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Dog Day Afternoon Remuxed (1975) (1080p)

D Day for Pacino, 25 February 2004
 
Author: MovieAddict2011 from UK

 
By the time Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" came around he had already learned to let Al Pacino loose. 
Forget the holdbacks of "Serpico"; here we get a glimpse into the real Al, the actor who would bring Tony 
Montana to life in the years to come and the same man who provided Michael Corleone with such heartfelt 
warmth that was lacking in some of his lesser characters.There's essentially the Al Pacino as an actor 
and the Al Pacino as a character, and here he's the character, and it works splendidly. Al Pacino the 
actor comes into play when he is given a recycled script and a talentless director, which has been 
happening a lot lately, although fortunately his comparison, De Niro, has been lucky enough to generally 
avoid these blunders of older-age film-making.This is based on a true story, like "Serpico," only it's 
better and more involving. It connects with the audience more than "Serpico" because it doesn't jump 
through the same old hoops; it goes for the long trek and comes off better than it would have had the 
team behind it been lazy. The clichés are gone and the originality creeps in early on. Watch Pacino 
indulge himself in character and let the plot sink in. It's more touching than it seems at first. Pacino 
is Sonny Wortzik, a Brooklyn man who takes a bank hostage in order to pay for his "wife's" operation. The 
wife is actually Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon who was Oscar-nominated for this, his first role in a 
mainstream film), Sonny's gay lover who doesn't have the money for a sex operation. The bank robbery was 
going to be what one of classic cinema's greatest bad guys once described as a quick "in and out," but 
Sonny gets held up inside the bank and soon he's all over the news and police are standing outside the 
building with guns drawn. It's like Denzel's movie only better and more original. Oh, and true. This one 
actually happened and we can tell. Sonny's partner in crime, Sal (John Cazale), is worried that he'll be 
treated as a homosexual by the media outside. His fretting is comic relief and one of the connections 
between the film and the audience. Charles Durning is the frustrated cop handling the situation. His 
performance is as subtly convincing as Cavale's.

Pacino's performance is exceedingly excellent, manic and energetic. He'd display this same talent in 
"Scarface" again eight years later; only he would be bashed by the critics for going over-the-top. 
(Although they really just had problems with the excessive profanity and violence, just like Mel Gibson's 
"The Passion of the Christ" will soon become a well-known classic and people will laugh when they hear 
that someone once called it the most violent film ever made.) There's also one of the best scenes of all 
time in this movie that rivals Montana's Last Stand in "Scarface" or the Baptism Scene in "The 
Godfather," which involves Sonny speaking on the phone to his "wife," carefully concealing his motive 
from any listeners nearby. Watch Pacino delve into character here and you're immediately hooked. We like 
his character because he seems real and Pacino makes him real, and that's why this will go down as one of 
the best tour de force performances of all time.Is this Hollywood trying to ease our culture onto 
homosexuality and sex change operations? Is Hollywood trying to gradually introduce us to gay characters 
in the hope that the uptight American families will be increasingly invaded by the images of gay men? No. 
This is Hollywood showing us a true story, regardless of the homosexuality. Pacino could be playing a 
frustrated postal worker and it would still work because it all settles down to the fact that the 
suspense and dramatics of the movie affect us, not the background of its characters.Sarandon's Oscar 
nomination was more than worthy; here he displays the smarmy talent that would shine through in his 
characters in the years to come. Prince Humperdink from "The Princess Bride" is equally memorable but 
less realistic. Here he seems more real, which is good for this film and would have been quite bad for 
"Bride." We don't like real characters in fantasy tales, do we? Lumet, who ruined "Serpico" with his bad 
editing, out-of-place music, clichéd dialogue/events and unnecessary scenes, directs "Dog Day Afternoon" 
with style and flair and good pacing and a surprisingly heartfelt sense of emotion and care. This isn't 
exactly a good example of a perfect motion picture but it's pretty close.


Disc Title: Dog Day Afternoon Remuxed (1975) (1080p)
Disc Size: 17,876,616,114 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
Playlist: 00000.MPLS
Size: 17,848,401,984 bytes
Length: 2:04:39
Total Bitrate: 19.09 Mbps
Video: VC-1 Video / 17982 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Advanced Profile 3
Audio: English / Dolby Digital Audio / 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitle: Dutch / 29.694 kbps