Script To Screen: “Dog Day Afternoon”
Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon, screenplay by Frank Pierson.
Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon, screenplay by Frank Pierson.
Setup: Sonny Wortzik robs a bank to pay for his lover’s sex change operation. It turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.
ANGLES - SHOWING CROWDSstraining against police lines: this is where we begin to
sense the size of the event. People are eating popsicles
and ice cream. They are diverted and excited. Sonny and
Sylvia begin to emerge: CATCALLS and HOOTS of greeting...CLOSER - SONNY AND SYLVIAas he looks around, and the impact of his situation really
hits him: he's not only totally surrounded, he's an event.
Some of the crowd CHEER him. An army of Cops, and guns all
levelled on Sonny. MORETTI
Let Sal come out, take a look. What
hope you got? Quit while you're
ahead. All you got is attempted
robbery. SONNY
...armed robbery... MORETTI
Well, armed, then. Nobody's been
hurt. Release the hostages, nobody
is gonna worry over kidnapping
charges, the worst you're gonna get
is five years -- you can be out in a
year.Sonny stares at him, his face utterly blank. SONNY
Kiss me.Moretti stops, stares back. MORETTI
What? SONNY
(deadpan)
When I'm bein' fucked, I like to be
kissed a lot.
(bursting out)
Who the fuck are you tryin' to con
me into some deal? You're a city
cop, where's the FBI? This is a
federal offense, I got kidnapping,
armed robbery, they're gonna bury
me! You know it, you can't talk for
them, you're some flunky pig tryin'
to bullshit me. Now God damn it,
get somebody in charge here to talk
to me! MORETTI
Calm down, you're not... SONNY
Calm down... look at this, look at
him...!Gestures at the cops, the wall of rifles and machine guns
levelled on him. It is incredible and terrifying... SONNY
They wanna kill me so bad they can
taste it!He takes a defiant step into the street. The crowd SCREAMS
as they get their first view, which is of Sonny telling the
Cops off. They don't need to hear the words, they can see
it. SONNY
(screaming)
Attica! Attica! Go ahead! Blow
off the front of the whole God damn
bank!He holds his hands wide offering himself as a target to the
hulking officer. SONNY
(to the TV)
If it wasn't for you guys they'd
kill everybody and say it was me and
Sal.
(to Moretti)
You tell 'em to put the guns down.
I can't stand it.He means it. Moretti gestures to the officers to back away,
lower the guns. The crowd YELLS: Sonny has beat the Cops.He is momentarily their hero.It's a breaking point. Moretti makes a decision. MORETTI
(Cop language command
to put gun away)
All right - put the guns down!He has to YELL it twice before the Cop slowly, angrily, stuffs
the gun into his holster.SOUND: The crowd screams.ON SONNYhearing the Crowd APPLAUSE. He turns and grins and waves to
them. They SCREAM more. He turns and waves to the media.
They've been YELLING. MEDIA
Hey, over here! Give us a wave!It is at this point that newsman leans out a window of the
second floor of the bank, quickly lowering a mike boom.Sylvia sees this above her head.ON MORETTIunhappy, looking around at Sheldon, who shrugs. He did what
he had to do.ON SONNYSuddenly realizing what control he has, enjoying it. He
turns mockingly his left and his right profile to cameras.
Here is the scene in the movie:
Interesting to note the psychological language in the script which comments on the mood of the moment:
They don't need to hear the words, they can see it.He means it.He is momentarily their hero.He did what he had to do.Suddenly realizing what control he has, enjoying it.
Here again, an actual movie script which contains ‘unfilmables’, further proof that supposed screenwriting ‘rule’ is bull shit. As screenwriters, we can comment on the action, dipping into a character’s psychological state of being and the atmosphere of a moment, as long we’re judicious in our use of this narrative tool.
Overall there are some cosmetic changes from script to screen, however, the chaotic energy and the overall structure of the scene is right there on the page, a testament to Frank Pierson’s skill as a screenwriter.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.