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Lumet's finest 1970s film sees Al Pacino and John Cazale as inept criminals trying to stage a Brooklyn bank robbery on the hottest day of the year. Botching the job, they find themselves in the midst of a media circus when the building is surrounded by police and decide to take the people in the bank hostage. Viewers watching the robbery live on TV elevate Pacino's Sonny to rebel hero status and he plays to the various pressure groups who have gathered outside. Pacino is at his screaming, hysterical best; Cazale is touching and tragicomic.

Classic 70s cinema with Pacino at his awesome best...
- Another Al Pacino/Sidney Lumet 70s classic and a film that has gathered a thoroughly deserved huge cult rep... more >

Classic 70s cinema with Pacino at his awesome best...
- Another Al Pacino/Sidney Lumet 70s classic and a film that has gathered a thoroughly deserved huge cult reputation. Al and his motley gang (including the late, great John Cazale) rob a bank in broad daylight during a hot mid-summer New York day. WHY? To finance his lover's sex change operation of course, a good enough reason for a plot device if I ever heard one. Guess what though - it's actually all true and based on real events. Stunning 70s cinema and (just as Serpico is) a reminder of Pacino's true greatness as an actor. < less

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