Only by the '70s would filmmakers dare to make this film...

Rating: 6/10 (7 October 2006)

Homosexuality was still such a taboo subject for audiences to accept as a part of film entertainment that it took courage for Sidney Lumet to bring DOG DAY AFTERNOON to the screen--but by the mid-'70s audiences were already getting used to a lot of subject matter once considered taboo. This is the kind of rough-edged film that could only have happened in the Hollywood of the '70s.
Basically, it's the story of two New York men attempting to rob a bank until everything goes wrong and it becomes a botched job. Motive is not just money, it's money for AL PACINO so that his love partner CHRIS SARANDON (in his film debut) can have money for his trans-gender operation. During the course of the robbery, we learn a lot about Pacino's character and he plays him in such a way as to gain a lot of audience sympathy. It's one of the best roles he had during the '70s which was a particularly good decade for him. Both he and Sarandon were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor performances.
Summing up: Not for the kiddies. Plenty of profanity and adult elements that sophisticates can take easily but others beware.