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| Director: Sidney Lumet
Actors: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Sully Boyar
Studio: Warner Home Video
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $2.23
You Save: $12.75 (85%)
New (9) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $1.49
Rating:  103 reviews
Sales Rank: 29264
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original Recording Reissued, Special Edition, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 124 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0790733927
UPC: 085391573838
EAN: 9780790733920
ASIN: 0790733927
Theatrical Release Date: September 21, 1975
Release Date: February 3, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New! Mint in box. Factory sealed.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 103
 "Sal, Wyoming's not a country." July 23, 2004
Steven Y. (Marvel Universe 616)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" reminds us that films once upon a time made it a point to properly develop the individuals within their stories. Younger filmgoers who grew up in later eras may not realize it, but cinematic works from decades past actually were inhabited by characters and not caricatures.
Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino), Sal (John Cazale) and Stevie (Gary Springer) attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank just before closing time. The robbery turns into a debacle as Stevie immediately flees the scene and Sonny and Sal discover that the bank virtually has no money at its location. The police arrive to arrest the would-be robbers but Sonny soon starts to gain the support of the bystanders outside and uses the press at the scene to make the most of his time in the spotlight. Just when it appears matters cannot get any more odd, Sonny's new "wife" (Chris Sarandon) is brought to the scene and the reason for the bank robbery is revealed.
"Dog Day Afternoon" is in a class of its own when one is talking about bank robbery films. There are so many unconventional elements to the story - from the clumsily-planned heist to the amusing rapport between the robbers and the hostages to the role Leon Shermer plays in the proceedings - that it truly stands alone when compared to other entries in the genre. One might think that it would be easy to lose sight of the fine performances in "Dog Day Afternoon" with all of these elements vying for your attention but the efforts turned in by Pacino, Cazale, Sarandon, Charles Durning, and the rest of the cast is so good that their characters will not promptly fade from memory. Lumet also does an amazing job of creating a specific time and place with his directing. He infuses "Dog Day Afternoon" with such realism that you can literally feel the heat rising from sidewalks. Take out your scorecard and mark down this jewel as one of the essential films of the Seventies.
 Based on a true story. May 17, 2006
Puzzle box (Kuwait)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Al Pacino stars in this drama/comedy film directed by Sidney Lumet, the film is about Sonny (Pacino) who along with his partner Sal decide to rob a bank in one hot summer day in Brooklyn N.Y. but soon things go terribly wrong when its found out that all the money has been removed before his arrival so he kidnaps the bank employees and soon the whole thing turns into an absurd and huge media circus as newsreporters and what seems like the whole police station has arrived along with a crowd of people to see whats going on.
Al Pacino's performance is absolutely flawless and terrific he should have won an oscar for this role instead of Scent of a woman, Sonny's character is full of personality and charm who also happens to be hillarious and when he loses control of the heist situation you just can't help but feel sory for him.
His partner is a bit slow and doesn't seem to comprihend the situation that he is in, his male lover also arrives at the scene and soon things take another turn you'll just have to watch what happens. The film was also realistic as it is known that Sonny wasn't going to get away with it and nobody would have expected that. If you like this film then I also suggest you check out these other Pacino films Serpico, Scarface ,Donnie Brasco and Heat.
C'MON SONNY!!! I'M DOIN IT! I'M,I'm I can't believe it there's there's no money here??? November 22, 2007
CLINT BRONSON (las vegas,NV.)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
And you won't believe it either! Al Pacino in what I feel
along with GODFATHER AND GODFATHER II gives us his best
performance as Sonny the lost man who only wants $$$ so
he can leave his wife and marry the MAN? He truly loves!
His male lover wants a sex/change and that operation is
very expensive. What to do??? Sonny knows! He will rob
a bank so he can get the $$$ for his lovers operation.
PROBLEM! When Sonny robs the bank there is no money.
Also while in the bank he tells a bank teller to pick
up the phone just to have the call be for him. What's
funny is no one knows he is robbing this bank. He takes
the call just to find out it is the police! They are a cross
the street at that very moment. What was suppose to be a 15min
bank robbery turns into a 5 hour mess. This movie is FANTASTIC
and shows why the 70's had some of our greatest films. For
lovers of Tarantino dialogue look no further than this film.
For the actors in this movie talk simultaneously stutter
their sentences interrupt one another what I mean is it
seems like real life and not a script! I love Dog Day
Afternoon and was lucky to see this on the big screen
at a run down theatre in San Jose Ca. The cool part of it
was I saw this in 1991 on the big screen not 75 when it came out
it was playing with two other movies the others being Jack
Nicholson's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST & Robert De Niro's
TAXI DRIVER what a triple bill it was! (though I fell asleep
at TAXI,hey I love that movie but it was late/early) You must
see Dog Day once in your life. I have never met anyone who
has disliked it. Michael Sarazen plays Al's lover and is hysterical
he won the Best Supporting Oscar that year. Watch the world of
Sonny fall apart in just 5 hours you will laugh and you will
cry and most of all you will never forget it!
p.s. here is just some lines from this classic movie!
SONNY:SAL-SAL I'VE TALKED TO THE POLICE AND THEY AGREED TO GET US
OUT OF HERE IS THERE,IS THERE,THERE A COUNTRY YOU WANT TO GO TOO?
SAL:....(cough's) WYOMING.
SONNY:(looks around the room than back at sal) UMM! NO UM! SAL
WY-WYOMING YOU SEE THAT'S THAT'S NOT A COUNTRY(sal looks sad)
THAT'S O.K. SAL I'LL FIND US A PLACE.
SONNY:(he is all stressed out tie is undone and their are cop
sirens everywhere all the sudden the phone rings) WHAT IS THIS
A F^%$ING COMEDY(picks up phone)K.N.E.W. PLAYS ALL THE HITS!
and so much much more! SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!
Also recommend for great Pachinie GODFATHER & GODFATHER II
SCARFACE=DEVIL'S ADVOCATE(hey! it's Al as Satan what more do you want)
 A Different Point of View February 24, 2001
G. J Wiener (Westchester, NY USA)
5 out of 16 found this review helpful
Whereas I do admire Al Pacino's acting ability in A Dog Day Afternoon, the story just seems to drag on for too long for me to really like it. Too many odd ball incidents with the gun play and the burning of the bait money. Its almost a comedy of errors that made this incident just snowball to the point where a Brooklyn street corner became a media circus.Whereas I admire the loyalty of some of the bank employees, I just feel this unfortunate incident did not need to be dramatized into a movie. Also, the pacing of the movie is too sluggish for my tastes. However, I can see the depth of the characters in several of the scenes, therefore I'll instruct you to the make the choice between depth and the overall good taste of the film.
Wonderful movie; extraordinary performances all around June 8, 2005
Christine Wong
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
"Dog Day Afternoon," an extraordinary movie in its own right, is made even more extraordinary because all of it was true. This is a movie based primarily on character study, more so than the simple plot.
Here's the basic premise: two men set out to rob a bank, for reasons that become clear later in the film. Sonny (Al Pacino, in his best performance to date, imo) is the mastermind of the heist, while Sal (John Cazale, equally brilliant) is the brooding follower. However, the heist goes drastically wrong, and suddenly cops, TV cameras, and crowds surround the bank, and it turns into a circus. It's a fascinating account of the seduction of celebrity, as evidenced by Sonny, the bank tellers (who want to remain inside the bank and give interviews instead of being saved), and, in a nice touch, the pizza man (who, after delivering the pizza while surrounded by the TV cameras, shouts, "I'm a f***ing star!!")
Frank Pierson wrote his Oscar-winning (well-deserved) screenplay around only twelve scenes, and the movie is 124 minutes, so it's pretty obvious from the get-go that the plot, even one as intriguing as this one, can't support this movie on its own. This is where the acting comes in. Al Pacino is wonderful wonderful wonderful as Sonny. He is adorable in his dorkiness, and gets the nervous face tics, shuffle in his steps, and the wonderful boyish, insecure voice down pat. Pacino's Sonny is fresh-faced and enormously likable, even as he is robbing the bank (although I think that Pacino naturally exudes this charm and likeability, even when he's playing less-than-perfect characters). I've seen most of Pacino's films, and I consider this to be his best performance to date, even better than his amazing performance as Michael Corleone in the "Godfather" movies (and that's saying something, because I adore Michael Corleone). It's definitely an Oscar-caliber performance, and he should have won it that year. John Cazale is just as good as the brooding, reserved Sal, who is the perfect counterbalance to Pacino's screaming, wide-eyed, excitable Sonny. Chris Sarandon (Oscar-nominated) is also very good as Leon, Sonny's lover and male "wife". A very strong supporting cast makes the film even more enjoyable.
I said Pierson's Oscar for his screenplay was well-deserved because of the witty dialogue and extremely well thought-out, bitingly funny, and compassionate scenes. Take, for example, the very memorable scene where Sonny tell police captain Moretti, "Kiss me. When I'm being f***ed, I like to get kissed a lot" before shouting, "Attica! Attica! Put those f***ing guns down!" at the police, and wins the crowd's support. The scene is pure adrenaline, and one of the most thrilling and exciting scenes I've ever witnessed on screen. The best scenes in the movie are Sonny's two telephone conversations, one with his male wife Leon and the other with his female wife Angie. Director Sidney Lumet claims that Pacino and Sarandon improvised most of their telephone conversation, which is a testament to the skills of both actors, as that telephone conversation is simultaneously funny ("Algeria? Why are you going to Algeria? There's crazy people who wear things on their heads") and very poignant ("You're warped, you know that?" "I'm warped, I'm warped, I know it"). Sonny's conversation with his wife Angie is just as good, with Pacino getting a chance to let out his trademark volcanic-ash tirade on her: "Will you shut the f*** up and listen to me! Just listen to me!"
These wonderful scenes work v. well together, capturing all the madness, poignancy, and compassion of the events. It's a very well-made movie; the director knows the movie is a superb character-study and wisely sticks to just that, his characters. One of my favorite movies, and a definite must-have for any DVD collection. 5/5
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