Al Pacino has been thinking about time and memory. He spoke by phone from Los Angeles about Dog Day Afternoon. The film marks its 50th anniversary this week. Pacino is 85 and is now filming King Lear. He said watching the film again made him feel the loss of many friends.
He rewatched his younger self on a big screen. He found that the movie hit him hard. “It’s like a dream,” he said. “You’re dreaming and then you wake up and they’re not there.” He spoke with a calm and quiet tone. He told the story of the film and of his own path into the role.
In Dog Day Afternoon Pacino plays Sonny Wortzik. Sonny and his partner try to rob a bank in Brooklyn. The robbery turns into a chaotic scene. The script was based on a true case. The film also showed the early presence of transgender life in a mainstream film. Sidney Lumet directed. The screenplay won an award.
Pacino had mixed feelings about taking the part. He had just played Michael Corleone. He feared similar strain. He first turned the role down. His manager urged him to read the script again. Pacino changed his mind. He then went back to work with Lumet, whom he trusted.
Lumet gave the cast three weeks of rehearsal. That was unusual. Pacino says he still felt lost at first. He drank a lot of white wine one night to find a way in. He worked through doubt and found Sonny inside himself. He says the shift felt real. It helped him shape the part.
One famous moment came by chance. The assistant director told Pacino to shout “Attica.” Pacino did. The crowd in the scene erupted. He says the word acted like a fuse. It made the scene live. He calls it a moment when the film took on its own life.
Another key scene, the long phone talk with Chris Sarandon, was built from improvised takes. Lumet then cut them together. Pacino recalls Lumet telling them the film had its own life now. He admired Lumet’s skill. He calls Lumet the best director he worked with.
Pacino also met great artists on set. He remembers being stunned to meet Federico Fellini. Fellini once told him he was “too good-looking for this role.” Pacino laughed at the memory. He liked Fellini’s eye for actors.
A stage version of the film is now set for Broadway. Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will star. Pacino wished them well. He said the film still lives because Lumet found its heart. He added that the film plays more today than it did then.
Pacino watches a lot of new work too. He likes TV and YouTube. He said he loved a recent show on Netflix. He joked that he often sees false reports online. “I saw the other day that I died again,” he said with a laugh.
He keeps off politics in public. He says he was never known to speak much on that front. He praised his old friend Robert De Niro. He said they go back a long way.
Pacino released a memoir last year. He reflected on his long life and work. He spoke with a gentle sadness about aging. He wondered about memory and what will remain when people are gone. He said memories are vital.
At 50 years, Dog Day Afternoon still speaks to the present. Pacino sees its scenes as human and true. He said the film reaches across time. It keeps a record of a moment and of those who made it. For him, that is a form of life that stays when others do not.
