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directed by Sidney Lumet
USA 1975

Warner 40th Anniversary Blu-ray - September 2015': We've been told that the new 40th Anniversary Blu-ray, while having a similar transfer to the 2007 Blu-ray offers the old commentary and 4-part making of plus a significant bonus; a DVD of I KNEW IT WAS YOU: Rediscovering John Cazale (reviewed by DVDBeaver HERE) - This documentary explores the enigmatic actor who appeared in only five feature films – all of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars – with interviews featuring Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman and many more friends and admirers paying tribute to a remarkable talent taken too soon. There is also a commentary with director Richard Shepard and extended interviews with Al Pacino and Israel Horovitz and two short films: The American Way (1962) and The Box (1969).

***

A gripping true crime yarn, a juicy slice of overheated New York atmosphere, and a splendid showcase for its young actors, Dog Day Afternoon is a minor classic of the 1970s. The opening montage of New York street life (set to Elton John's lazy "Amoreena") establishes the oppressive mood of a scorching afternoon in the city with such immediacy that you can almost smell the garbage baking in the sun and the water from the hydrants evaporating from the sizzling pavement. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who, along with his rather slow-witted accomplice Sal (John Cazale, familiar as Pacino's Godfather brother Fredo), holds hostages after a botched a bank robbery. Sonny finds himself transformed into a rebel celebrity when his standoff with police (including lead negotiator Charles Durning) is covered live on local television. The movie doesn't appear to be about anything in particular, but it really conveys the feel of wild and unpredictable events unfolding before your eyes, and the whole picture is so convincing and involving that you're glued to the screen. An Oscar winner for original screenplay, Dog Day Afternoon was also nominated for best picture, actor, supporting actor (Chris Sarandon, as a surprise figure from Sonny's past), editing, and director (Sidney Lumet of Serpico, Prince of the City, The Verdict, and Running on Empty).

***

Sidney Lumet’s talent for making films set in one location, lacking a musical score and heavily reliant on brilliant script writing and incredible acting, is once again on show here. Al Pacino was in his prime playing Sonny, the “brains” behind the botched operation. Sonny holds up a bank with his friend Sal in order to steal money for his gay lover’s sex change operation. Needless to say, the robbery does not go to plan and ends up in a hostage situation surrounded by a myriad of policemen which subsequently turns into a media frenzy. Homosexuality, anti-establishment sentiment, the media phenomenon, Stockholm syndrome (as Sonny’s hostages grow to sympathise with their captor) are all dealt with and brought together by Lumet’s steady directorial hand, and a remarkable performance from Pacino. Pacino is well supported by John Cazale and Charles Durning as his partner in crime and the negotiating policeman.


Excerpt of review by Steph Wright Taken from EUFS Programme 2003 online HERE

 

Theatrical Release: September 21st, 1975

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Comparison: 

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  LEFT

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

Box Covers

  

40th Anniversary Blu-ray (see comments below) coming out in September 2015:

The new Special Edition is also available in the Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset with - All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (all Two-Disc Special Editions).

              

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner (Special Edition)

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Warner

Region FREE - Blu-ray

Runtime 2:04:20 2:04:28 2:04:39.513

Video

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.68 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.92 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,819,795,296 bytes

Feature: 18,723,514,368 bytes

Video Bitrate: 17.98 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate : Warner 1st release

Bitrate: Warner (Special Edition)

Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 1.0) English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, French, Spanish, None English, French, Spanish, None English, French, Spanish, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Cast / Crew (text)

• Awards (text)

NOTE: The widescreen is on one side and a pan-and-scan edition is on the opposite side.

DVD Release Date: December 17th, 1997
Snapper case

Chapters 29

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Director Sidney Lumet
• The Making of Dog Day Afternoon: A New 4-Part 30th Anniversary • Documentary featuring Al Pacino
Vintage Featurette Lumet: Film Maker
• Theatrical Trailer  
 

DVD Release Date: February 28th, 2006
 Double Slim Keep Case  

Chapters 30

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

 

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,819,795,296 bytes

Feature: 18,723,514,368 bytes

Video Bitrate: 17.98 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

 

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Director Sidney Lumet
• The Making of Dog Day Afternoon: A New 4-Part 30th Anniversary • Documentary featuring Al Pacino
Vintage Featurette Lumet: Film Maker
• Theatrical Trailer  
 

Blu-ray Release Date: April 10th, 2007
Standard Blu-ray Case  

Chapters 30

 

 

 

Comments NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner 40th Anniversary Blu-ray - September 2015': We've been told that the new 40th Anniversary Blu-ray, while having a similar transfer to the 2007 Blu-ray offers the old commentary and 4-part making of plus a significant bonus; a DVD of I KNEW IT WAS YOU: Rediscovering John Cazale (reviewed by DVDBeaver HERE) - This documentary explores the enigmatic actor who appeared in only five feature films – all of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars – with interviews featuring Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman and many more friends and admirers paying tribute to a remarkable talent taken too soon. There is also a commentary with director Richard Shepard and extended interviews with Al Pacino and Israel Horovitz and two short films: The American Way (1962) and The Box (1969).

***

ADDITION: Warner Blu-ray - July 09': This was one of the early Blu-rays. It came out in early 2007 a little over a year after the 2-disc Special Edition DVD package. It was only single-layered with a modest video bitrate of 18 Mbps. You can see the improvement in the captures below although it is not as evident as we have seen from other comparisons (like ex. Zulu) but the superiority in areas of depth and detail is apparent. Grain is much more visible and in motion the image looks excellent although, personally, I'm more partial to the MPEG-4 encode than the VC-1. The Blu-ray is smoother with far less artifacts. Visually this is a bigger improvement than the still captures will indicate and the larger this is projected - the more noticeable the advancement over the SE DVD appearance.

Warner have stuck with the mono - and no PCM HD option. There is no improvement in the sound quality over the DVD although Elton John's "Amoreena" sounded very sweet in the opening credits. This also has the same subtitle options (English, French, and Spanish) but my Momitsu  identifies this as being region free - playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

No new extras and none in HD. Lumet's commentary is worth the price of the disc alone.

Unfortunately being released so early in the evolution of the new format - it is really just a 1080P version of the last DVD with all supplements on one disc.  The best thing about this Blu-ray is the value. At the time of this review it is listed at $16 - a little over $4 more than the SE DVD. I think that it is worth it depending on the system you are watching it.

We strongly recommend this new release and feel strongly that the entire Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset will be a very worthy purchase.  (not at $54 with the other 2 eventually coming to Blu-ray)

 - Gary Tooze

 


Menus

(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  LEFT vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

 

Warner Special Edition - Disc 2

 

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

Subtitle Sample: We cannot obtain subtitle samples on Blu-ray yet!

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray captures

 

Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray
Extras: Special Edition/ Blu-ray

 

Box Covers

  

40th Anniversary Blu-ray (see comments below) coming out in September 2015:

The new Special Edition is also available in the Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset with - All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (all Two-Disc Special Editions).

              

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner (Special Edition)

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Warner

Region FREE - Blu-ray




 

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