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Dog Day Afternoon

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Dog Day Afternoon
Movie poster includes five circles spaced out vertically throughout the image with various screenshots included. Interwoven throughout the circles is text reading "The robbery should have taken 10 minutes. 4 hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow. 8 hours later, it was the hottest thing on live TV. 12 hours later, it was history. And it's all true." Text at the bottom of the image includes the title and credits.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySidney Lumet
Screenplay byFrank Pierson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyVictor J. Kemper
Edited byDede Allen
Production
company
Artists Entertainment Complex
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • September 20, 1975 (1975-09-20) (San Sebastián)
  • September 21, 1975 (1975-09-21) (United States)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.8 million
Box office$50 million[1]

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson, and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Penelope Allen, James Broderick, Lance Henriksen, and Carol Kane. The title refers to the sultry "dog days" of summer.

The film was inspired by P. F. Kluge's article "The Boys in the Bank" in LIFE magazine,[2] about a similar robbery of a Brooklyn bank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale on August 22, 1972.[3][4][5][6]

The film received critical acclaim upon its September 1975 release by Warner Bros., some of which referred to its anti-establishment tone. Dog Day Afternoon was nominated for several Academy Awards and Golden Globe awards, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2009, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[7]

Plot

On August 22, 1972, first-time crook Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino), his friend Salvatore "Sal" Naturale (John Cazale), and Stevie (Gary Springer) attempt to rob the First Brooklyn Savings Bank. The plan immediately goes awry when Stevie loses his nerve shortly after Sal pulls out his gun, and Sonny is forced to let him flee the scene. In the vault, Sonny discovers that he and Sal have arrived after the daily cash pickup, and only $1,100 in cash remains in the bank.

To compensate, Sonny takes some traveler's cheques. To prevent the cheques from being traced, he burns the bank's register in a trash can, but the smoke alerts the business across the street to suspicious activities. Within minutes, the building is surrounded by the police. Unsure of what to do, the two robbers camp out in the bank, holding all the workers hostage.

Police Detective Sergeant Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning) calls the bank to tell Sonny the police have arrived. Sonny warns that he and Sal have hostages and will kill them if anyone tries coming into the bank. Sal tells Sonny that he is ready to kill the hostages if necessary. A security guard has an asthma attack, so Sonny releases him when Moretti asks for a hostage as a sign of good faith. Moretti convinces Sonny to step outside. Using the head teller as a shield, Sonny begins a dialogue with Moretti that culminates in his shouting "Attica! Attica!" (invoking the recent Attica Prison riot), and the civilian crowd starts cheering for Sonny.

Sonny demands a vehicle to drive him and Sal to an airport where they can board a jet. He also demands pizzas for the hostages (which are delivered to the scene) and that his wife be brought to the bank. When Sonny's wife, Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon), a pre-operative transgender woman, arrives, she reveals that a reason for robbing the bank is to pay for Leon's sex reassignment surgery, and that Sonny also has an estranged divorced wife, Angie (Susan Peretz), and children.

As night sets in, the lights in the bank all shut off. Sonny goes outside again and discovers that FBI Agent Sheldon (James Broderick) has taken command of the scene. He refuses to give Sonny any more favors, but when the bank manager, Mulvaney (Sully Boyar), goes into a diabetic shock, Agent Sheldon lets a doctor (Philip Charles MacKenzie) through. While the doctor is inside the bank, Sheldon convinces Leon to talk to Sonny on the phone. Leon reveals that she had attempted suicide to get away from Sonny and his abusive behavior. She had been hospitalized at the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital until the police brought her to the scene. Leon turns down Sonny's offer to join him and Sal wherever they take the plane. Sonny tells police that Leon had nothing to do with the robbery attempt.

Sonny agrees to let Mulvaney leave, but Mulvaney refuses, insisting on remaining with his employees. The FBI calls Sonny out of the bank again to talk to his mother. She unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give himself up. Once back inside the bank, Sonny writes out his will, leaving money from his life insurance to Leon for her sex change and to Angie.

When the limousine arrives, Sonny checks it for any hidden weapons or booby traps. When he decides the car is satisfactory, he settles on Agent Murphy (Lance Henriksen) to drive Sonny, Sal, and the remaining hostages to Kennedy Airport. Sonny sits in the front next to Murphy while Sal sits behind them. Murphy repeatedly asks Sal to point his gun at the roof so Sal won't accidentally shoot him.

As they wait on the airport tarmac for the plane to taxi into position, another hostage is released and gives Sal her rosary beads to help him through his first plane journey. Murphy again reminds Sal to aim his gun up so he does not fire by accident. Sal does so, and Agent Sheldon forces Sonny's weapon onto the dashboard, creating a distraction which allows Murphy to pull a revolver hidden in his armrest and shoot Sal in the head. Sonny is immediately arrested, and the hostages freed.

The film ends with Sonny watching Sal's body being taken from the car on a stretcher. Subtitles reveal that Sonny was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Angie and her children subsisted on welfare, and Leon had her sex reassignment surgery.

Cast

The LIFE article described Wojtowicz as "a dark, thin fellow with the broken-faced good looks of an Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman".[3] Hoffman was later offered the role when Pacino briefly quit the production. An 18-year-old actor was originally to be cast in the role of Sal to match the age of the actual Salvatore.[8] The table below summarizes the main cast of Dog Day Afternoon.[3]

Character Actor Role Similar person from Life article
Sonny Wortzik Al Pacino Bank robber John Wojtowicz
Salvatore "Sal" Naturale John Cazale Sonny's partner in the robbery Salvatore "Sal" Naturale
Sergeant Eugene Moretti Charles Durning Police Sergeant who originally negotiates with Sonny NYPD Police Chief of Detectives Louis C. Cottell
Agent Sheldon James Broderick FBI agent who replaces Moretti in negotiations Agent Richard Baker
Agent Murphy Lance Henriksen FBI agent/driver Agent Murphy
Leon Shermer Chris Sarandon Sonny's pre-operative transgender wife Elizabeth Eden
Sylvia "Mouth" Penelope Allen Head teller Shirley "Mouth" Ball
Mulvaney Sully Boyar Bank manager Robert Barrett
Angela "Angie" Wortzik Susan Peretz Sonny's wife Carmen "Mouth" Bifulco
Jenny "The Squirrel" Carol Kane Bank teller
Margaret Beulah Garrick Bank teller
Deborah Sandra Kazan Bank teller
Edna Estelle Omens Bank teller Josephine Tuttino
Miriam Marcia Jean Kurtz Bank teller
Maria Amy Levitt Bank teller Kathleen Amore
Stevie Gary Springer Bank robber Robert Westenberg
Howard Calvin John Marriott Unarmed bank guard Calvin Jones
Doctor Philip Charles MacKenzie Doctor who treats Mulvaney Doctor
Carmine Carmine Foresta
Phone cop Floyd Levine
Limo driver Dick Anthony Williams
Sonny's father Dominic Chianese
Neighbor Marcia Haufrecht
Sonny's mother Judith Malina Theresa Basso-Wojtowicz
TV anchorman William Bogert
TV reporter Ron Cummins
Sam Jay Gerber Insurance salesman from across the street Joe Anterio
Maria's boyfriend Edwin "Chu Chu" Malave
Pizza boy Lionel Pina

Historical accuracy

A bank building on the corner of a city street. A car can be seen parked out front and a traffic light is located on the sidewalk in front of the building. Other buildings can be seen in the background.
The location of the actual event, 450 Avenue P, Brooklyn, New York (1975 photo).

The film is based on the story of John Wojtowicz and adheres to the basic facts of what happened, according to the LIFE article "The Boys in the Bank" in the September 22 edition. Wojtowicz, along with Sal Naturale, held up a Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on August 22, 1972.[3][4][5][6]

After being apprehended, Wojtowicz was convicted in court and sentenced to twenty years in prison, of which he served six.[9]

Wojtowicz wrote a letter to The New York Times in 1975 out of concern that people would believe the version of the events portrayed in the film, which he said was "only 30% true." Some of Wojtowicz's objections included the portrayal of his wife Carmen Bifulco, the conversation with his mother that Wojtowicz claimed never happened, and the refusal of police to let him speak to his wife Carmen (unlike what was portrayed in the film). He did, however, praise Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon's portrayals of him and his wife Elizabeth Eden as accurate.[10] Also, although Sal was 18 years old, he is portrayed in the film by then 39-year-old John Cazale.

The film shows Sonny making out a will to give Leon his life insurance so that if Sonny should be killed, Leon might still be able to pay for the operation. The real-life Wojtowicz was paid $7,500 ($46,300 today) plus 1% of the film's net profit for the rights to his story, from which he gave to Eden enough to pay for her sexual reassignment surgery.[11] She died of complications from AIDS in Genesee Hospital, in Rochester, New York, in 1987.[12] Wojtowicz died of cancer in January 2006.

The robbery took place at the Chase Manhattan Bank branch at 450 Avenue P in Brooklyn, on the cross street of East 3rd Street, in Gravesend.[13] (40°36′32″N 73°58′15″W / 40.6089°N 73.9707°W / 40.6089; -73.9707)

Production

The original inspiration for the film was an article written by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore for LIFE in September 1972. The article included many of the details later used in the film and noted the relationship which Wojtowicz and Naturale developed with hostages and the police. Bank manager Robert Barrett said, "I'm supposed to hate you guys [Wojtowicz/Naturale], but I've had more laughs tonight than I've had in weeks. We had a kind of camaraderie." Teller Shirley Bell said, "[I]f they had been my houseguests on a Saturday night, it would have been hilarious."[3] The novelization of the film was penned by organized crime writer Leslie Waller.

The film has no musical score other than three songs, which are diegetic—"Amoreena" by Elton John (which first appeared on his 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection), which Sonny, Sal, and Stevie are listening to in their car in the opening credits—, the Faces song "Stay with Me", and "Easy Livin" by Uriah Heep, which both briefly play on the radio during scenes inside the bank.[14] Although many scenes within the bank establish the temperature was quite hot during the robbery, some outdoor sequences were shot in weather cool enough that actors had to put ice in their mouths to stop their breath from showing on camera.[15] Exterior shots were filmed on location on Prospect Park West between 17th and 18th Street in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. The interior shots of the bank were filmed in a set created in a warehouse.[16][17]

Though the actors kept to the basic text of the script as written by Frank Pierson, director Lumet encouraged them to improvise and workshop scenes to create more natural dialogue. Changes made through this process included Cazale's memorable reply when asked what country he'd like to go to ("Wyoming"), and Durning and Pacino's aggressive dialogue after shots are fired within the bank.[18]

Response

Although Dog Day Afternoon was released nationally in 1975, it is based on events that took place in Brooklyn three years earlier, in August 1972. During this era of strong opposition to the Vietnam war, "anti-establishment" Sonny repeats the counter-cultural war cry, "Attica!", in reference to the Attica Prison riot of September 1971.[19]

Critical reaction

Upon its release, Dog Day Afternoon received largely positive reviews. The film holds a 95% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[20] Vincent Canby called it "Sidney Lumet's most accurate, most flamboyant New York movie" and praised the "brilliant characterizations" by the entire cast.[21] Roger Ebert called Sonny "one of the most interesting modern movie characters" and gave the movie three-and-a-half stars out of four.[22] He would later add this film to his list of The Great Movies.[23]

As time has passed, the film has continued to generate a positive critical reception. For example, Christopher Null wrote in 2006 that the film "captures perfectly the zeitgeist of the early 1970s, a time when optimism was scraping rock bottom and John Wojtowicz was as good a hero as we could come up with".[24]

P.F. Kluge, coauthor of the article that inspired the film, believed the filmmakers "stayed with the surface of a lively journalistic story" and that the film had a "strong, fast-paced story" without "reflection" or "a contemplative view of life".[2]

Dog Day Afternoon ranks 443rd on Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[25] Vrij Nederland named the bank robbery scene the third best bank robbery in film history, behind bank robbery scenes from Raising Arizona (1987) and Heat (1995).[26]

Accolades

Dog Day Afternoon won the Academy Award for Writing – Original Screenplay (Frank Pierson) and was nominated for five other Oscars:[27]

The film was also nominated for the following seven Golden Globes, winning none:[27]

The film won other awards, including an NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor (Charles Durning) and a Writers Guild Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (Frank Pierson) as well as the British Academy Award for Best Actor (Al Pacino). The film is also #70 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.[28] Also Al Pacino's quote, "Attica! Attica!" placed at #86 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes. It was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies in 1998[29] and 2007.[30] In 2006, Premiere magazine issued its "100 Greatest Performances of All Time", citing Pacino's performance as Sonny as the 4th greatest ever.[31] In 2012, the Motion Picture Editors Guild listed the film as the 20th best edited film of all time based on a survey of its membership.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dog Day Afternoon (1975)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Rayburn, Nina. "The Write Stuff: Magazine articles that make it to the Big Screen". New York Review of Magazines. Archived from the original on January 11, 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kluge, P.F; Moore, Thomas (September 22, 1972). "The Boys in the Bank". LIFE. Vol. 73, no. 12. p. 66.
  4. ^ a b "Homosexual robs bank, asks release of 'wife'". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 23, 1972. p. 3.
  5. ^ a b "Robber killed, 7 bank hostages freed". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. August 23, 1972. p. 1.
  6. ^ a b "FBI kills man, frees 7". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. August 23, 1972. p. 2.
  7. ^ "25 new titles added to National Film Registry". Yahoo News. Yahoo. December 30, 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Lumet, Sidney. Dog Day Afternoon, feature commentary
  9. ^ "Bank robber wins parole". Ocala Star-Banner. (Florida). Associated Press. November 29, 1978. p. 3A.
  10. ^ Real Dog Day hero tells his story by John Wojtowicz from Jump Cut, no. 15, 1977, pp. 31–32. Retrieved March 13, 2007
  11. ^ "Elizabeth Eden, Transsexual Who Figured in 1975 Movie", The New York Times, October 1, 1987
  12. ^ Jabbar, Yasmene. "Dog Days Afternoon Remembered". Trans World News. Archived from the original on November 7, 2003. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  13. ^ Meskil, Paul (August 24, 1972). "An Insider is Sought in Bank Holdup". Daily News.
  14. ^ Dog Day Afternoon (1975) - Soundtracks
  15. ^ Lumet, Sidney. The Making of Dog Day Afternoon, Special Feature on Dog Day Afternoon (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD
  16. ^ Blair, Cynthia (2007). "1975: "Dog Day Afternoon" Filmed in Brooklyn". Newsday. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ The bank and street from Dog Day Afternoon for Mark Allen Cam by Mark Allen on February 20, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  18. ^ From the director's commentary on the DVD release.
  19. ^ 10 Best Heist Movies Ever for Movie Magic. Retrieved April 28, 2006. Archived February 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "Dog Day Afternoon". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  21. ^ "Screen: Lumet's 'Dog Day Afternoon'". Vincent Canby. The New York Times. September 22, 1975. Retrieved June 3, 2006.
  22. ^ "Dog Day Afternoon". Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. January 1, 1975. Retrieved June 3, 2006.
  23. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Dog Day Afternoon Movie Review (1975) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  24. ^ Null, Christopher (February 28, 2006). "Dog Day Afternoon". Archived from the original on March 30, 2006. Today Dog Day Afternoon is an unabashed classic, a template by which other movies are based and a formula which is periodically tweaked and refined. There are few things you can complain about in Dog Day -- a second act that relies on a few too many variations of the same "the cops are scheming" bit, and that's about it. But Pacino's fiery performance and Sidney Lumet's perfect direction does more than create a great crime movie. It captures perfectly the zeitgeist of the early 1970s, a time when optimism was scraping rock bottom and John Wojtowicz was as good a hero as we could come up with.
  25. ^ "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time: 500–401". Empire. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  26. ^ Porcelijn, Max (April 26, 2008). "The 5 Best Bank Robberies in Film History". Vrij Nederland. pp. 96–97.
  27. ^ a b Awards for Dog Day Afternoon for IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2006.
  28. ^ 100 Years...100 Thrills for the AFI on June 13, 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2006. Archived May 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Ballot Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Archived September 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "100 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time". Premiere Magazine. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  32. ^ "The 75 Best Edited Films". Editors Guild Magazine. 1 (3). May 2012.
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