I love this film. It was one of the first I ever saw when I really started getting into movies. It's got incredibly strong performances from the great Al Pacino and the late John Cazale (What a great catalog of films he had in his tragically short career) they're both amazingly gifted people. It's also still incredibly provocative, the idea of gay marriage is still fairly stigmatized, let alone the complex dynamics at work in Dog Day Afternoon. Perhaps what bothers me most about this film, though, is the fact that it's always bouncing in and out of the 250th spot of the top 250, it's so good! It deserves a permanent spot!

Perhaps I'm missing something here but I grew rather bored with "Dog Day Afternoon." I found the film to be overblown nonsense and irritating. Al Pacino made far better films during this decade, like the first two "Godfather" instalments, "Scarecrow" and "Serpico." His character here comes across as being buffoonish and totally ineffectual. I found the setting to be wrong as well. The only redeeming quality about "Dog Day Afternoon," is the cast. The fine character actor Charles Durning is very good as the police officer. There are plenty of 1970s American films that overshadow this one.

Loved the movie, Al Pacino was on fire after The Godfather 2 and what he did with John Cazale in that bank is memorial. Without a doubt, this is now part of the Top List of great performances. The film captures in very sober but realistic way what it really means firing a gun-shot and all the tension that derives from threatening people with a gun.Fantastic movie, can't wait to watch it again.

Great directing, exceptional acting, the right dose of humor and a great story make a winning combination. This is unlike a bank robbery you have ever seen and years before numerous directors made films about bank robberies. Pacino and John Cazale hit this film out of the park. Their stellar performances make this film iconic, I am not sure if any other actors could have had the same impact. Essentially we see a bank robbery that is badly planned turn into a media circus. After seeing the unstable and excited personalities of Pacino we understand why. For a film that escalates and a situation that increasingly grows out of control it flows perfectly. You are carefully taken through a chain of events. The humor is also brilliantly done and also flows effortlessly as to not take away the drama and intensity of the robbery. The unplanned robbery, virtually no money being robbed and the unlikely bonding with their captors endears the bank robbers to the audience. You want them to succeed and possibly root for their escape. Despite the circus and things going out of control it appears the duo will succeed as the film nears its end. The film also delivered some shocking moments. I had the same expression as Al Pacino's character at the end of the film. Al Pacino steals the show with his fits of rage, expressions and always being on the edge. This film is highly recommended, 8.5/10