Dog Day Afternoon (1975) (Movies To See Before You Die - Thriller)

The film’s tag line says "The robbery should have taken 10 minutes. 4 hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow. 8 hours later, it was the hottest thing on live T.V. 12 hours later, it was all history.”

If the above lines are not enough to excite you then as an introduction to this classic masterpiece of the 70s, I would like to start by making the following strong statements:

If you love watching movies on planned heists, particularly bank robberies, but still haven’t seen DOG DAY AFTERNOON then actually you haven’t even started yet.

If you sometimes wonder why AL PACINO is given such a huge cult status in the west, then DOG DAY AFTERNOON will readily explain and prove to you WHY?

If you follow the practice of judging a movie from its publicity poster itself, then DOG DAY AFTERNOON will remind you that its not the right way to judge a film without seeing it.

And if you consider yourself as a big movie maniac and still not heard of DOG DAY AFTERNOON then you got to devote more time and research to your passion.

In short, any kind of thesis on the genre of thriller movies made all over the world would be incomplete without an essential and strong mention of DOG DAY AFTERNOON. A perfect entertainer, which mixes many diverse elements of life such as crime, passion, love, friendship, media circus, social issues and moral issues all into one and yet comes up with a clear winner.

Based on a real-life story that happened in the early seventies in a Bank in Brooklyn, when a gay bank robber tried to steal some money for his male lover to undergo a sex change operation, the film is one of the best reality inspired flicks till date. Al Pacino playing the lead is simply exceptional along with an equally impressive performance by John Cazale. The onscreen chemistry between the two, when they are forced to face some completely unexpected situations while holding the guns in the bank is quite adorable. And that’s the reason why Al Pacino also got an OSCAR Nomination for his performance that year which he couldn’t win, (though he truly deserved it). And the film also got another five nominations in various categories. However it could win only one OSCAR for the Best Writing and Original Screenplay.

Considered to be a cult movie, wherein the characters don’t move out of a building for its major part and yet keep you hooked on to your seats, this is seriously a not to be missed Al Pacino movie, especially for the current generation. So if you want to see a perfect thriller on an exciting weekend evening then just go for DOG DAY AFTERNOON without making any kind of delay!

Directed By Sidney Lumet
Starring : Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning and more.