Dog Day Afternoon

1975 American Feature

Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, James Broderick and Lance Henriksen
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Frank Pierson, inspired by the article "The Boys in the Bank" by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore

First-time crook Sonny Wortzik leads a daring daytime bank robbery that goes quickly awry and turns into a hostage situation and media circus.

Links:

• Internet Movie Database page 
• Wikipedia page 
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%

DVD/Blu-ray: Available

Trailer:


Awards:

• Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay; also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Pacino), Supporting Actor (Sarandon) and Film Editing.
• BAFTA Awards for Best Actor (Pacino) and Film Editing; nominated for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Soundtrack.
• David di Donatello Special Award.
• Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
• Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Director, Actor - Drama (Pacino), Supporting Actor (Cazale and Durning), Screenplay and Acting Debut (Sarandon).
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for Best Picture, Director and Actor (Pacino).
• National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Durning).
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Notes/Trivia:

• "The Boys in the Bank", the article that inspired Dog Day Afternoon, was originally published in Life Magazine's September 22, 1972 issue. It tells the true story of the robbery of a Brooklyn bank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile on August 22, 1972.
• Actor Chris Sarandon's film debut. His character, Leon Shermer, was based on Wojtowicz's transgender boyfriend Ernest Aron, later known as Elizabeth Eden.
• A young Harvey Fierstein appears (uncredited) as one of the gay demonstrators.
• In 2001, Dog Day Afternoon was ranked #70 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Thrills" list.
• In 2005, Dog Day Afternoon's "Attica! Attica!" was ranked #86 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Movie Quotes" list.
• In 2009, Dog Day Afternoon was inducted into the National Film Registry.

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