Dog Day Afternoon - Classic Crime Drama Movie DVD | Al Pacino, John Cazale | Bank Heist Thriller for Movie Nights & Film Collections

'Dog Day Afternoon' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick, and Charles Durning. The screenplay is written by Frank Pierson, and is based on the Life magazine article "The Boys in the Bank" by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore. The feature chronicled the 1972 robbery and hostage situation led by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile at a Chase Manhattan branch in Brooklyn.This film has been rotting away in my watchlist for quite some time, and if I must be transparent with you all: it’s largely because I thought this would be far from entertaining. After having bit the bullet and having given it a chance I’m happy to say I was sorely incorrect, and that ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ grips its audience to the best of its ability and holds on for dear life.Sandwiched between the release of ‘??? ?????????r’ and ‘????????’, ‘DDA’ is the perfect intermission for AL Pacino in regards to capturing the range of his acting chops and the variety of characteristics he is able to embrace in a moment’s notice. Much like ‘Michael’ Pacino has a thin shred of innocence that dominates much of his demeanor and makes him incredibly persuasive, pragmatic, and easily in good favor with those meant to be in opposition to him. When pressed against the wall or in a position where his character begins to lose control Pacino calls upon the ruthlessness that defines ‘Tony’ - which transforms him into an individual that is explosively unpredictable (but considerably composed) and brazenly intimidating.What is most impressive about these transitions is the seamless nature at which they are composed, and yet another striking example of Pacino’s emotional intuition and ability to make every second on screen with him count. The sweating. The eyes widening. The stare. The way his eyes dart around with anxiety and confusion. The brief fluctuations in his voice. The controlled stuttering. The way he sinks in to a metaphorical puddle of depravity on the floor while simultaneously holding himself upright with assertion…I could go on and on - just know this is known as one of his finest performances, and it’s easy to see why.It’s probably not a coincidence that Pacino was enlisted as the casting choice as the portrayal of the real life Wojtowicz; not only did Wojtowicz watch ‘??? ?????????’ on the day of this robbery, but he was also largely influenced by this film in developing his plan and technique (sources report he even initiated the robbery by handing a bank teller a note paraphrasing the famous ‘I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse’ like. What a shame they didn’t reference it!).Inevitably, ‘Dogs Day Afternoon’ isn’t a perfect retelling of events - with Wojtowicz stating that the film is ‘approximately 30%’ accurate. Most specifically, here are ways in which ‘DDA’ deviates from the complicated story it is inspired by that he has voiced concerns about himself in order from most to least pressing, (So, spoiler alert!)1) Opposed primarily to the portrayal of his wife, Carmen, Wojtowicz has voiced concerns that the film insinuates that it is largely her behavior and mannerisms that pressed him into a relationship with Edin. This couldn’t be any farther from the true because in real life Wojtowicz separated from his wife two years before even meeting Eden (Known as ‘Leon’ in this film).2) At no point during the real life robbery does he actually speak to his mother or allowed any contact with his wife; I suspect these moments are largely included as to capture elements of his humanity that are needed to further empathize with his character3) Not really a complaint made by Wojtowicz, but it ‘DDA’ may have benefited from giving more insight as to how his own hostages felt about him as a character as to further elaborate on the complexity of him as human being and justify the amount of support and praise he receives from supporting characters (such as the crowd of people that regularly cheer for him outside).For the record, one of his hostages (Shirley Ball) has recalled:"? ???????? ?? ??? ????????...??? ? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ????...?? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ??? ???."Context aside ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ also does trip over itself in making the nature of the relationship between Wojtowicz and his partner ‘Leon’ more clear; more specifically, it fails to divulge information related to Wojtowicz’s sexuality and its overarching effect on the portrayed events. While serving in Vietnam Wojtowicz had his first point of intimate contact with a male, and upon returning largely kept his sexuality a secret for approximately two years upon returning (in 1969). In 1971 Wojtowicz met Eden and stayedmostly opposed to Eden having a gender reaffirming surgery (which, she longed for) up until the point of being hospitalized for a suicide attempt in this same year. Convinced that surgery would “cure her depression” - misguided, but in some ways wholesome - Wojtowicz decided to collect funds for this operation in what he thought was the most logical way possible: robbing a bank.(Fun fact: He made two previous attempts to rob a bank that were twarted. During the first attempt a shotgun was dropped and accidentally went off so Wojtowicz and his company fled. During the second attempt a family friend was ran into on the way and the robbery was consequently “called off”)It would be fair to say that by today’s standards the inclusion of this point of contention (involving trying to gather resources for a transgender individual) would be considered generally bigoted as of today’s standards considering the pronouns used regularly to refer to ‘Leon’ as a character and the way in which her condition is explained (A phrase a long the lines of “A woman trapped inside of a man’s body’ is used verbatum); Given the time in which this film was made it would be more fair to suggest that these interactions are largely a product of its time and in so many other more significant ways ???????? to be progressive.All inaccuracies aside - Wojtowicz has praised the way in which he is portrayed as a character in ‘DDA’. it has been deemed as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as of 2009.Not a perfect film by any means - but it gets pretty damn close.I would recommend!