Script To Screen: “Dog Day Afternoon”

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.

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 Go Into The Story series where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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For more articles in the Script to Screen series, go here.