Dog Day Afternoon Blu-ray delivers great video and solid audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
The robbery should have taken 10 minutes. 4 hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow. 8 hours later, it was the hottest thing on live T.V. 12 hours later, it was all history. And it's all true.
A low-budget film from 1975 that features a monaural soundtrack may seem like an odd candidate
for release on Blu-ray. But Dog Day Afternoon will forever be a classic due to one of the greatest
performances in Al Pacino's career. A lesser actor would have played up the insanity of the lead role
of Sonny Wortzik, but Pacino accentuated the misguided character's human side, allowing
audiences better accessibility to the bizarre story.
With hostages secured inside, Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) emerges from the bank to find himself
surrounded by dozens of police officers with guns drawn as well as reporters pointing cameras and
microphones.
An important film in its time, with a counterculture theme, Dog Day Afternoon is based on the
true story of a bank heist gone awry. It deserves a place on the shelf of every film collector, and
the BD-25 version deserves a screening on every HDTV. Most of us grew familiar with Dog Day
Afternoon from TV broadcasts, the VHS and the much improved DVD version, reissue and two-
DVD set from Warner. Forget about all those. The definitive version is here.
Watching the film on Blu-ray is like seeing it for the first time because of its lifelike resolution and
presence. The audio, too, cleans up nicely on this much improved classic. As Elton John's
Amoreena blares from the center speaker, the credits show on top of high resolution, 1.85:1
scenes of Brooklyn, New York. The last strains of Amoreena play and the music ends. The
remainder of the film has no score. And as the music ends, the views of Brooklyn's people and
places settle on a car parked outside a bank.
We are introduced to Sonny and Sal Naturile (John Cazale). Moments later, they are inside the
bank with guns drawn and Sonny is issuing orders to the bank manager and cashiers. From the
earliest moments of the robbery, Sonny's plan starts to unravel. Police surround the bank.
Detective Sgt. Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning) demands that Sonny and Sal put down
their weapons and surrender. Dog Day Afternoon seems to be over, but it is just getting started.
Each successive moment seems to reveal new insight into Sonny and his motivation for the
robbery. Fascinating interactions develop as Sonny tries to manage Sal, the hostages and
Moretti. Pacino turns it into a brilliant character study. His delivery of lines, facial expressions and
body language transform Sonny into one of the most unique characters in the history of film.
Pacino's performance is by turns subtle and forceful, meek and explosive, depressing and
inspirational, repulsive and charismatic. That Pacino could instantaneously switch on and off
these elements of Sonny's personality and convey a full range of emotions while staying
comfortably in character is a testament to his skill as an actor.
Until the advent of DVD, Pacino's facial expressions, body language cues and method acting were
conveyed to viewers in NTSC broadcasts and video tape showing a 1.33:1
aspect ratio. The resolution was terrible, the picture blurry, the sound muddy and distorted, the
videostage severely cropped. Then came the digital. Watching the second-generation DVD and
two-disc extended version was like lifting a veil. The DVD greatly improved the imagery and
audio, restoring the picture to its original ratio. But we were still left with NTSC. The resolution
was nowhere near film quality.
All that changed as of April 10, 2007 when Warner Home Video released Dog Day Afternoon on
Blu-ray. For the first time, the movie sets and characters have life-like definition and detail.
Warner's use of the VC-1 codec may not stack up to Sony's use of MPEG-4 (not a fair comparison
giving the new movies Sony releases on BD), but one thing is for sure: the 1080p resolution of
Dog Day Afternoon absolutely trounces what was available before.
Watch the way Sonny's face drops when he learns the police have the bank surrounded. His
expression is imbued with details that were simply missing in NTSC versions of Dog Day
Afternoon. Even the actors' clothes, marking this film firmly in the 1970s, show incredible clarity
and definition. Grain noise is prevalent, but it provides an analog warmth to the picture, as
though we are seeing real film. The details shine through in stunning manner compared to the
DVD. It won't win awards for picture quality, but Dog Day Afternoon is impressively detailed with
gorgeous contrast. I witnessed a few digital artefacts during the final scenes. But even that
content maintained good black level.
The film will not win any audio awards, either. After treating my ears to the SACD version of Elton
John's Tumbleweed Connection album, Amoreena sounded comparably two-dimensional and harsh
on Warner's mono Dolby Digital soundtrack. Not surprisingly, it lacked any depth or soundstage.
But when the music ended, the audio was passable, and even a significant improvement compared
to the sound of previous versions of the film. Voices and gunshots, footsteps and chanting
bystanders all sound remarkably clear and convincing. In a nutshell, the audio doesn't hold back
Dog Day Afternoon, but you won't want to use it to demo your system.
Aside from Pacino, a key factor in the success of the film is the behind-the-camera work of
legendary director Sidney Lumet. Of great interest to his fans, and indeed fans of movies in
general, is Lumet's commentary describing the casting, filming and aftermath of Dog Day
Afternoon. A featurette entitled "Lumet: Film Maker" is also included. Rounding out the special
features are the theatrical trailer and a worthwhile, four part documentary on the making of Dog
Day Afternoon, which includes an exploration of the actual events that inspired the movie.
Within the span of three short years, Pacino mastered three characters that would become legends
of film: Michael Corleone, Frank Serpico and Sonny Wortzik. Each has a distinct personality,
manner of speaking, facial expressions and body language. Perfectly portraying the traits of any one
of these characters would have been a major achievement for any actor, but to go from one to the
other in succession and convincingly transform himself was a triumph for Al Pacino. His 1992 Oscar
Award for Best Actor in Scent of a Woman, and his powerhouse roles of that time--Ricky Roma in
Glengarry Glenn Ross and Vincent Hanna in Heat--were another highlight of his career, but the
early-to-mid 1970s proved his meddle.
Dog Day Afternoon never achieved the popularity of many Pacino films, but remains something of a
cult classic--a counterculture portrait of criminal narcissism. Sonny is too unlikely a hero for
Hollywood to handle, but thanks to Lumet, the storytelling is wonderful. Pacino had a strong
supporting cast, but he stole the show. To see him perform in this role in 1080p is a treat, and I
feel indebted to Warner for releasing the Blu-ray.
Warner Home Video today announced that they will debut A Scanner Darkly and Dog Day Afternoon on Blu-ray Disc on April 10. The films feature all-star casts including Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Academy Award winner Al Pacino.
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