Introduced by film historian Rachel Walther, author of Born to Lose: The Misfits Who Made Dog Day Afternoon
Director Sidney Lumet's 1975 films stars Al Pacino as Sonny Wortzik, an unemployed schnook from Brooklyn whose failed attempt to rob a bank makes him an instant celebrity when the plan goes sideways and he's stuck holding the bank tellers hostage. The film costars John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, and Carol Kane. Defined by curator Michael Koresky as "an anti-establishment thriller that perfectly captures the anarchy of 1970s New York," Dog Day Afternoon remains an unpredictable delight that's equal parts harrowing and hilarious.
About the Book: In Born to Lose: The Misfits Who Made Dog Day Afternoon, film historian Rachel Walther delves into the making of the New Hollywood classic as well as the film’s backstory, tracing how an unbelievable true crime tale of love, bank robbery, and LGBTQI+ activism became a box-office smash and catapulted a group of Brooklyn outsiders into the media spotlight.
Music Box Theatre screens films of all genres and from every era of cinema, both new releases and repertory. These films may sometimes contain upsetting, outdated, or offensive material. While we aim to introduce many of our screenings, we do not always provide warnings about potentially triggering content within the films we screen. We encourage our patrons to research the film before they attend using trailers, reviews, or content information found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com.
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