The only major actors still alive from Dog Day Afternoon

Few filmmakers lived through the 1970s better than Sidney Lumet. While he was more prolific than most of the decade’s major directors, directing 11 films over 10 years, an act He found time to direct one of the worst musicals in movie history (a poorly adapted version of “The Wiz”), and when Lumet had the right material, he produced such classics as “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network.”

There is no film more electric in Lumet’s oeuvre than “Dog Day Afternoon.” Based on a true storyThe critically and commercially successful 1975 film revolves around a Brooklyn bank robbery carried out by Sonny Wortzick, an amateur con man desperate to pay for his lover’s gender confirmation surgery. When the heist goes south quickly, Sonny and his buddies find themselves stuck holding hostages while the cops swarm the building. A defiant Sonny seeks to negotiate an escape while playing to a crowd of onlookers gathered outside the bank, but the noose around his neck keeps tightening as the ordeal drags on. It’s a thrilling, nerve-wracking drama that takes one unexpected twist after another on its way to a tragic ending.

At its best, Lumet was an accomplished director of actors. At the beginning of every production (as detailed in his indispensable book “Filmmaking”), Lumet built a rehearsal period so he could work with his performers in a more intimate setting, as if he were directing a play, before putting his actors in front of the cameras. In “Dog Day Afternoon,” this process allowed him to obtain extraordinarily authentic roles from world-class actors such as Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, and Chris Sarandon. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll never forget Sonny as Pacino shooting up bystanders in Brooklyn with his song “Attica!” Hymn, and you’ll never shake that vibrant ending. It’s a scintillating showcase for the cast, and since it was filmed over 50 years ago, we’ve sadly missed most of the performers who made it sing (Including Cazale, who passed away too soon From cancer at the age of 42 years. So, let’s take a moment to celebrate two amazing actors from the movie who are still very active today.

Sarandon’s portrayal of the mutant Leon Shermer was only his second film (after making a name for himself on the CBS TV series “Guiding Light”), and it proved to be a major breakthrough for the actor (who, in case you were wondering, was married to Susan Sarandon at that time). Sarandon received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and immediately began booking lead roles in films such as “Lipstick” and “The Sentinel.” However, by the mid-1980s, it was clear that the performer was better suited to a suave villain like Jerry Dandrige in The original “Horror Night”. And Prince Humperdinck in “The Princess Bride.”

Sarandon continued to work steadily into the 1990s, finding his most memorable character as the voice of Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas. While he has since remained busy with films and television (on shows like “ER,” “Orange Is the New Black,” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), Skellington has become more prominent in popular culture thanks to the film’s classic holiday status and sharing Sarandon has appeared in nine video games featuring the character’s voice (including “The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge,” “Kingdom Hearts” and, most recently, Disney’s “Speed ​​Storm”). Sarandon is… He’s 82 years old, and hasn’t been in front of the camera since 2016, so if he officially retires, it’s definitely worth it.

It is widely considered One of the best actors Among his generation, Pacino already had three Oscar nominations (for “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” and “Serpico”) when he landed the role of addicted bank robber Sonny Wortzik. This was his second and final collaboration with Lumet, and would have easily marked his first Best Actor win had he not run into the buzzsaw that was Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (the Oscar sensation that swept cinema) (Top Five Academy Awards that year). The role was a dramatic change of pace from the menacing Michael Corleone, and a great complement to Frank Serpico’s stern goodness. Even though Sonny has committed a criminal act, we sympathize with him as we learn why he wants the money. It’s a full, multi-layered meal of a well-established performance. Pacino’s acting status is divine.

“Dog Day Afternoon” was also the peak of Pacino’s early career. He began chasing more explanatory roles that were less nuanced than the characters that made him a star. This led him to brutal gangster Tony Montana in Scarface, where he disappeared under a thick Cuban accent and flashy physical effects. It’s a tremendous performance, but it was also a preview of the “hoo-hahing” Al Pacino, who became a parody of himself after winning Best Actor in 1993 for “Scent of a Woman.” There have been witty portrayals since then (in films like Carlito’s Way, The Insider, and, most recently, The Irishman), but Pacino seems to have lost the element of surprise — which is what happens when you’re 84. However, with a staggering six projects currently in post-production, there’s always a chance that a master like Pacino could throw in a curveball or two (perhaps in “Lear Rex,” where he’ll play Shakespeare’s titular King opposite a stacked cast that includes Jessica Chastain and Rachel Brosnahan and Peter Dinklage).