Dog Day Afternoon

[Vanilla]

Review/Discuss

[darkelf]

Loved the shit out of this. Brilliant direction and possibly the best Pacino performance ever bring all the tones that the movie goes through home. Also the hostages were delightful

 

Plus, this is probably the most progressive movie ever. In 1975. Brilliant.

 

10/10

Edited October 13, 2015 by darkelf

[The Stingray]

ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA!

[DAR]

I agree it's really fucking good. A

[Webslinger]

A fantastic, absolutely exhilarating thriller. Sidney Lumet masterfully ratchets up the tension in near-perfect gradations throughout the running time, which allows the film to remain breathlessly intense while also taking its time to reveal specifics about the anti-hero protagonist's true motivations and less savory qualities. Even though it doesn't quite match his richer, more complex work in the first two Godfather films (or Jack Nicholson's career-defining performance in the same year's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Al Pacino is astonishingly good here. He portrays Sonny's increasing weariness brilliantly, and he's able to sell the gentle and impulsive natures of Sonny's mercurial personality in equally effective measure. Despite the fact that most modern viewers will be able to tell exactly where the narrative is going every step (thanks in no small part to the fact that this film helped to establish many of the tropes that viewers will find familiar), the filmmaking is so strong that it holds up as a singularly enthralling experience despite the imitators that have followed in the four decades since its release.

 

A

 

And a few further thoughts:

- In some ways, this film would still feel progressive in terms of its approach to a trans character. Yes, the cops still misgender Sonny's second wife and openly laugh at the notion that someone could feel like - in Leon's own words - "a woman trapped in a man's body" (and she still looks distinctly male and is played by someone who is clearly a cisgender male - but then, Hollywood still has problems with casting trans actors in trans roles now, so...), but Sonny and the more sympathetic Agent Sheldon make a point of referring to her with female pronouns. In the midst of all the political brouhaha about trans people, it's almost shocking to see that a film made in an era that generally wasn't kind to any section of the LGBTQ+ community still seems somewhat progressive.

- The "Attica!" business still feels surprisingly relevant in today's political culture. I'm honestly surprised that there haven't been more think-pieces about this film's continued political relevance forty years after the fact.

- I feel bad for this film and Sidney Lumet. It's a great film, no doubt, but it came out the same year as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Moreover, Lumet himself was a tremendous filmmaker, but his highs were never as high as the other titans of his era, so it feels like too few people out of hardcore film buffs are aware of just how great he is. Granted, I wouldn't say that this is his best film; I would instead bestow that title upon Network. However - to wit - Network itself isn't quite the masterpiece that fellow 1976 flick Taxi Driver is. And so the pattern of underratedness (not a real word, but bear with me) persists...