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15 Comments
Sophia Moore
2/28/2018 10:21:29 pm
This was SUCH an interesting movie and not at all what I expected. One thing I was struck by with this film was the lightness added intermittently. I wouldn't really call it humor necessarily, but for instance the women in the bank seem to be fairly relaxed after the initial shake down of the bank. They are playing with Sonny's gun and talking and laughing even though the situation is incredibly serious. I thought that what made this most powerful was when one woman asked for a cigarette and says that she is scared out of her mind even though she seems really relaxed. Additionally, the interaction with the public was very interesting and I didn't know they would be so involved and basically cheering the bank robbery on. It is clear here that the robbery has a lot more to do with larger political issues about income inequality, and later lgbtq rights.
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Claire
3/1/2018 12:39:09 am
One of the elements of Dog Day Afternoon that really strikes me is the fact that, besides the opening credits, there is no musical score. The viewer is presented with the most realistic sounds and visuals possible. The amount of confusion, the shouting, and haphazard decision making makes the tone desperate and unpolished, like Sonny himself. I think that level of realism was really important to Sidney Lumet, especially since the film was based on a true story. I read an article that said he wouldn’t shoot this film in a studio set because it would be inauthentic, and I feel that vibe, since both the overall setting of Brooklyn (seen in the opening shots) and the set on this street are both intimate windows into the events.
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Timothy Etter
3/4/2018 10:30:33 pm
For me, the most powerful shots of the movie were at the very end, when the camera switched to all of the survivors, then Sal's dead body, then back to Sonny who is presumably realizing how much damage he caused in his scheme to get Leon money for a transition. He came so close to victory, and that series of shots encapsulates the crushing feeling of all of his sacrifices being in vain. Other amazing shots that captivated me were the wide shots towards the beginning that illustrated just how much police opposition Sonny was facing. The wide shots of all of the troopers, snipers, and the crowd really captured how much of a situation Sonny created due to a slight mistake in orders.
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Elissa Shumate
3/5/2018 08:32:35 pm
Dog Day Afternoon was quite funny for the subject matter. It is about a serious, real life hostage situation that occurred, yet it is for the most part comedic. The characters’ reactions in the situation were confusing. I couldn’t tell if the hostages liked being hostages or were scared. For the most part it seemed as if they enjoyed the excitement of it all, yet they would act all freaked out. I think there was a level of unbelievability to the characters’ behaviors in the situation and that was what added the humor to the film. The character Sunny was funny too in the way that he seemed haphazard yet, for the most part, was able to control the situation nonetheless. I actually enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would.
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Stephanie Lopez
3/6/2018 12:16:40 am
I thought Dog Day Afternoon was an interesting and striking movie. In the opening credits I was wondering if my laptop sound worked because I found it odd that there was no music playing (in fact though out the whole movie). Then I began to analyze the opening scene in the ways in which the shots were taken. Most weren't hard cuts, rather they were long and they emphasized on the Brooklyn community, culture and architecture. I would have to say that the shakiness of the camera during the panoramic shots were unsettling and distracting. Therefore I was taken out of place right from the beginning. I was then thrown off by Sonny's personality in relationship to his actions. For example when one of the tellers had to use the restroom, he decides to let her go before locking them in the volt. I felt like he was empathetic towards them and even later on had the cops order them pizza. In most movies the robbers are ruthless and violent while the hostages are terrified. Rather Sonny expressed the complete opposite. Due to his empathy I felt like the tellers and banker were laid back on being rescued and felt comfortable with the guns pointed at them. For example there was a scene where when one of them is playing around with Sonny's gun and didn't think of using it against him. Their situation was a comic and humorous one.
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Ruta
3/6/2018 12:53:00 am
Dog Day Afternoon was a truly interesting cinematic experience. I thought it was hilarious at first because of the incompetence of the bank robbers, but the character development eventually made me feel sorry for the main character after a while. While Sonny's actions were laughable and truly idiotic at times, his innocence and desire to help the people in the bank, even going so far as to order them pizza and allow a doctor into the bank, became endearing to the hostages and the crowd. The actions were in sharp contrast to the tone of the film, which was particularly realistic as compared to modern films because of the complete lack of music. The only background noises are the natural sounds of people talking (usually yelling), and a severe excess of sirens. An interesting scene in the film is when Sonny first comes outside of the bank. His decision to do so would result in immediate death by shootout in a modern film, and in the modern anti-terrorism atmosphere of the United States. His innocent appraisal of the surrounding cops, willingness to work with the detective, and his subsequent injury when he is tackled by a hostage's boyfriend change the way the public sees him. His immediate audience realizes he is a naive and gullible individual, while the audience realizes just how bad his situation has become. Overall, this film was an experiment in swaying public opinion through cinematography and character development through on-screen action as opposed to words.
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Maddie Matsumoto-Duyan
3/6/2018 01:15:00 am
Dog Day Afternoon is a very fascinating film. The tone seems to shift between intense crime drama, moments of humor, and politically charged tension. The humor often comes in the form of subverting the viewer's expectations. For instance, I didn't expect Sonny to be that nice to the hostages or for them to get along as well as they did, even though these moments did pass fairly quickly. Sonny's political motivations led to moments of both humor and tension. This is exemplified in the scene where they all drive to the airport and on one side, the mob is shouting insults and hurling objects at them and on the other side, people are proudly proclaiming their support.
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Andrew Sun
3/6/2018 03:24:55 am
Dog Day Afternoon was a fantastic character study of desperation set in a backdrop of a politically charged New York City. With subtle hints of dark humor and crime thriller, the film portrays a striking realism, aided by its use of diegetic sound in all parts of the movie except for the opening montage. Its very serious subject matter and adult themes, which one would not typically combine with humor, is aided by the small quips and funny innocence of all the characters involved. Furthermore, the characterization of the hostages and especially Sonny made for a brilliant portrayal of the real life subjects, and a case can be made for it being Pacino's finest performance as he himself states. Some of the brilliance of the film also comes with the context of the era, something that can often times be lost as a film ages. Yet, Dog Day Afternoon manages to use its setting in a politically charged New York to great effect, adding in shouts of "Attica!", the phrase of choice for the counter-culture movement. The political significance remains undiminished, perhaps even moreso today as it seems some of the film's political themes of war, sexuality, and police brutality remain ever relevant today. All in all, Dog Day Afternoon was a phenomenal watch, providing thrilling tension as well as political black humor.
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Soohyun Cho
3/6/2018 02:34:36 pm
The tone of the movie felt fairly light to me despite the serious situation. Sonny's perceived mental distress seemed to contrast with the light general tone of the film and to me, it highlighted Sonny's possible loneliness and isolation. He has a partner in crime and is always surrounded by people and attention. Yet, this is all adds a burden and stress to him that he feels the need to resolve alone. His need to do something without the means or the skills often shows his amateurism, which probably comes off as a "light tone" in the film to the viewers despite Sonny's personal experience of anxiety and distress.
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Joshua Rafael Sanchez
3/6/2018 03:58:09 pm
I loved the film, especially with respect to its script, dialogue and acting—I felt that the pace of the film and the depth of the script allowed me to truly sympathize with both the robbers and the captives. Indeed, the film’s realism-centric tone resonated with the reactions of the captives throughout the robbery as well as the robbers, as tension built as time passed. Sonny was especially captivating and charismatic when he rallied the crowd, chanting “Attica! Attica!” I believe that his amazing composure to handle the situation to rally the crowds on his side is truly impressive, and his honest, straightforward, and innocent character really shines, while everyone else seemed to misunderstand Sonny’s ideals and what he stood for. In fact, this film seemed like a tribute film to Sonny as he was portrayed as a man with firm ideals and values that supported his decisions and fueled his conviction.
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Brittany Chiu
3/6/2018 05:27:07 pm
Dog Day Afternoon was a brilliant film based on the real life story of John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale’s Brooklyn bank robbery, where Wojtowicz held up the bank for money to pay for his wife’s sexual reassignment surgery, much like Sonny in the film. This was a film that perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the 1970s, a time when antiestablishmentarianism was at a high, with conflicts such as the Vietnam War highlighting the era for the United States – in this era, it wouldn’t be unexpected for a bank robber to become a hero. As such, there were multiple themes related to prominent sociopolitical issues in the film such as lgbt+ and discrimination, poverty, distrust of authority and law enforcement, and the media and public opinion. Once it was revealed that Sonny had married another man, the public instantly seemed to split into two camps – one that vehemently supported him, and another that vehemently booed him, even though before this reveal the whole crowd for the most part cheered him on for speaking up about political issues and having a larger-than-life presence. Sonny’s rallying cry of “Attica!” also brought to mind the public’s opposition to authority during that time period, as it referenced one of the most famous prison riots in United States history.
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Aaron Basharain
3/6/2018 05:27:37 pm
I think the opening scenes were very good because it really established that these characters are nervous, have no idea what they are doing and are extremely unorganized. The entire film is very tense, they do a good job of putting you into the feeling of the two characters. The fact that there is no music greatly contributes to this because you really feel as if you are an observer watching this in the moment it actually happened. The beginning and ending are vastly different, the setting, the lighting, the sounds and everything going on. The look on Sonny's face at the end is sweaty and disheveled whereas he looked nervous, but at least put together in the beginning.
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Emerson Lin
3/6/2018 06:03:01 pm
When I knew that this is film based on an real story, I thought that it is a crime film. However, when I saw the opening, three clumsy robbers break into the bank and one leaves. It seems very unprofessional. And the other hand, all the hostages are not scarce but actually helping their.
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Luke
3/30/2018 05:25:01 am
Dog Day Afternoon is an interesting commentary on the nature of anti-establishment sentiment in an era where such tensions between the government and people ran high. The disparity between the rather charming honesty of the criminals and the manipulation by police forces gave rise to feelings of sympathy for those who were--in all technicalities--the criminals. References to other incidents that occurred in the era (such as Attica) highlighted the clear division between authority and those seeking it.
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Kate Winterbauer
4/1/2018 08:34:15 pm
This movie was such an interesting take on a bank robbery. What was captivating about the film was that the entire event and the characters who partook in it, were all so nonchalant. In many films, bank robbers are portrayed as cold, calculating, and experienced criminals. However, in Dog Day Afternoon, Sal and Sonny seemed very inexperienced and unsure. Additionally, they were not dehumanized at all and were clearly not solely robbing the bank just to get rich. The event seemed to be portrayed in a way that was not that serious. Even after the bank was surrounded by police, the employees of the bank were chatting and relaxing around the bank and at one point, one of the girls was playing with Sonny’s gun. At another point in the movie they were eating pizza and drinking soda together. When Sonny and Sal made a plan to get out of the country without going to jail, everyone seemed to have a cohesive group mentality in seeing them escape. There were very few moments where it was the bank robbers versus the people working at the bank. The most interesting scenes to me where the ones where Sonny was outside of the bank riling up the gathered crowd. It was so interesting to me how they were there to support his cause and were constantly cheering him on. It was an odd dynamic to witness in the presence of so many police officers and FBI agents.
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