Dog Day Afternoon

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.

... which it does, in buckets. Founded on a very interesting true story, embellished by Al Pacino who turns it into gold, albeit not in the quantities his character would have hoped for. With a stonking supporting cast, non better than John Cazale, you'll be drawn into the events presented as if you were there on the day, or afternoon, and quite probably investigate further as the titles start to role. Without question one of the best films of the 70s and one of few that retains its progressive and powerful impact all these years later.

'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.

Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" is one of the most highly enjoyable and wildly funny movies I've ever seen - smart, sharp, complex, witty (and often quotable) dialogue, and superbly acted. Al Pacino stars as Sonny, an optimistic loser who decides to hold up a bank with his friend Sal (played by the late, great John Cazale) to get money for his lover Leon's sex-change operation.

The film is only worked around a few sequences, and may seem overlong to some, but it works excellently because it is held together by the fantastic acting. Al Pacino is astounding as Sonny, and his work here even eclipses the excellent work he did as Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" (and that's saying something, because I adore that movie and his portrayal). Pacino has the facial tics and the energy and the wide-eyed optimism down pat, and his performance is extremely engaging and entertaining. Take, for example, his scene where he rouses up the crowd against the police by chanting, "Attica! Attica! Put your f---ing guns down!" A lesser actor would have made it insipid, but Pacino makes it oddly poignant and hilarious at the same time. (And he was robbed of his Oscar for his role.) The late John Cazale is also superb as Sal, the dopey-eyed follower, the quiet laid-back calm to Pacino's maniacal energy. It's a less flashier role, but Cazale still brings on all the laughs, especially in his deadpan delivery of the line, "Sonny, they're saying there are two homosexuals in here...I'm not a homosexual."

Frank Pierson won an Oscar for his script for a reason - the dialogue is hilarious, sharp, and witty. Many of the lines in this movie are extremely quotable (and you can check some of them out under "memorable quotes"). This is intelligent writing, in the sense that you will laugh and be moved at the same time.

Great movie! It belongs in your VHS or DVD collection. 10/10

Al Pacino stars in this film based on the set of historical events that took place in Brooklyn, New York during the early seventies. Dog Day Afternoon retells the story of these events when Sonny and Sal decide to rob a bank in Brooklyn, but their efforts seem to have failed when they realize most of the money has already been collected for the day and soon the police have the entire bank surrounded. The remainder of the film reveals Sonny's interactions with his hostages, the large media crowd that has gathered, and Detective Moretti who attempts to negotiate with Sonny. I think Al Pacino is exquisite in his role, revealing the truly human personality of someone who decided to disobey the law. I found it impossible to not feel sorry for Sonny's character, as he brought realness and a true New York feel to his role. This film also showed how the media can take something and create an enormous spectacle of it, to the point that even the people in danger are caught in the televised web and forget their potential danger. If you want to see Al Pacino at his prime acting career, Dog Day Afternoon should be on your list.