Directed by Sidney Lumet | United States | 125 min

“He won’t listen to anybody. He’s been crazy all summer.”

The second film of Calgary Cinematheque’s Summer Heat series is also the second film to allude to the movie’s heat directly in its title. Set on a hot summer day in Brooklyn, this crime thriller is based upon a true story. A heist goes wrong, and all of a sudden two thieves (Al Pacino and John Cazale) are stuck holding hostages in a sweltering bank.

The heat directly reflects the characters’ desperation. Temperature even becomes a key point in the strategic standoff between the cops and robbers. Pacino’s sweat-soaked performance is one of his finest. The film is admirably directed by maestro Sidney Lumet. He controls massive crowds of extras surrounding the bank as precisely as he does close-ups of Pacino’s twitchy, drenched face, as he frantically schemes his way out of the mess he’s found himself in.

Of the film’s six Academy Award nominations, only screenwriter Frank Pierson was recognized with a golden statue for his work. However, in a year that also featured Jaws, Barry Lyndon, and Nashville losing Best Picture, Dog Day Afternoon can comfortably place itself amongst the classics of one of the strongest release years in cinema history.

Written by Kyle Hodge

Part of our Summer of Heat Series.

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In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth, we honour and acknowledge that this screening takes place on Moh’kinsstis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory, as well as the oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta District 6. Finally, we acknowledge all Nations, Indigenous and non, who live, work and play, as well as help steward this land, honour and celebrate this territory.