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Message
Finally watched Dog Day Afternoon.
Posted on 9/15/25 at 8:09 pm
Posted on 9/15/25 at 8:09 pm
It had been on my to-watch roster since 2001 (earliest I can remember hearing about on a Jimmy Buffett “must watch list” funny enough).
Never even looked into what it was about, just knew it pertained to a bank robbery. Well… yea… damn good flick. Pacino crushed it; Cazale crushed it with mere cryptic glarings the whole film; Charles Durning was the best performance in the film… that guy was just an all around talent. Great flick… thought it carried a lot of relevance to today’s political landscape.
Never even looked into what it was about, just knew it pertained to a bank robbery. Well… yea… damn good flick. Pacino crushed it; Cazale crushed it with mere cryptic glarings the whole film; Charles Durning was the best performance in the film… that guy was just an all around talent. Great flick… thought it carried a lot of relevance to today’s political landscape.
10
Posted on 9/15/25 at 10:23 pm to Honest Tune
A line I sometimes use or just think to myself under appropriate circumstances:
"Kiss me."
"Kiss me."
Posted on 9/15/25 at 10:40 pm to Honest Tune
The 70s is full of politically relevant movies that capture the era. The mental meltdown of the blue collar working class is on full display in the movie. The sexually confused Vietnam vet is the perfect metaphor for the loss of masculinity and the breakdown of law and order that the working class experienced during the 1970s. He literally keeps saying “I’m dying in here!” But they still manage to keep it from being too heavy handed with the symbolism. It is more of an exploration of the character’s struggles and less of a projection. And at the end of the day, he’s just another working class guy that just can’t make it.
This post was edited on 9/15/25 at 10:41 pm
Posted on 9/15/25 at 11:01 pm to Honest Tune
I never understood, if Pacino was with the trans person, then who was the fat lady with kids that got a visit from the cops?
Posted on 9/15/25 at 11:45 pm to hsfolk
quote:
I never understood, if Pacino was with the trans person, then who was the fat lady with kids that got a visit from the cops?
I thought it just showed that he was leading a double life?
ETA: On my top films list, John Cazale
This post was edited on 9/16/25 at 12:13 am
Posted on 9/16/25 at 3:35 am to hsfolk
quote:
who was the fat lady with kids that got a visit from the cops?
His actual wife.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 6:02 am to Honest Tune
quote:
been on my to-watch roster since 2001
You been behind for 24 years
Posted on 9/16/25 at 6:10 am to The Torch
quote:
You been behind for 24 years
Yea, I guess Citizen Kane is next haha.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 6:45 am to Honest Tune
Posted on 9/16/25 at 7:01 am to Honest Tune
Sidney Lumet sort of gets forgotten at times. I get it - he was a contemporary of Kubrick and they sort of started at the same time, but he was as good as a director who overlapped late stage John Ford as well as making films alongside all the New Hollywood/wunderkind kids like Bogdanavich, Polanski, Steven, Francis and the like.
Recall his directorial debut was 12 Angry Men. Dog Day Afternoon was very similar in environment. Very claustrophobic. And they rehearsed it like a play (which of course 12 Angry Men was an adaptation, while this was a fictionalized version of a true crime story). It didn't feel stage bound. Lumet had recently worked with Pacino (Serpico) and they worked well together (it was producer Bregman who had the problems with Pacino and Pacino himself accepted/backed out of the role several times before sticking).
And this was really peak Lumet. He was about 50 shooting this. He had made Serpico in 1973 (and The Offence), Murder on the Orient Express in 1974 (and Lovin' Molly), Dog Day Afternoon would be his only film released in 1975 and, of course, 1976 would see Network.
The casting was brilliant. Vic Kemper shot it. Dede Allen was the editor - she was effectively Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet's editor of that era - but for you Gen X folks out there, she also edited The Breakfast Club.
Although in the 70s with "new cinema" elements in, Dog Day Afternoon was at its core a really good "old school" movie. Top shelf ingredients everywhere. And with Pacino, Cazale and a fresh faced Chris Sarandon, it felt hip and new. It is really a gem of that era of cinema. It sometimes gets lost in Lumet's filmography because it is in that spot between Serpico and Network.
Recall his directorial debut was 12 Angry Men. Dog Day Afternoon was very similar in environment. Very claustrophobic. And they rehearsed it like a play (which of course 12 Angry Men was an adaptation, while this was a fictionalized version of a true crime story). It didn't feel stage bound. Lumet had recently worked with Pacino (Serpico) and they worked well together (it was producer Bregman who had the problems with Pacino and Pacino himself accepted/backed out of the role several times before sticking).
And this was really peak Lumet. He was about 50 shooting this. He had made Serpico in 1973 (and The Offence), Murder on the Orient Express in 1974 (and Lovin' Molly), Dog Day Afternoon would be his only film released in 1975 and, of course, 1976 would see Network.
The casting was brilliant. Vic Kemper shot it. Dede Allen was the editor - she was effectively Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet's editor of that era - but for you Gen X folks out there, she also edited The Breakfast Club.
Although in the 70s with "new cinema" elements in, Dog Day Afternoon was at its core a really good "old school" movie. Top shelf ingredients everywhere. And with Pacino, Cazale and a fresh faced Chris Sarandon, it felt hip and new. It is really a gem of that era of cinema. It sometimes gets lost in Lumet's filmography because it is in that spot between Serpico and Network.
This post was edited on 9/16/25 at 7:03 am
Posted on 9/16/25 at 8:04 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
Sidney Lumet sort of gets forgotten at times. I get it - he was a contemporary of Kubrick and they sort of started at the same time,
Especially since Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove came out together about the same story. The Verdict, Prince of the City, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead all great films too. i need to watch The Pawnbroker and The Hill at some point.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 8:51 am to Honest Tune
Have to really love film and film making. I watched Mean Streets not too long ago. Just too dated. I have a hard time getting past it. My example is the fight scene in Mean Streets. Whole lot of action with zero substance. Crazy camera work of the period.
I remember Dog Day Afternoon when I was a kid. It was on the Showtime rotation in the early 80’s and my folks watched it. I recall the Attica scene and remember thinking he was talking about Angola.
I remember Dog Day Afternoon when I was a kid. It was on the Showtime rotation in the early 80’s and my folks watched it. I recall the Attica scene and remember thinking he was talking about Angola.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 8:58 am to Underwood
Pacino character was involved with the trans guy. The bank job was to get money to help with medical expenses.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 9:33 am to Honest Tune
To all on here who may not know, the movie was VERY closely based on a real-life event that happened in 1972:
John Wojtowicz
John Wojtowicz
Posted on 9/16/25 at 9:53 am to BRich
Is that the actual wife irl or the boyfriend? Hard to tell. The wife in the film was portrayed as a fatty, so that may have been before she had kids. Or its a dude in a dress.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 10:38 am to Honest Tune
I think that's the dude in the dress. I remember reading an article about it many years ago.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 1:13 pm to BRich
Thanks for that. Closer than most "true stories"
Posted on 9/16/25 at 1:27 pm to LSU alum wannabe
quote:
Have to really love film and film making.
That’s exactly why I watched it. I wanted to see… acting… and an actual story with multifaceted characters, written by a dude that probably drank and smoked the whole time he toiled over his craft, going back and forth with the dialogue to get it correct. I wanted to see a cast that was carefully selected based on their talent. I wanted to watch a movie that, to my knowledge, had no special effects. The fact that some of the sweaty bank ladies turned me on was an added bonus.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 1:41 pm to Honest Tune
quote:
The wife
The fat wife was a cinematic choice.
Posted on 9/16/25 at 7:21 pm to rebelrouser
Would I love about dramas from the sixties up until the end of the seventies are the starkness of the characters. Every female and male actor did not come across with model looks or monster biceps. They looked like real people- sloppy, sweaty and you could smell the alcohol and cigarettes coming off of them.
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