Dog Day Afternoon

Name: Dog Day Afternoon
Director: Sidney Lumet
Released: 1975

Sidney Lumet

bank robbery hostage crisis police standoff personal desperation media spectacle

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Synopsis

Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.

Cinema Atlas Connection

I think the way that the film Dog Day Afternoon presents the protagonist, you follow them for an hour, hour and a half, before you fully understand them, and even then, your understanding is limited. So you’re not making decisions about them, you’re just in the experience with them. And then you watch how Lumet unfolds this experience over the course of the film and it feels so real, so immediate. And I think that was something we were really trying to emulate.

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