comes into play when he is given a recycled script and a talentless director, which has been happening a lot lately, although fortunately his comparison, De Niro, has been lucky enough to generally avoid these blunders of older-age film-making.

This is based on a true story, like "Serpico," only it's better and more involving. It connects with the audience more than "Serpico" because it doesn't jump through the same old hoops; it goes for the long trek and comes off better than it would have had the team behind it been lazy. The clichés are gone and the originality creeps in early on. Watch Pacino indulge himself in character and let the plot sink in. It's more touching than it seems at first.

Pacino is Sonny Wortzik, a Brooklyn man who takes a bank hostage in order to pay for his "wife's" operation. The wife is actually Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon who was Oscar-nominated for this, his first role in a mainstream film), Sonny's gay lover who doesn't have the money for a sex operation.

The bank robbery was going to be what one of classic cinema's greatest bad guys once described as a quick "in and out," but Sonny gets held up inside the bank and soon he's all over the news and police are standing outside the building with guns drawn. It's like Denzel's movie only better and more original. Oh, and true. This one actually happened and we can tell.

Sonny's partner in crime, Sal (John Cazale), is worried that he'll be treated as a homosexual by the media outside. His fretting is comic relief and one of the connections between the film and the audience. Charles Durning is the frustrated cop handling the situation. His performance is as subtly convincing as Cavale's.

Pacino's performance is exceedingly excellent, manic and energetic. He'd display this same talent in "Scarface" again eight years later; only he would be bashed by the critics for going over-the-top. (Although they really just had problems with the excessive profanity and violence, just like Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will soon become a well-known classic and people will laugh when they hear that someone once called it the most violent film ever made.)

There's also one of the best scenes of all time in this movie that rivals Montana's Last Stand in "Scarface" or the Baptism Scene in "The Godfather," which involves Sonny speaking on the phone to his "wife," carefully concealing his motive from any listeners nearby. Watch Pacino delve into character here and you're immediately hooked. We like his character because he seems real and Pacino makes him real, and that's why this will go down as one of the best tour de force performances of all time.

Is this Hollywood trying to ease our culture onto homosexuality and sex change operations? Is Hollywood trying to gradually introduce us

'Dog Day Afternoon' tells the true story of Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale). These two guys went into a bank in 1972 in Brooklyn to rob it. They could have been out in five minuted but things went terribly wrong. Instead of a robbery it became a hostage situation. And a media circus as well.

From the first second you will be totally in the movie. Afterwards I wanted to write my review and I was not able to remember how the music was, if there was any. It says something about how much the movie grabs you. The first part is very funny, I laughed a lot of times. The second part is more a drama and a thriller. Great director Sidney Lumet creates a certain atmosphere for the movie that is just right. Pacino in one of his best performances is surrounded by a great supporting cast. He was nominated for an Oscar but didn't win it. He lost it to a guy named Jack Nicholson in a movie called 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. The chances were probably fifty-fifty and the Oscar went to the better movie, I have to admit that. Still, one of the best performances I have ever seen. With any other actor this movie was a nice one, with him it is a great one.

A brilliant movie, and a mesmerizing Al Pacino. If u thought he was spectacular in GF I, II, and Scarface....then just watch him in Dog Day Afternoon. Quite simply one of the greatest performances in movie history. Definitely my favorite. The depth with which he plays Sonny is such a treat to watch that I lost count of how many times he left me in AWE. There's this indescribable nervous energy to his performance that there's no way he'll leave u NOT feeling sorry for Sonny.

Sadly, for some reason this movie is kinda forgotten when discussing Al's greatest movies/performances. That's because not many people have watched it. So please, if u consider yourself a movie fan, then go rent DDA and watch a fine movie with the legendary Al Pacino performing his art at the absolute peak of his career.