An appreciation: Dog Day Afternoon

It’s not a message picture about how these people are wronged. It’s not a polemic about how they are wrong or broken. It’s just a story.

Go back to “Dog Day Afternoon.” Sidney Lumet at the height of his realism. After “12 Angry Men” and “The Pawn Broker.” Before “The Verdict” and “Running on Empty.” Al Pacino when he still knew how to modulate and hit a note other than wild-eyed barking. A perfect opening sequence with New York at the peak of its filthy, bankrupt moment— Elton John over …