Dog Day Afternoon | Cinema Parrot Disco

Happy Birthday to Al Pacino, who turns 77 today.

He’s a bit overrated, right? Ha! Just trying to get your attention. 😉 To be fair, though, Pacino has never been a favorite actor of mine. I can see why guys like him as he’s been in so many (admittedly good) gangster films. He’s the Steven Seagal of good “guy” movies instead of shit “guy” movies. Right?? For the most part, I think Pacino has lucked out in being in some very big films. I think he’s great in the Godfather films but otherwise is too over the top sometimes. And he’s been in some real stinkers! As has Robert De Niro, of course. Of the two, though, I’d have to say I prefer De Niro.

Well, Pacino has a lot of fans even if I’m not really one of them. And, okay, he’s been in some great films. Better than those Steven Seagal ones, anyway! Here are My Top Ten Al Pacino Movies:

The Rest That I’ve Seen:

14. Gigli (yikes)
13. Dick Tracy
12. Sea Of Love
11. The Insider (probably deserves to be higher but I can’t remember much of it now)

Top Ten:

10. Insomnia

9. Frankie And Johnny

8. The Devil’s Advocate

7. Dog Day Afternoon

6. Scent Of A Woman

5. Carlito’s Way

4. Donnie Brasco

3. Scarface

2. Heat

1. The Godfather I & II

Some I’ve Not Seen:
The Panic In Needle Park, Serpico, Glengarry Glen Ross, Any Given Sunday, S1m0ne, The Godfather III

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – IMDB Rank #179

Watched 18/1/13

This is going to be a short review because I don’t want to annoy anyone as people (dudes, really) love Al Pacino. This movie was fine. It’s a classic. I understand that. It’s a bit overrated, though. *Ducking for cover*

I didn’t know much about it before watching it other than that it was about a bank robbery. I had no idea it was a true story. I find that very interesting – I may get off my lazy bum and read about the real story. I can see why they made a movie about it – what an entertaining robbery! Is that seriously how it was all handled? What a bunch of numpties! Both the bank robbers & cops didn’t know what the hell to do. Funny. The bank workers were good – had the most common sense .

I’m not trashing this movie. It’s just not up there with the likes of The Godfather I & II, Midnight Cowboy or The Deer Hunter. See? I love those – I DO like 70s movies! (Okay -Midnight Cowboy is ’69. Close enough.). The 70s-ness is actually the absolute best thing about this movie. I love the 70s. Ugly people, ugly clothes, ugly cars… Love it. Also, Prince Humperdinck and Bishop are in this movie! But I kept thinking that Carol Kane should just whack the bank robbers with a toaster… 🙂

I think this movie further confirmed what I was pretty sure I already knew anyway – I prefer DeNiro to Pacino.

My Rating: 7/10