Dog Day Afternoon

***Dog Day Afternoon*** is a 1975 American crime drama movie directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson and based on an article from Life magazine. The movie stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon and Charles Durning. The story is about bank a robbery in New York City.

## Cast

The _Life_ article described Wojtowicz as "a dark, thin fellow with the broken-faced good looks of an Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman". Hoffman was offered the role when Pacino briefly quit. An 18-year-old actor was originally to be cast in the role of Sal to match the age of the actual Salvatore. The table below shows the main cast of _Dog Day Afternoon_.
|Character|Actor|Role|Similar person from _Life_ article|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Sonny Wortzik|Al Pacino|Bank robber|John Wojtowicz|
|Salvatore "Sal" Naturale|John Cazale|Sonny's partner in the robbery|Salvatore "Sal" Naturile|
|Sergeant Eugene Moretti|Charles Durning|Police Sergeant  who originally negotiates with Sonny|NYPD Police Chief of Detectives Louis C. Cottell|
|Agent Sheldon|James Broderick|FBI agent who replaces Moretti in negotiations|Agent Richard Baker|
|Agent Murphy|Lance Henriksen|FBI agent/driver|Agent Murphy|
|Leon Shermer|Chris Sarandon|Sonny's pre-operative transsexual wife|Ernest Aron|
|Sylvia "Mouth"|Penelope Allen|Head teller|Shirley "Mouth" Ball|
|Mulvaney|Sully Boyar|Bank manager|Robert Barrett|
|Angela "Angie" Wortzik|Susan Peretz|Sonny's wife|Carmen "Mouth" Bifulco|
|Jenny "The Squirrel"|Carol Kane|Bank teller||
|Margaret|Beulah Garrick|Bank teller||
|Deborah|Sandra Kazan|Bank teller||
|Edna|Estelle Omens|Bank teller|Josephine Tuttino|
|Miriam|Marcia Jean Kurtz|Bank teller||
|Maria|Amy Levitt|Kathleen Amore||
|Stevie|Gary Springer|Bank robber|Robert Westenberg|
|Howard Calvin|John Marriott|Unarmed bank guard|Calvin Jones|
|Doctor|Philip Charles MacKenzie|Doctor who treats Mulvaney|Doctor|
|Carmine|Carmine Foresta|||
|Phone cop|Floyd Levine|||
|Limo driver|Dick Anthony Williams|||
|Sonny's father|Dominic Chianese|||
|Neighbor|Marcia Haufrecht|||
|Sonny's mother|Judith Malina||Theresa Basso-Wojtowicz|
|TV anchorman|William Bogert|||
|TV reporter|Ron Cummins|||
|Sam|Jay Gerber|Insurance salesman from across the street|Joe Anterio|
|Maria's boyfriend|Edwin "Chu Chu" Malave|||
|Pizza boy|Lionel Pina|||

## Historical accuracy

The movie was based on the story of John Wojtowicz.  It keeps the basic facts of what happened, according to the _Life_ article "The Boys in the Bank". According to the article, Wojtowicz, along with Sal Naturile, held up a Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Brooklyn, New York on August 22, 1972.

After being arrested, Wojtowicz was convicted in court and sentenced to twenty years in prison.  He served six years.

Wojtowicz wrote a letter to _The New York Times_ in 1975.  He said the movie was not completely true. He said the way his ex-wife was shown was not accurate.  He also said there was not a talk with his mother. He did say Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon's portrayals of him and his boyfriend Ernest Aron were good. Also, Sal was 18 years old, but is played by a 39-year-old.

Wojtowicz died of cancer in January 2006.

## Awards

_Dog Day Afternoon_ won the Academy Award for Writing – Original Screenplay (Frank Pierson) and was nominated for other Oscars:
- Best Picture (Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand)
- Best Director (Sidney Lumet)
- Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino)
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chris Sarandon)
- Best Film Editing (Dede Allen)
The movie was also nominated for the following seven Golden Globes, winning none:
- Best Motion Picture – Drama
- Best Director – Motion Picture (Sidney Lumet)
- Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama (Al Pacino)
- Best Screenplay – Motion Picture (Frank Pierson)
- Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Charles Durning)
- Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (John Cazale)
- Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture – Male (Chris Sarandon)

The movie won other awards, including an NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor (Charles Durning) and a Writers Guild Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (Frank Pierson) as well as the British Academy Award for Best Actor (Al Pacino). It was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.

In 2009, it was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

## Infobox (movie)

- **name**: Dog Day Afternoon
- **director**: Sidney Lumet
- **producer**: Martin Bregman
Martin Elfand
- **screenplay**: Frank Pierson
- **starring**: Al Pacino
John Cazale
Charles Durning
James Broderick
Chris Sarandon
- **music**: Elton John
Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep
- **cinematography**: Victor J. Kemper
- **editing**: Dede Allen
- **distributor**: Warner Bros.
- **runtime**: 125 minutes
131 minutes
- **country**: United States
- **language**: English
- **gross**: $50,000,000