When does the screening take place?

The screening starts on Thursday, December 17, 2026, at 8:00 PM.

Where will Dog Day Afternoon be shown?

The film screening will take place at Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf at Birkenstraße 47, 40233 Düsseldorf.

How much does a ticket cost?

The regular admission price for the Filmwerkstatt cinema is 8 euros.

How long is the film?

Dog Day Afternoon has a runtime of 119 minutes.

What is the age rating?

The film is rated 12 years and older in Germany.

Is the Filmwerkstatt accessible?

The Filmwerkstatt is currently not accessible according to the available provider information.

Experience Dog Day Afternoon Live: New Hollywood Cinema Between Tension, Identity, and Society

Name: Sidney Lumet: Dog Day Afternoon
Start: 2026-12-17T20:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-12-17T22:00:00+01:00
Location: Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf

Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon: A Bank Robbery Becomes a Mirror of Society

On a scorching hot summer day in Brooklyn, a bank robbery quickly escalates into a tense standoff. Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon transforms the criminal case into an intense cinematic experience about public perception, identity, and the fragile boundary between perpetrator and victim. On December 17, 2026, the critically acclaimed classic will be shown at the Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf.

When the Plan Goes Awry

Three men enter a bank just before closing time. What begins as a meticulously planned heist disintegrates under the pressure of unpredictable events. Hostages, police, media, and onlookers converge into an explosive social stage, where every glance alters the situation.

The drama follows less of a classic cat-and-mouse game and more a constant shift of power and perception. Demands change, hopes shatter, and from the confined space of the bank, a societal echo resonates outward.

Sidney Lumet's Precise Direction

Sidney Lumet directs the material with observational accuracy and almost documentary immediacy. His directing avoids simple moral judgments and focuses on the psychological tensions behind the crime. The camera captures faces, bodies, and reactions until the bank becomes a focal point of collective projections.

The screenplay by Frank Pierson emphasizes the social and psychological dimensions of the events. The film is loosely based on a real bank robbery from 1972 and was created during a period when New Hollywood was breaking conventions of the American studio system.

Al Pacino and the Art of Ambivalence

At the center is Al Pacino as Sonny, whose public persona constantly shifts. In his performance, nervousness, charisma, despair, and overwhelm are closely intertwined. John Cazale, Charles Durning, and Chris Sarandon complement the ensemble with poignant characters that further intensify the film's moral ambiguity.

This very ambivalence makes the cinematic experience so enduring: the audience observes not only a botched heist but the emergence of a media event. The outside world reacts, evaluates, and consumes the drama, while those involved increasingly lose control.

A Classic of New Hollywood

Dog Day Afternoon connects formal precision with social analysis. The film questions public perception, identity, and the power of images. Frank Pierson's screenplay won an Oscar and avoids clear assignments of guilt and innocence.

The Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf creates a concentrated atmosphere for this. In the unique theater environment of the small cinema space, film-historical context, intense acoustics, and immediate audience reaction come together. Thus, the classic unfolds its tension not as a nostalgic museum piece but as a vibrant present experience.

Conclusion: A Cinematic Experience Full of Tension and Humanity

Visitors can expect a gripping crime drama, a psychologically precise staging, and a lead actor whose character oscillates between public icon and desperate human. Dog Day Afternoon invites you to rediscover a milestone of New Hollywood on the big screen and to let the film's societal questions resonate together in the cinema hall.