The Dog
The Dog
| 07 September 2013 (USA)
The Dog Trailers

In 1972, John Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Brooklyn bank to pay for his lover’s sex-change operation. The story was the basis for the film Dog Day Afternoon. The Dog captures John, who shares his story for the first time in his own unique, offensive, hilarious and heartbreaking way. We gain a historic perspective on New York's gay liberation movement, in which Wojtowicz played an active role. In later footage, he remains a subversive force, backed by the unconditional love of his mother Terry, whose wit and charm infuse the film. How and why the bank robbery took place is recounted in gripping detail by Wojtowicz and various eyewitnesses.

Reviews
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
jake_fantom The subject of this documentary, which purports to describe the actual events behind the Al Pacino film, Dog Day Afternoon, is himself such a colossally self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, clueless idiot, that he manages to make the fantastic story of the world's most bizarre bank robbery... incredibly boring. John Wojtowicz, who robbed a New York City bank in 1975 to pay for a sex change operation for his boyfriend, takes up 90% of the screen time in this tedious and self-serving retelling of his botched robbery, in which one of his cohorts was killed. Utterly remorseless, Wojtowicz is hard to look at, and harder to listen to. However, the newsreel scenes of a vanished New York, and the recollections of some of the New York characters who entered Wojtowicz's orbit in the course of the robbery, make this otherwise dismal and dishonest documentary worth watching. If you have not yet seen Dog Day Afternoon, I suggest you see that first. I suspect the fictionalized account in that film is a truer version than what you will hear from John Wojtowicz.
Sara Guaglione Some people will do anything to get attention. John Wojtowicz - whose "dramatic love story" inspired "Dog Day Afternoon" starring Al Pacino - blurs the line between a man who would do anything for love and a man who would do anything for a great story to impress people with."The Dog" documents the love life of the late John Wojtowicz (March 9, 1945 - January 2, 2006), a man who is not afraid to say what he thinks - and what he feels. He describes his first gay experience in great detail (while he was a self-proclaimed Republican in the army), and has no shame in revealing his deep sexual hunger - for men, for women, for trans people. It made little difference.Read my full review here: http://tinyurl.com/orrbgdk
wilson trivino I had never heard about John Wojtowicz but thanks to the movie The Dog, I know all about this icon. The documentary has several overlapping themes: the early days of the gay movement, how John became an icon of a robin hood of sorts, and how he was a man full of love. John was his own man and even the bank robbery he was involved in did not define him. A 1975 Oscar winning movie was based on his legendary bank robber staring Al Pacino called Dog Day in Afternoon. He was a convicted bank robber but his reason was noble. He was for robbing the bank in order to raise the money needed to fund his lover's sex change operation. John admits in the movie that he is over sexed, but his commentary captures a period where free love and Vietnam War clashed. America was in an identity crisis between the conservative g-men outlook and the free love and eventual disco 70s. It is honorable that John put the interest of his love Ernest Aron (later known as Elizabeth Debbie Eden) ahead of himself and just wanted her to be happy. John risk his life and even though it turned out to be a failed robbery, eventually the notoriety helped fund the operation. John, known as "the Dog", comes across sincere and as a noble character who always tried to do the right thing and how his big heart got in the way. In the end, the Dog makes no apologies for being who he is and he sums it best in his final thoughts, "Live everyday as if it's your last and whoever doesn't like it can go fcuk themselves and a rubber duck." Don't miss a chance to get the story behind the man that inspired Al Pacino's legendary role in the Oscar Nominated Dog Day Afternoon. The Dog is Directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren and set to be release in NY and LA on August 8, 2014.
Andrew D. Myers Saw this film at the New York Film Festival. Wasn't totally sure what to expect. I had never seen "Dog Day Afternoon" but loved "The French Connection" and films set in the "grittier" New York of the 70s and 80s.As a recent New York transplant I've become increasingly fascinated with the city and it's not so distant past.Anyway that's the background. First off I'll say that "The Dog" really took me by surprise. What a great look inside the life of a really fascinating character. Hilarious, vulgar but unapologetic the film fully captures a very very complicated and contradictory character. Not really knowing the background of "The Dog" I was surprised at how much the film is also about gay life and the gay "revolution" that was taking place in NYC at the time. Presented without politics or nostalgia the film really reminded me that before the recent strides gays and lesbians have made - the path towards acceptance and equal rights was paved by some really wacky - and not entirely savory - misfits, outcasts and maniacs!!After watching "The Dog" I went out and rented "Dog Day Afternoon"...really fantastic film. Having seen that film I can say that "The Dog" is a must see for fans of "Dog Day Afternoon" and lovers of NYC!