Editing Dog Day Afternoon (section)

== Production ==
=== Development ===
''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' published in its September 22, 1972, issue a chronicle of the robbery. The feature, written by [[P. F. Kluge|P.F. Kluge]] and Thomas Moore, was titled "The Boys in the Bank". It detailed the holdup and the hostages' eventual [[Stockholm syndrome|fraternization with their captors]].{{sfn|Kluge, P.F|Moore, Thomas|1972|p=66}} The authors compared Wojtowicz's appearance to that of [[Dustin Hoffman]] or [[Al Pacino]].{{sfn|Erickson, Hal|p=36|2017}} The feature caught the attention of producer [[Martin Elfand]].{{sfn|Parker, Jerry|1974|p=7}} Elfand took it to [[Martin Bregman]], who piqued the interest of [[Warner Bros.]] executive [[Richard Shepherd (producer)|Richard Shepherd]].{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=114}} Elfand hired Kluge and Moore to interview the people involved in the story. Before the script was written, Elfand wanted to ensure that he had signed releases by all the interviewees for the story rights. After the negotiation, each hostage received $600 ({{Inflation|US|600|1973|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}); one hostage asked for more money and was not included in the script.

Initially, Westenberg was offered $2,000, but he turned it down following the advice of his lawyer, because he was still serving a two-year sentence. After his release, he settled for $750.{{sfn|Parker, Jerry|1974|p=7}} Wojtowicz received $7,500 ({{Inflation|US|7,500|1973|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}) for the rights to the story. From the money, he earmarked $2,500 to Eden's reassignment surgery.{{sfn|UPI staff|1973|p=3}}

News outlets reported that Wojtowicz was granted one percent of the film's net profit;{{sfn|Jones, J.R.|2014}} Bregman later denied that his company, Artists Entertainment Complex, granted Wojtowicz a percentage of the gross. Bregman added he would give him $25,000 if the film performed as well as ''[[Serpico]]'' (1973) at the box office.{{sfn|Jahr, Cliff|1975|p=125}} Wojtowicz's lawyer Mark Landsman retained $3,500 of the payment he received.{{sfn|Jahr, Cliff|1975|p=125}} Meanwhile, Warner Bros. paid for Naturile's funeral.{{sfn|Washington Post-LA Times News Services|1974|p=72}} The working title of the film was ''The Boys in the Bank''.{{sfn|Alyson Publications staff|1990|p=32}} The budget was set at an estimate of $3.8&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|3.8|1973|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{sfn|Gottlieb, Martin|1977|p=28}}

[[Frank Pierson]] was hired to write the screenplay. Aside from Kluge and Moore's research, Pierson conducted his own. He contacted journalist [[Randy Wicker]], who covered the story of the heist for gay publications, and provided technical assistance regarding Manhattan's gay nightclub scene.{{sfn|Washington Post-LA Times News Services| 1974|p=72}} Pierson decided that he wanted to center the story around Wojtowicz, who refused to receive Pierson in prison while he was in a financial dispute with Warner Bros.

Pierson analyzed the tapes of the interviews and news articles about the robbery, and approached those involved for additional information. Pierson could not define Wojtowicz's character because a different impression was left on each of the interviewees. The project overwhelmed him, but he could not quit because he had spent his cash in advance. Pierson reviewed his material and found that the unfulfilled promises Wojtowicz made was the common trait. Pierson viewed them as "the story of the bank", and the failure of the robbery.

Pierson finished the screenplay by Christmas 1973.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006c}} Author [[Leslie Waller]] worked on a [[novelization]] of the Pierson script, released after the film, by [[Dell Publishing]].{{sfn|Copyright Office|1976|p=1784}}

=== Casting ===
With the finished script, Martin Bregman met with director Sidney Lumet and star Al Pacino in London.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006c}} Pacino, who, at the time, was represented by Bregman, agreed to play the role.

Pacino backed out, and Dustin Hoffman expressed interest. Bregman did not meet with Hoffman; he felt that Pacino could bring the "sensitivity" and "vulnerability" needed for the role.{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=114}} After more discussion, Pacino accepted the part but rejected it again. Bregman attributed it to Pacino's use of [[method acting]] and said that it "might have been a world [Pacino] did not want to explore". Bregman added that "no major star had ever played a gay".{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=115}}

But he wanted to make the film with Pacino. The actor backed out of the project a third time, and told Bregman that he wanted to return to the theater. He said that he would "never make the adjustment necessary for the movies".{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=115}} Pacino again returned to the project, and attributed his behavior to stress and drinking, and that he needed "a life outside work".{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=115}} Lumet mentioned the characterization of Sonny Wortzik's (Wojtowicz) "insane framework of life" as the stress factor for Pacino.{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=115}} In a meeting before the rehearsals, Pacino asked Pierson and Lumet to tone down Sonny Wortzik's behavior; his request was rejected.{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=115}} Eden described Wojtowicz as "a very domineering person",{{sfn|Washington Post-LA Times News Services|1974|p=72}} and added: "he is good-natured&nbsp;... but sometimes went overboard&nbsp;... and he terrified me".{{sfn|Bell, Arthur|1972|p=32}} Wicker later said that the screenplay of ''Dog Day Afternoon'' portrayed Wojtowicz to be "more rational than he really was".{{sfn|Getlen, Larry|2014}}

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| style="text-align: left;" | I thought basically that the most important thing to capture was the human conflict, the human cry, the human need. And to tap that. To try to find that somehow and convey it in this bizarre situation was what we were trying to do.
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | — Al Pacino{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006c}}
|}
Much of the cast consisted of actors Pacino performed with in [[off-Broadway]] plays.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006b}} Pacino asked Lumet to cast John Cazale as Sal Naturile,{{sfn|Schulman, Michael|2016|p=136}} whose was the only name that did not change for the film.{{sfn|Harris, Scott Jordan|2011|p=56}} Pacino had worked with Cazale on [[Israel Horovitz]]'s play ''[[The Indian Wants the Bronx]]'', and then in the 1972 film ''The Godfather''.{{sfn|Schoell, William|1995|p=18}}{{sfn|UPI staff|1972b|p=24}} Lumet was not initially convinced he should cast Cazale. He was thirty-nine years old,{{sfn|Niemi, Robert|2006|p=404}} while Naturile was eighteen years old at the time of his death, but the director agreed after meeting him.{{sfn|Harris, Scott Jordan|2011|p=56}} [[Penelope Allen]] starred as Sylvia "Mouth" (based on Shirley "Mouth" Ball),{{sfn|Erickson, Hal|2017|p=36}} and had worked with Pacino before on ''[[Scarecrow (1973 film)|Scarecrow]]''.{{sfn|Schoell, William|2016|p=45}} For the role of Wortzik's mother, Pacino asked Lumet to cast [[Judith Malina]], co-founder of [[The Living Theatre]].{{sfn|Rapf, Joanna|2006|p=67}} Lumet wanted to portray the difference between a street police officer and one with an office job. [[Charles Durning]]{{sfn|Murphy, Mary|1975|p=11 (Part IV)}} and [[James Broderick]]{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006b}} were cast as Moretti and Sheldon respectively, though Lumet initially decided on Durning being the bank manager and Broderick playing Moretti until Pacino intervened. Because Durning was also working on [[Robert Wise]]'s ''[[Two People (1973 film)|Two People]]'', Lumet and Wise had to coordinate his schedule, as he flew between California and New York.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} Lumet did not worry about Broderick's recasting because of his reputation for [[method acting]].{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006b}} [[Sully Boyar]] was cast as bank manager Mulvaney (based on Robert Barrett).{{sfn|Erickson, Hal|2017|p=36}} [[Chris Sarandon]] convinced Lumet and Pacino during his reading and was cast as Leon Shermer. Lumet asked him to shift the focus of his characterization to "a little less [[Blanche DuBois]], a little more Queens housewife".{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006b}}

There were three weeks of rehearsals,{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=117}} and the name of the project was changed to ''Dog Day Afternoon''. Pierson flew from Los Angeles to New York at Lumet's request. Pacino refused to kiss Sarandon in a scene as he thought it was "exploitative"; he felt that the script kept "pushing the gay issue" on the audience.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006c}} He expressed the view that viewers already knew the characters were homosexual and wanted to convey the failure of the relationship instead. Pierson agreed; he realized the couple did not actually kiss and that they had actually carried on a phone conversation. Pierson modified the scene to include the call.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006c}} The [[National LGBTQ Task Force|National Gay Task Force]] approved of the script. Ronald Gold, then director of the organization, welcomed it as "sensitive and tasteful".{{sfn|Parker, Jerry|1974|p=7}}

=== Filming ===
==== Opening scene ====
Filming took place between September and November 1974.{{sfn|AFI staff|2020}} The opening montage shows New York's traffic, bridges, beaches, and neighborhoods before moving to a view of the Manhattan skyline from a cemetery.{{sfn|Schoell, William|2016|p=45}} Lumet wanted to convey "a hot boring day, a [[Dog days|dog day]] afternoon".{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} The director shot the footage from a station wagon, and ended in front of the bank, showing the robbers.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} The footage was silent, as Lumet decided that he did not want a score for the film. The director felt that "he could not reconcile trying to convince an audience that this really happened&nbsp;... with putting a music score into it".{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} Editor [[Dede Allen]] played [[Elton John]]'s composition "[[Tumbleweed Connection|Amoreena]]" in the editing room. Lumet added the song to the film, which comes out of the getaway car's radio.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}}

==== The bank ====
Most of the film took place inside of the bank. Lumet discarded the idea of building a studio set; instead, the director found a street with a warehouse on the lower floor of a building that used to be an automotive workshop. The crew built a bank set with movable walls, which allowed Lumet to place the cameras as he desired, and to use [[Long-focus lens|long lenses]] to shoot from a distance. The warehouse's location also allowed Lumet to transition freely between the bank and the street, and he avoided changing film locations,{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2010|p=100}} and allowed the street to be visible from the inside of the bank.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} The scenes were shot on Prospect Park West, between 17th and 18th streets.{{sfn|Harris, Scott Jordan|2011|p=56}} The bus line that ran through the street was re-routed for filming, and the second storey of the building housed the production offices and catering.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}}

[[File:Al Pacino Penelope Allen in Dog Day Afternoon.jpg|thumb|Pacino and Allen, re-entering the bank on a scene|left|upright=1.13]]
To capture Pacino's movements in a natural fashion, and to allow the actor greater mobility, Lumet integrated the use of roller skates and wheelchairs for the cameramen in the panoramic shots. Lumet would order the camera operators to be pulled as Pacino acted to make the scene look "naturalistic", and "like it was shot by television cameramen, fighting their way through the crowd".{{sfn|Rapf, Joanna|2006|p=125}} He wanted the production to have the appearance of a newsreel.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} The film featured [[close-up]]s centered on Sonny and the situation in the bank.{{sfn|Cagle|Davis|2010|p=73}}

Two different cameras were used to cover the negotiations from Durning and Pacino's side.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Lumet and cinematographer [[Victor J. Kemper]] relied on [[Wide shot|long shots]] to depict the point of view of the police, and the robbers' "entrapment".{{sfn|Cagle|Davis|2010|p=73}} Lumet wanted to use the light available on the set to avoid additional luminescence. He fitted the bank with extra [[fluorescent lamp]]s to achieve desired exposure, and he used other fluorescent lamps of lower power as [[fill light]] in close-ups. The film required seven nights of filming. Lumet needed the neighbors' cooperation for the use of their [[fire escape]]s to hold additional lights. The production was challenged by the weather, as temperatures dropped.{{sfn|Geisinger|Saland|1975}} On the day of the heist in August 1972, the temperature reached {{Convert|87|F|C|abbr=}} when the robbers entered the bank.{{sfn|National Weather Service|1972}} The film was shot during the fall; to avoid having their breath be visible, the cast placed ice in their mouths to even out the temperature.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Lighting was provided for the scenes by [[emergency vehicle lighting|emergency vehicles]], that were specially fitted with four 7,500 watt lamps. The white brick [[façade]] of the building provided light reflection. An existing lamp post was utilized, and its lighting reinforced to keep the crowd visible. [[Emergency light]]s were used on set in scenes where the power was shut off by the police.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}}

Pacino shot the first scene wearing sunglasses, but he asked the director to re-shoot it after watching the [[dailies]], as he felt that Sonny "wanted to get caught".{{sfn|Edelstein, David|2018}} He also shaved off a moustache he grew for the role after the replay.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Lumet allowed the cast to [[Ad libitum|ad-lib]] lines with the condition that they did not deviate greatly from the script by Pierson.{{sfn|Erickson, Hal|2017|p=36}} The production team had recorded improvisations during the rehearsals that were added to the script.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} Lumet wanted the dialog to "feel natural",{{sfn|Malone, Aubrey|2019|p=96}} and he encouraged the actors to wear their own clothes and to not use makeup.{{sfn|Malone, Aubrey|2019|p=96}}

A crowd of three to four hundred extras was hired. Meanwhile, Lumet asked the neighbors to appear in the film by watching from their windows. The director offered to relocate to a hotel for those who did not want to be disturbed by the shooting. The crowd grew as filming progressed, and pedestrians joined the actors.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Lumet directed the crowd and "whipp[ed] them up to a frenzy". By the second week, he felt that the crowd could improvise on its own. To amplify the effect in the film, he utilized hand-held cameras.{{sfn|Malone, Aubrey|2019|p=93}} In regards to the project while it was filming, Lumet said "It's out of my hands. It's got a life of its own".{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=117}} In a scene on the street, before Pacino left the bank, assistant director Burtt Harris whispered to him to ask the crowd about Attica. Pacino then improvised the complete dialog with the crowd.{{sfn|Edelstein, David|2018}}

==== Phone conversations ====
Lumet decided to shoot the phone conversations Sonny had with his wife and Leon back-to-back. As Pacino acted the scene, he increased the intensity of the portrayal. While both conversations lasted a total of fourteen minutes, Lumet's camera could only shoot ten at a time, and he had to bring a second camera.{{sfn|Malone, Aubrey|2019|p=94}} For the scene, Lumet separated Pacino from the rest of the bank with a black velvet mask to isolate him. He left a hole for both cameras, and for himself to look in.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} Lumet wanted a second take. An exhausted Pacino accepted, and he kept the same intensity. At the end of the scene, Lumet and Pacino cried. The director later remembered it as "an amazing moment, as good a moment of directing as I've ever had in my life".{{sfn|Malone, Aubrey|2019|p=94}}

The call between Pacino and Sarandon was improvised.{{sfn|Yule, Andrew|1992|p=117}} Lumet felt that Sarandon "had great taste", and that the actor would not resort to "homosexual clichés".{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} He deemed the humor of his improvisation as "genuinely funny", and that it was not "laughing at a gay character".{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Sarandon felt that the conversation was welcomed by the audiences because it "wasn't about a drag queen and his boyfriend", and that it reflected two people that were "trying to come to grips with what is wrong in their relationship."{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} The film was characterized by its "light comic touch",{{sfn|Blake, Richard Aloysius|2005|p=68}} and according to critic [[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]], for its "ear and instinct for comedy".{{sfn|Thomson, David|2008|p=484}} In Pierson's script, Wortzik's question regarding which country Sal wanted to escape to did not have a scripted response, but Cazale improvised by answering "Wyoming".{{sfn|Schulman, Michael|2016|p=136}} Lumet had to cover his mouth, as he nearly interrupted the scene by laughing.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006b}}

==== Final scene ====
The start of the final scene at the bank was shot on a {{Convert|40|F|C|abbr=}} night with wind. Pacino was sprinkled with water to simulate sweat;{{sfn|Washington Post-LA Times News Services|1974|p=72}} Lumet mixed the artificial sweat himself, as he felt that the makeup crews often used it in excess, or that it was insufficient. The director used a mixture of glycerin and water that he learned to make during the shooting of ''[[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|12 Angry Men]]''. The mixture lasted longer and allowed him better continuity throughout the scenes.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}}

Harris directed the scene of the caravan that headed to Kennedy Airport from a helicopter. A plane and squad cars on the tarmac were used.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} Senator [[Jacob Javits]], an acquaintance of Lumet, facilitated the negotiations with the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]]. The production team was given one day to shoot in an area of the airport that was not a terminal.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} The international flights that headed to the main runway had to go around the shooting location. Lumet directed the scene at the airport from the ground. He chose to cut from the close-up after Sal was shot and a gun was held to Sonny's head, to a long shot; the view presented a panorama of the scene at the airport. Lumet centered on Pacino and ordered the crew to roll Cazale on a stretcher to be visible by the actor. Pacino used the image to improvise his reaction.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}}
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| style="text-align: left;" | [The wedding footage] was so extreme visually, that I thought, if we ever see that, we are not gonna be able to take the rest of the movie seriously. We're not gonna be able to take his reading of the will [...] seriously, we are never going to be able to take this character seriously. Because it gets so campy. And people get defensive about that sort of thing. [...] and that was the only real piece of footage I saw of that day.
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | — Sidney Lumet.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}}
|}

The shooting was completed three weeks ahead of schedule.{{sfn|AFI staff|2020}} After editing the film, Lumet and Allen felt that the slow-paced scene of Sonny 'dictating' his will/testament conflicted with the rest of the fast-moving sequences, so they decided to restore six to seven minutes of discarded footage to balance the tempo of the film.{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006a}} Lumet stated the scene of the last will was the reason for his decision to work on the film;{{sfn|Bouzereau|2006d}} he considered it "moving", but worried about the audience laughing at it.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} His worries were based on what he considered "the defensive attitude on sexual subjects": to avoid it, he focused on portraying emotional performances by the actors throughout the film.{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}} Lumet had access to the footage of Wojtowicz and Eden's ceremony, originally broadcast by [[WNYW|Channel 5]] at the time of the robbery, which featured Wojtowicz in his army uniform presenting a wedding ring with a [[Flash (photography)#Flashcubes, Magicubes and Flipflash|flash cube]] to Eden, who wore a wedding dress. Wojtowicz's mother and eight male bridesmaids were present. Lumet planned to use it in the film; the scene would have featured the footage broadcast on a television in the bank, but he decided not to include it, as he felt it would be "unrecoverable" and that the audiences would not "take the rest of the movie seriously".{{sfn|Lumet, Sidney|2005}}