I've never found movies from the 70s particularly appealing...all that machismo and political intrigue. But I absolutely loved Dog Day Afternoon. Back in 1975 this was shocking, thought-provoking and intense but today is pretty much exactly what we see at least once a week on the evening news. Part of the appeal of Dog Day Afternoon is that nostalgia or charming innocence of a time when things weren't quite so complicated.

And of course this was all based on a true story...a man robs a bank to finance his lover's sex change operation but it goes wrong and turns into a stand-off with police, complete with hostages and the man's unsuspecting family...and the cameras filming everything for live TV. That Al Pacino, a young tour de force actor at the time, would take on the role of Sonny is quite remarkable considering the role and the time period and that he'd been making his mark in such films as Serpico and the first two Godfathers.

It's dramatic, compelling and intense, with an incredible lead performance from Pacino as well as John Cazale and Charles Durning.