Films of the 1970s, No. 19

 


Throughout 2023 I'm looking at my favorite films from the decade of the 1970s. I'll be counting down from 50 to 1 throughout the year, posting a new installment each Friday. Agree? Disagree? Want to share a story? Post it in the comments below!

Sonny: You'd like to kill me? Bet you would.
Sheldon: I wouldn't like to kill you. I will if I have to.
Sonny: It's your job, right? The guy who kills me... I hope he does it because he hates my guts, not because it's his job.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Carol Kane, and Charles Durning
Director: Sidney Lumet
About: I mentioned last week that in the Top 20 there are a number of directors who have multiple films in left in the countdown. That's true today of Lumet. He's actually already had a film in the list with Serpico. He had a very strong decade of the 1970s, with this one again pairing him with Pacino in the lead role. Pacino also had a very strong decade in the 1970s, here paired with his Godfather co-star Cazale in a heist film based on a true story. Pacino's performance is really what helps the film sing. There is intensity in the way the film is brought to life and the way the story is told. There are many memorable scenes, too, that help the film pop and resonate. It's a film I thought about a while after the final credits rolled. It's one of the most iconic films of the 1970s, helping it land on this list.

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