Dog day afternoon (1975)
What makes this bank robbery movie different from others of the same genre? We have bombarded with too many stories with nitty gritty technical details of planning and execution. DDA, however, appears to me like a satire of sorts. By the way, DDA just a poetic way of saying 'a scorching hot afternoon'.
It starts with 3 bumbling amateurs holding up a bank. Just as they unleash their weapons in the premises, one of the gang of three get cold feet and requested to be out. And off we goes, walking out the bank! The bumbling remaining duo - Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal - were in for bad luck. The armour truck had come early to collect the bank money early, leaving only $1100 in the vault! So they started taking petty cash and travelers' cheques. To squash evidence, Sonny, the dominant and mastermind, started burning the register book. The billowing smoke alerted a passerby and within minutes, the area around the bank was sprawling with cops.
The startled robbers took the bank employees as hostages. Negotiations over negotiations happened with the police to release the hostages. In came the TV crew eager to interview, and he did, of the robbers. Taking pity on the robbers who seem to be getting bad luck, one after another, the hostages develop Stockholm Syndrome! At some point, they even give suggestions to them what to do next.
The taped area outside become theatrical as the spectators cheer for the robbers as they deem that their action was heroic -the oppressed Vietnam veteran fighting the establishment, as Sonny goes on TV.
When Sonny requests to meet his wife, the police discovers that Sonny was a homosexual and brought him his gay 'wife' whom he had recently married (in a church!). Now, the gay community started lobbying their plight in front of the bank. They claim that the heist is a statement, to highlight their course!
Sonny's annoying mother and later his first wife appear at the scene. They, of course are no police to persuade the robbers to disarm as they are more interested in washing dirty linen in public and highlighting their own problems.
Sonny and Sal, who are at wits end on their escape route, demand for a free passage to Algeria on a jet.
Even though the whole stories may appear comical, the excellent direction and acting by the stars managed to maintain the suspense.
In the end, they only made it to the airport. Sal was shot dead by FBI and Sonny was captured. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
A classic film with subtle jibes at modern living. It pokes fun at people's herd mentality, media craze and media manipulation of people. A good one.
(N.B. Dog Day Afternoon just means 'a scorching hot afternoon')
The bank heist shown on screen these days are so high-tech. The amounts planned to be robbed are in gargantuan proportions and their modus operandi is usually much bigger - including world domination, anarchy, terrorism and even nuclear warheads. In the 70s, it was a political statement. It is about the small man fighting a system dominated by greedy enterprises and politicians. This film is based on a real story.
The startled robbers took the bank employees as hostages. Negotiations over negotiations happened with the police to release the hostages. In came the TV crew eager to interview, and he did, of the robbers. Taking pity on the robbers who seem to be getting bad luck, one after another, the hostages develop Stockholm Syndrome! At some point, they even give suggestions to them what to do next.
The taped area outside become theatrical as the spectators cheer for the robbers as they deem that their action was heroic -the oppressed Vietnam veteran fighting the establishment, as Sonny goes on TV.
Sonny's annoying mother and later his first wife appear at the scene. They, of course are no police to persuade the robbers to disarm as they are more interested in washing dirty linen in public and highlighting their own problems.
Sonny and Sal, who are at wits end on their escape route, demand for a free passage to Algeria on a jet.
Even though the whole stories may appear comical, the excellent direction and acting by the stars managed to maintain the suspense.
In the end, they only made it to the airport. Sal was shot dead by FBI and Sonny was captured. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
A classic film with subtle jibes at modern living. It pokes fun at people's herd mentality, media craze and media manipulation of people. A good one.
(N.B. Dog Day Afternoon just means 'a scorching hot afternoon')
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