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Dog Day Afternoon




Dog Day Afternoon
Crime Comedy Drama / English / 1975

WHY'D I WATCH IT?
What is it with all these movies from 1975?

Been recommended around the boards, has an potentially interesting concept, and directed by Sidney Lumet of 12 Angry Men. Let's check it out.

WHAT'D I THINK? *SPOILERS*
Dog, Yogurt, Pizza, Hamburgers.

Dog Day Afternoon is the tragic tale of a young Al Pacino as he discovers how **** he is as robbing banks.

At first there seems no shortage of confidence here, but the degree to which the robbers take insults from their hostages, perform petty tasks to keep people happy, and eventually even just GIVE THEM THEIR GUNS to hold onto is just ridiculous, it inexplicably verges on comedy in a manner that cannot be true to the real life events it's trying to portray, and yet sure enough people get shot by the end of it and you don't even get a hard cut to credits.

It's just "here is this terrible bank robber, here's how he drew out a hostage situation to a ridiculous degree and here's how he inevitably ****ed it up".

There's like 3 hostages with time-bomb style crippling illnesses for some absurd reason (THANKS AMERICA) and for some reason I don't even understand he started shouting "Attica" at the cops which got the crowds cheering for him?

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
The Attica Prison riot occurred at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, United States in 1971. Based upon prisoners' demands for better living conditions and political rights, the riot was one of the most well-known and significant uprisings of the Prisoners' Rights Movement. On September 9, 1971, two weeks after the killing of George Jackson at San Quentin State Prison, about 1,000 of the Attica prison's approximately 2,200 inmates rioted and took control of the prison, taking 42 staff hostage.
Oh, okay... so it was a social justice thing... what does this have to do with the hostage situation exactly? Does Al Pacino's character want better rights for being an armed bank robber imprisoned in a building?

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
During the following four days of negotiations, authorities agreed to 28 of the prisoners' demands, but would not agree to demands for complete amnesty from criminal prosecution for the prison takeover or for the removal of Attica's superintendent. By the order of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, state police took back control of the prison. When the uprising was over, at least 43 people were dead, including ten correctional officers and civilian employees, and 33 inmates. Only one death could be attributed to the prisoners.
Whaaaaaaaat, so let me get this straight, people are harshing on the cops responding to a bank robbery because many people died when police tried to retake control of a prison a year earlier?

DO YOU EXPECT THERE TO BE NO CASUALTIES FROM THAT?

What, was it just the police's inability to save the hostages because BELIEVE IT OR NOT, that's not always an option, you people shouldn't be putting that much faith in cops to begin with.

And yet, when the robbers and hostage leave the bank in the limo the crowd is suddenly upset with them?

WELL WHAT THE **** DID YOU PEOPLE WANT!? These guys busted into a bank to steal money from people like YOU, what's your major malfunction, here, huh???

The guy even went to prison in the end anyway, how does that click with your "Prisoner's Rights" ********?

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
After being apprehended, Wojtowicz was convicted in court and sentenced to twenty years in prison, of which he served six.
Okay, that's really annoying, why even do you set a mandatory minimum sentence length for crimes if you're just gonna let people off for little more than a quarter of the usual punishment?

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
According to Wojtowicz, he was offered a deal for pleading guilty, which the court did not honor, and on April 23, 1973, he was sentenced to 20 years in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, of which he served five.
Wait, FIVE!? Get your story straight, Wikipedia, and why in the **** is prison even a thing? Some scumbags would be better off dead, but instead you want to make them a tax burden on the entire population, that's really ****in' smart, why don't you institute penal labor so criminals can work off their crimes and actually pay back something to society, yeah? Would make those 5 years a hell of a lot more reasonable.

And don't give me that "slavery" bit, what, do you think I'm crazy? Here I am arguing with people from nearly 50 years ago who have nothing to do with this movie over their flawed prison complex and here you are calling me crazy, WELL I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW SOMETHING, I just have nothing interesting to say about this movie! This movie is more interesting than what I have to say and what I have to say is marginally more interesting than shopping for vegan butter which I am EXTREMELY familiar with so you'd best take that as sage advice.

The movie's decent. Chugs a bit. Goes off on weird tangents. Rather anti-climactic.


Final Verdict:
[Pretty Good]