2025 Ebert Fellows Review ‘Dog Day Afternoon’
2025 Roger Ebert Fellows discuss the move Dog Day Afternoon in the WILL studios. (Left to Right Diamond Steward-Hutton, Aaron Anastos and Kennedy Caldwell) Michael Phillips - Chicago Tribune
A streetwise gem of 1970s studio filmmaking, director Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" handed newly minted superstar Al Pacino one of his greatest roles: Brooklyn bank robber Sonny, based on a real person and an improbable true-crime story, about a desperate man with a complicated home life and a hostage situation that turns into a media circus.
At 7 p.m. Thursday February 27, the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies presents a special 50th anniversary screening of "Dog Day Afternoon" at the Spurlock Museum Knight Auditorium , 600 S. Gregory, Urbana. Admission is free.
The 2024-25 U of I College of Media Roger Ebert Fellows met with fellowship advisor and Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips to preview "Dog Day Afternoon." Despite its modest scope and un-blockbuster vibe, it became a huge commercial success even as "Jaws" continued to fill the nation's movie theaters.
Thanks to Steve Morck, Digital Media Senior Producer at Illinois Public Media.