Slideshow
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
U.S., 1975
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning
Approx. 124 min. DCP.
As a scorcher unravels from day to night in Brooklyn, the motive for Al Pacino’s botched bank robbery/hostage taking is revealed to be the funding of his wife’s gender-affirming surgery. Lumet’s ultimate exercise in realism, with 60% of the dialogue improvised – including Pacino’s phone call to his wife, shot in a single, 15-minute take.
With support from the Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film.
Reviews
“One of the best ‘New York’ movies ever made.”
– Pauline Kael
“Filmmaking at its best.”
– Variety
“Sidney Lumet is a master filmmaker. Here he has created a film made brilliant by its deeply seen characters, in a plot that could have obviously been cheapened and exploited but is always human and true.”
– Roger Ebert
“An astonishing fusion of suspense and character, powered by superior ensemble acting.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum
“The most accurate, most flamboyant of Lumet’s New York movies.”
– Vincent Canby, The New York Times