}

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Frank Pierson. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, and Charles Durning. Based on the events of an attempted bank robbery in 1972, Dog Day Afternoon tells the story of Sonny Wortzik, who holds employees of a bank hostage with his partner Salvatore Naturile in Brooklyn, New York.Charm City North for Baltimore Style by Mark J. Miller, September/October 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2006.Trivia from Dog Day Afternoon for IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2006.

The film was inspired by the article The Boys in the Bank, which tells a similar story of the robbery of a Brooklyn bank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile; this article was first published in Life in 1972."The Boys in the Bank" by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore for Life, September 22, 1972, Vol. 73(12). The film received generally positive reviews, some of which referred to its anti-establishment tones. Although it was nominated for major awards, Dog Day Afternoon won just a sole Academy Award and failed to win a Golden Globe. Pacino's memorable "ATTICA!" line from the film has become widely quoted, and was #86 on American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes" list.100 Years...100 Movie Quotes for AFI, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2006.

Plot

As the film opens, the bank is closing. Sal enters, and his accomplices Sonny and Stevie soon follow. Sal quietly threatens the bank manager as his accomplices wait for the remaining customers to leave. Sonny then pulls a rifle from a box and threatens the employees. Stevie is afraid to point a gun at anyone and decides he cannot do it. Sonny allows him to leave the bank. Sonny and Sal quickly learn that most of the money in the vault had been picked up earlier in the afternoon, leaving only $1100 in the vault. Sonny grabs additional money from the tellers' booths, burns the bank register, and the smoke from the fire pours out a ventilation shaft. A business owner across the street notices the smoke. The bank manager, Mulvaney, steps outside (held at gunpoint by Sonny out of sight) and assures the man nothing is wrong; the man leaves.

Although Sonny is careful to avoid the bank's security systems by spraypainting over cameras, keeping pressure alarms depressed, and not taking decoy money, the police are somehow alerted. Detective Moretti and numerous officers set up a siege around the bank. When Moretti calls the bank to tell Sonny the police have arrived, Sonny warns that he has hostages and will kill them if anyone tries to come in the bank. Detective Moretti acts as hostage negotiator, while Agent Sheldon watches his actions. Howard, the doorman, has an asthma attack, so Sonny releases him when Moretti asks for a hostage. Moretti convinces Sonny to step outside to see how overwhelming the police forces are. After a moment, Sonny delivers his now-famous "ATTICA!" line (see below), and the civilian crowd starts cheering for Sonny.

Pacino as Wortzik, standing at the bank's door talking with police.

After realizing they cannot make a simple getaway, Sonny demands transportation -- a jet to take them out of the country. When a tactical team approaches the back door, he fires a shot to warn them off. Moretti claims that those police were a separate unit that he was not controlling. Later, Sonny incites the crowd by throwing money over the police barricades, some overrun the barricade, and a few are arrested. When Sonny's male wife, Leon Shermer, arrives, he reveals that Sonny is robbing the bank to pay for Leon's sex-change operation and that Sonny also has a female wife and children. However, Leon refuses to speak with Sonny, even over the telephone.

As night sets in the lights in the bank all shut off, and Sonny goes outside again and discovers that Agent Sheldon has taken command of the scene. He refuses to give Sonny any more favors, but when Mulvaney goes into a diabetic shock, Sheldon lets a doctor through. While the doctor is inside the bank, Sheldon convinces Leon to talk to Sonny on the phone. The two have a lengthy conversation that reveals Leon had attempted suicide to "get away from" Sonny and had been hospitalized at the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital until the police brought him to the scene. Leon turns down Sonny's offer to come on the jet with Sonny and Sal to wherever they take the plane, and Sonny tells police listening to the phone call that Leon had nothing to do with the robbery attempt.

Sal (right) guards Mulvaney.

After the phone call, the doctor asks Sonny to let Mulvaney leave and Sonny agrees, but Mulvaney refuses, instead insisting he remain with his employees. Sonny is called outside and finds the FBI has brought his mother to the scene. She unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give himself up and Sheldon signals that the limosine to the jet will arrive in ten minutes. Once back inside the bank, Sonny writes out his will, leaving money from his life insurance to Leon for his sex change and to Angie.

When the limo arrives Sonny checks it for any hidden weapons or traps. When he decides the car is satisfactory, he settles on Agent Murphy to drive Sonny, Sal, and the remaining hostages to Kennedy Airport. Sonny sits in the front next to Murphy while Sal sits behind them. Murphy repeatedly asks Sal to point the gun up so it will not accidentally fire and hit Murphy. They pause on the tarmac while their plane taxies and Agent Sheldon creates a distraction, allowing Murphy to pull a pistol hidden in his armrest and shoot Sal in the head. Sonny is immediately arrested, the hostages are all escorted to the terminal, and the film ends with Sonny watching Sal's body being taken from the car on a stretcher.

Actual event

The location of the actual event, 450 Avenue P, Brooklyn NY
(1975 photo).

The movie was based on the story of John Wojtowicz and adheres to the basic facts of what actually happened according to the Life article "The Boys in the Bank". With Sal Naturile, Wojtowicz held up a Chase Manhattan bank in Brooklyn on August 22, 1972. Many details from the actual robbery are depicted in the film, such as the arrival of Ernest Aron (Leon Shermer in the film) at the scene and his refusal to meet with Wojtowicz, the robbers demanding pizza (although in the actual event it was delivered by FBI agents, not a delivery boyTo Crooks, It's All Pies in Sky for New York Daily News by Ellen Fleysher on August 24th, 1972. Retrieved May 03, 2006.), and the gun that was hidden in the getaway car used to shoot Naturile. In reality, the robbery and resulting hostage situation took 14 hours from beginning to end; in the film it appears to take about as much or slightly less time.

Once apprehended, Wojtowicz served seven years of a 20-year sentence. At one point during the film, Sonny is seen making out a will so that, should he die, Leon could still pay for the operation with Sonny's life insurance. In reality, Wojtowicz was paid $7,500 plus 1% of the film's net profits for the rights to his story, and gave $2,500 of that to Ernest Aron. Ernest Aron became Elizabeth Debbie EdenLiz Eden Papers for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Center 1973-1986 (Bulk 1974). Retrieved April 24, 2006. and eventually died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1987.Dog Days Afternoon Remembered by Yasmene Jabbar for Trans World News. Retrieved April 24, 2006.

The bank where the robbery took place was a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank, at 450 Avenue P in Brooklyn, New York, at the cross street of East 3rd StreetAn Insider is Sought in Bank Holdup for New York Daily News by Paul Meskil. Retrieved May 03, 2006., in Gravesend Brooklyn,11223USPS Gravesend Post Office . Today the location is the Brooklyn Medical Imaging CenterBrooklyn Medical Imaging Center listing on Switchboard.com.

Production

New York Daily News article, August 24, 1972.

The original inspiration for the film was an article written by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore for Life in September 1972. The article included many of the details later used in the film and notes the relationship Wojtowicz and Naturile developed with hostages and the police. Bank manager Robert Barrett was quoted as saying "I'm supposed to hate you guys [Wojtowicz/Naturile], but I've had more laughs tonight than I've had in weeks. We had a kind of camaraderie." and teller Shirley Bell said that "if they had been my houseguests on a Saturday night, it would have been hilarious."

The film has no musical score other than the Elton John song "Amoreena" in the opening credits. Although many scenes within the bank establish that it was quite hot during the robbery in the movie universe, some outdoor sequences were shot in weather so cold that actors had to put ice in their mouths to stop their breath from showing on camera. Exterior shots were filmed on location on Prospect Park West between 17th and 18th Street in Park Slope while the interior shots of the bank were filmed in a warehouse.Dog Day Afternoon "It Happened in New York" for Newsday by Cynthia Blair. Retrieved April 28, 2006.The bank and street from Dog Day Afternoon for Mark Allen Cam by Mark Allen on February 20, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2006.

Cast

Wojtowicz was described in the article as "a dark, thin fellow with the broken-faced good looks of an Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman". An 18 year old actor was originally to be cast in the role of Sal to match the age of the actual Salvatore. The table below summarizes the main cast of Dog Day Afternoon.Full Credits for Dog Day Afternoon from IMDb. Retrieved April 27, 2006.

Character	Actor/Actress	Role	Similar person from Life article
Sonny Wortzik	Al Pacino	Bank robber	John Wojtowicz
Salvatore "Sal" Naturile	John Cazale	Sonny's partner in the robbery	Salvatore Naturile
Detective Sgt. Moretti	Charles Durning	Police detective who originally negotiates with Sonny
Agent Sheldon	James Broderick	FBI agent who replaces Moretti in negotiations	Agent Richard Baker
Agent Murphy	Lance Henriksen	FBI agent/driver	Agent Murphy
Leon Shermer	Chris Sarandon	Sonny's wife	Ernest Aron
Sylvia "The Mouth"	Penelope Allen	Bank teller	Shirley Bell (Wojtowicz also called her "The Mouth")
Mulvaney	Sully Boyar	Bank manager	Robert Barrett
Angie	Susan Peretz	Sonny's other wife	Carmen Bifulco
Jenny "The Squirrel"	Carol Kane	Bank teller
Stevie	Gary Springer	Sonny's second partner in the robbery	A second unknown partner who left immediately is mentioned
Howard	John Marriott	Unarmed bank guard	Calvin Jones

Response

Dog Day Afternoon was released in 1975 during United States withdrawal from the Vietnam War amid heavy opposition to the war. Sonny repeatedly reminds people he is a Vietnam veteran. Some critics say he was "anti-establishment"10 Best Heist Movies Ever for Movie Magic. Retrieved April 28, 2006. as he references the Attica Prison riots (another event that created distrust in power around the time of the film's release) and he is robbing the bank to pay for his wife Leon's sex-change operation. As such the film is sometimes thought of as a counterculture film.A review of Dog Day Afternoon hosted on Rotten Tomatoes by Dragan Antulov on January 8, 2002. Retrieved April 28, 2006.

Critical reactions

Upon its release, Dog Day Afternoon received generally favorable reviews. Vincent Canby called it "Sidney Lumet's most accurate, most flamboyant New York movie" and praised the "brilliant characterizations" by the entire cast. Screen: Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon by Vincent Camby for The New York Times on September 22, 1975. Retrieved June 3, 2006. Roger Ebert called Sonny "one of the most interesting modern movie characters" and gave the movie three-and-a-half stars out of four. Dog Day Afternoon by Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times on January 1, 1975. Retrieved June 3, 2006. As time has passed, the film continues to generate a positive critical reception. For example, Christopher Null has said that the film "captures perfectly the zeitgeist of the early 1970s, a time when optimism was scraping rock bottom" and that "John Wojtowicz was as good a hero as we could come up with".Dog Day Afternoon Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, quote by Christopher Null. Retrieved April 28, 2006. P.F. Kluge, author of the article that inspired the film, believed that the filmmakers "stayed with the surface of a lively journalistic story" and that the film had a "strong, fast-paced story" without "reflection" or "a contemplative view of life"."The Write Stuff: Magazine articles that make it to the Big Screen" by Nina Rayburn Dec for the New York Review of Magazines. Retrieved April 24, 2006.

References in popular culture

During the confrontation with the police, Sonny shouts the word "Attica" in order to rile up the crowd of onlookers, and gain their support in opposition to the police. This single-word quote is listed at #86 on AFI's "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes"100 Years...100 Movie Quotes for AFI, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2006. and has been mentioned or referenced in a number of other movies. One instance occurs in the film Saturday Night Fever, when Tony Manero (John Travolta) utters "Attica" after looking at a poster of Pacino in his bedroom.Saturday Night Fever directed by John Badham for Paramount Pictures, released 1977.

In the opening scene of Swordfish, Gabriel Shear, also played by Travolta, discusses an alternative way Pacino could have handled the hostage situation in Dog Day Afternoon.Swordfish directed by Dominic Sena for Village Roadshow Pictures and Warner Bros, released 2001. The film is also referenced in the Spike Lee film Inside Man, also a film about a bank robbery and the resulting police siege, which featured many references to Al Pacino films.Inside Man directed by Spike Lee for 40 Acres and a Mule Productions, Imagine Entertainment, and Universal Pictures. Released 2006. A 2000 documentary The Third Memory, directed by Pierre Huyghe, contrasted news footage of the actual robbery with Dog Day Afternoon and a contemporary retelling of the events by John Wojtowicz.

Awards

Dog Day Afternoon won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Frank Pierson) and was nominated for:Awards of Dog Day Afternoon for IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2006.
*Best Picture
*Best Director (Sidney Lumet)
*Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino)
*Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chris Sarandon)
*Best Film Editing (Dede Allen)The film was also nominated for the following seven Golden Globes, winning none:
*Best Motion Picture - Drama
*Best Director - Motion Picture (Sidney Lumet)
*Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (Al Pacino)
*Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Frank Pierson)
*Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Charles Durning)
*Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (John Cazale)
*Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture - Male (Chris Sarandon)

The film won other awards, including a NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor (Charles Durning), a Writers Guild Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (Frank Pierson), and a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Sidney Lumet). The film is also listed at #70 on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Thrills" list.100 Years...100 Thrills for the AFI on June 13th, 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2006.

References

Dog Day Afternoon, Directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Frank Pierson, 1975. DVD.''

External links

*
*Review by Jonathan Dunder
*Al Pacino's Loft
*Final Draft Script

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Dog Day Afternoon: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Dog Day Afternoon

Critical reactions

References in popular culture