Rent Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

An unmissable classic - Dog Day Afternoon review by RD

This is one of those films that should be on everyone's list of must-see titles.

There is so much that is well done in this film, from the photography, the lighting, the storyline (based on real events), the acting (not just from the young Al Pacino but everyone), the portrayal of gay relationships (without lapsing into stereotypes), and if you see the extra documentaries on the disc there is some inspired improvisation as well.

It's an exciting and tense stand-off when a bank robbery goes wrong, and it deals with all the logical turns of events that develop after that. It hasn't aged after all these years, watch it.

Enthralling - Dog Day Afternoon review by JT

Re-introducing myself to this film was the best thing I've done for a long time. Al Pacino gives a masterclass in how to act and entertain in one fell swoop, and that's really all you need. However the plot is incredulous enough to keep you enthralled as added bonus, and the characters in support appear to have been just plucked from the New York streets minutes before shooting - not that they couldn't act, but they were so utterly genuine and realistic in their performances. Yep - wonderful.

Great American Crime Drama - Dog Day Afternoon review by GI

This crime drama from master director Sidney Lumet has a naturalistic style with a feel and pace as if you are watching a real event. Overall though it's an actor's film with a famous performance from Al Pacino aided by John Cazale, Chris Sarandon and Charles Durning in particular with a script they were mostly encouraged to improvise. This results in a set of characters that feel 'real' and you end up caring and sympathising for all of them. The story and script is key here despite the encouragement of Lumet to allow the improvisation. It's a tragedy but one that is downright funny even though it's not written to get laughs they just come from the total absurdity of the situation as it unfolds. This makes the film so enjoyable and it's a key American film of the 70s. Based on a true story (making the whole thing seem even more absurd) it follows three men who one summer afternoon attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank. One of them chickens out within the first few seconds leaving Sonny (Pacino) and Sal (Cazale). They think they have a fool proof plan and all will be done and dusted within a few minutes. But it all starts to go wrong and unravel from the very start. Soon surrounded and besieged by the police and forced to negotiate with cop, Moretti (Durning) it quickly becomes a media circus which Sonny begins to relish as he becomes the image of rebellion to a cheering crowd. Contrastingly Sal struggles with the position in which he finds himself and begins to withdraw within himself. As Sonny is revealed to be gay the film is ahead of its time in its depiction of gay men. It avoids a stereotypical image and a moving telephone conversation between Sonny and his lover, Leon (Sarandon) is taken as a normal emotional talk between two persons in a relationship. All Sonny's family seem to just accept the way he is and there is no overt judgement levied by the film about their sexuality. Interestingly Sal gets very emotional when he finds the media thinks he's gay too and is desperate for that to be corrected. This is one of the great American films of the 1970s and a crime drama that should be on your list if you haven't seen it.