Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Timing: 2:4 (124 min)

7.843/10
3312

7.661/10
25134

8/10
291000

All about film

Video 12

Photo 100

Actors and characters

Release date

1975-09-21

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros., Artists Entertainment Complex

Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Budget

$1 800 000

Revenue

$50 000 000

Website

Director

Sidney Lumet

Actors

Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, James Broderick, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar, Beulah Garrick, Carol Kane, Sandra Kazan
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Martin Bregman, Martin Elfand

Operator

Victor J. Kemper

Composer

Artist

Audition

Michael Chinich, Don Phillips

Editing

Dede Allen
All team (37)

• The film's action takes place during a hot summer. However, it was terribly cold during filming. Actors involved in scenes outside the bank were forced to constantly freeze their mouths with ice to prevent their warm breath from being visible.
• Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon improvised their phone conversation.
• Originally, Sela was supposed to be played by an 18-year-old actor; that was how old the real Sela (Salvatore) was. However, the role eventually went to John Cazale.
• The phrase 'dog days' came into English from the Romans. They called the two hottest months of summer 'dog days' (dies caniculares) in honor of the constellation Canis Major (the Greater Dog), which dominated the sky at this time of year (its alpha star being Sirius, or the 'Dog Star' to the Romans). Around this time, dogs also tend to become agitated due to the heat.
• The film's plot is based on the article by P.F. Klaj and Thomas Moore, 'The Boys in the Bank'.
• In the film, Sal tells one of the hostages that he doesn't smoke, explaining that he doesn't want to die of lung cancer. Ironically, the actor John Cazale, who played Sal, was a heavy smoker and died of lung cancer.
• The full name of the main character (Sonny) is Santino. This was the name of one of the characters in 'The Godfather', which also starred Al Pacino and John Cazale.
• The film is based on a real robbery that took place on August 22, 1972: two robbers burst into a bank and attempt to rob it, but... there's no money. They don't have time to escape when, within minutes, they are surrounded by 250 police officers, a crowd of onlookers, and television crews.
• The term "dog days" came into English from the Romans. They called the two hottest months of summer "dog days" (dies caniculares) in honor of the constellation Canis Major (the Greater Dog), which dominated the sky at this time of year (its alpha star being Sirius, or the "Dog Star" to the Romans). Around this time, dogs also tend to become agitated due to the heat.
• The full name of the main character (Sonny) is Santino. This was the name of one of the characters in "The Godfather," which also starred Al Pacino and John Cazale.