DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)

Director Sidney Lumet hit his peak with his NYC trio in the mid-70s (DDA, SERPICO, NETWORK) and spent the next three decades waiting for lightning to strike again. The title of his 1988 flop, RUNNING ON EMPTY, said it all too well. I wonder if people remember just how much goofy fun this screwed up, real life bank robbery/hostage drama is? And what a cast! A youthful Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon (a standout as the gay "wife") and a host of NYC character actors. Only Judith Malina as Pacino’s mom plays like she’s still auditioning for the part. And with FBI man James Broderick looking so like George W. Bush, the film has acquired a whole new creepy subtext.