When it comes to the all-time craziest and most unbelievable true stories ever committed to celluloid, Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon (starring Al Pacino and the late, great John Cazale) tops the list. Ripped right from the headlines, the stranger-than-fiction true-crime story about three men attempting to rob a bank during broad daylight in the dead of summer in New York – only to become a grueling 14-hour hostage situation and high-profile media circus – will forever live in infamy due to how incredibly outlandish the details are. While the names of the primary players have been changed for the big-screen adaption, and while many fascinating tidbits about the case were slightly altered or omitted from the final film, the overwhelming majority of what transpires in Dog Day Afternoon really happened on one sweltering summer day in August 1972. Come closer y’all, it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff and find out What The F*ck Really Happened to Dog Day Afternoon!
This episode of WTF Really Happened to this Movie is written by Jake Dee, narrated by Steve Seigh, edited by Paul Cooper, and produced by Taylor James Johnson. Have you seen Dog Day Afternoon? How does it stack up against the true story? Let us know in the comments below!