Sidney Lumet's 1975 drama Dog Day Afternoon landed Al Pacino an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of John Wojtowicz, whose inept 1972 attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank to pay for his lover's sex-change operation turned into a widely-publicized standoff with police in the street. In the hands of Lumet and Pacino, Wojtowicz was certainly a very volatile guy, but as Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren's documentary The Dog shows, the real article was even wilder. Through interviews conducted with Wojtowicz himself over four years—supplemented with reams of archival material—the filmmakers construct a biography of a man who's not exactly admirable but is definitely fascinating. After covering his childhood (including footage of his engagingly frank mother, Terry), stint in Vietnam, first marriage (heterosexual, as wife Carmen testifies), and early conservative leanings as a Goldwater Republican, the story turns to Wojtowicz's coming out, role in the early Gay Pride movement, and relationship and surreptitious early same-sex wedding with Ernest Aron, who would eventually become Liz Eden (Eden discusses Wojtowicz in archival footage). Wojtowicz happily talks here about the robbery and the divergences from the truth in Lumet's film, while also leading Berg and Keraudren on trips to important locations in his life. Physically weak but still combative in his final interviews in 2006 after being diagnosed with cancer, Wojtowicz comes across as a compelling but poignant figure who was intent to the very end on controlling his own legend. Recommended. (F. Swietek)
The Dog
Cinedigm, 100 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.95 Volume 30, Issue 1
The Dog
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