That '70s Drift: Dog Days

The Guild Cinema offers a fascinating double feature:

THE DOG (B) - Meet John Wojtowicz, the lunatic who tried to rob a bank in August 1972 and was immortalized by Al Pacino's portrayal of him two years later in "Dog Day Afternoon" (see below).

Wojtowicz was a hedonistic hustler who returned from Vietnam in the late '60s, having had his first homosexual experience in the service, and threw himself into the gay culture of New York.  Filmmakers Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren spent years putting together Wojtowicz's story, and they do a workmanlike job re-creating that Vietnam era. They also dig up some fascinating post-Stonewall footage.

Wojtowicz is an entertaining subject. He's on camera a lot, bragging (mostly about his sex life) and reveling in his long-past 15 minutes of fame. We get fresh talking-head interviews with other classic Brooklynites, including his ex-wife Carmen and his mother Theresa, both still shaking their heads at crazy John. (Wojtowicz died in 2006 at age 60 after a battle with cancer depicted here, and his mother also died before the film was released.)

The subject matter pretty much speaks for itself. We get not only a renewed blow-by-blow of the robbery and the tale of Wojtowicz's love for Liz Eden (nee Ernie), the one he allegedly robbed the bank for. (She and others suggest that other money woes were the primary motivation, including mob debts.)

The filmmakers introduce Wojtowicz's mentally challenged brother Tony, and the second half gets a bit maudlin as Tony pushes his frail brother around, the narrative meandering to a finish. This and other weaknesses aside, this is a fun portrait of an interesting individual and a long-gone era.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975) (A-minus) - Forty years on, Sidney Lumet's raw nerve of a movie still sizzles, with Al Pacino riffing on a grand stage with his fine supporting cast.

Lumet was just, you know, knockin' something out between "Serpico" and "Network," a man on a roll. He gives this a documentary feeling, with the streets of Brooklyn seething with a wild mob, tense cops and inept robbers. Pacino, as Sonny, finds the right tone, with a character he can go a little crazy with, without taking it over the edge. Sonny's raw confrontations with police hack Moretti (the amazing Charles Durning) have a tinge of danger to them as well as black comedy. John Cazale is all sweaty and monosyllabic throughout as Sonny's sidekick Sal. Chris Sarandon brings heart and pathos as Sonny's transgender lover Leon. James Broderick is chilling as the calculating FBI agent plotting Sonny and Sal's downfall. Bronx native Marcia Jean Kurtz is delightful as the perky hostage. Look for Carol Kane as another teller.

Master screenwriter Frank Pierson ("Cool Hand Luke," "Cat Ballou") crafts pitch-perfect local dialogue. He presents a media circus that feels both quaint and modern. Lumet zips it all along in a breezy 125 minutes. This is one of the treasures of the golden era of American film. 

BONUS TRACK
The Elton John deep cut that plays over the opening credits of Lumet's film and over the closing credits of the new documentary -- "Amoreena":