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Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 film which tells the story of a man (played by Al Pacino) who holds employees of a bank hostage during a failed bank robbery in Brooklyn, New York. The man and two of his friends intended to rob the bank so the man would have the money to pay for his boyfriend's sexual reassignment surgery. The movie is based on an actual 1972 robbery. In real life, the robbery and resulting hostage situation took nine hours from beginning to end; in the film, it appears to take at least as long. In addition to Pacino, the film stars Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar, John Cazale, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon and James Broderick.
Dog Day Afternoon was adapted by Frank Pierson from a news article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore. It was directed by Sidney Lumet. The film is shot in a naturalist style and has no musical score (other than the Elton John song "Amoreena" in the opening credits). Contrary to popular belief, the interior shots of the film were not shot on location; rather, the film crew rented a warehouse and constructed a bank inside it, allowing the versatility of a studio setting with its "wild walls".
Dog Day Afternoon won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chris Sarandon), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.
