Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon
Movie poster includes five circles spaced out vertically throughout the image with various screenshots included. Interwoven throughout the circles is text reading "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 TV. 12 hours later, it was history. And it's all true." Text at the bottom of the image includes the title and credits.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySidney Lumet
Screenplay byFrank Pierson
Story byThomas Moore
Based on
"The Boys in the Bank"
1972 Life article
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyVictor J. Kemper
Edited byDede Allen
Production
company
Artists Entertainment Complex
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • September 20, 1975 (1975-09-20) (San Sebastián)
  • September 21, 1975 (1975-09-21) (United States)
Running time
125 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.5–$3.8 million[2][3]
Box office$50–56 million[4][3]

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The screenplay is written by Frank Pierson and is based on the Life magazine article "The Boys in the Bank" by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore. The feature chronicles the 1972 robbery and hostage situation led by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile at a Chase Manhattan branch in Brooklyn.

Elfand brought Bregman's attention to the article, who proceeded to negotiate a deal with Warner Bros. and clear the rights to use the story. Pierson conducted his research and wrote a script that centered on the story of the robbery around Wojtowicz. The cast was selected by Lumet and Pacino, with the latter selecting past co-stars from his off-Broadway plays. Filming took place between September and November 1974, and the production was finished three weeks ahead of schedule.

When theatrically released on September 21, 1975, Dog Day Afternoon was a critical and box-office success. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and six Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2009, Dog Day Afternoon was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

  1. ^ Bozzola, Lucia 2012.
  2. ^ Parker, Jerry 1974, p. 7.
  3. ^ a b Gottlieb, Martin 1977, p. 28.
  4. ^ Box Office Mojo staff 2020.