Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Frank Pierson. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, and Charles Durning. Based on the events of an attempted bank robbery in 1972, Dog Day Afternoon tells the story of Sonny Wortzik, who holds employees of a bank hostage with his partner Salvatore Naturile in Brooklyn, New York. The film was inspired by the article The Boys in the Bank, which tells a similar story of the robbery of a Brooklyn bank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile; this article was first published in Life in 1972. The film received generally positive reviews, some of which referred to its anti-establishment tones. Although it was nominated for major awards, Dog Day Afternoon won just a sole Academy Award and failed to win a Golden Globe. Pacino's memorable "ATTICA!" line from the film, referencing the Attica Prison riots, has become widely quoted, and was #86 on American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes" list.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1792: French Revolution: The National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy, and the First Republic was proclaimed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Convention)

1823: According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the angel Moroni appeared to him and revealed the location of the hidden Golden Plates, which contained the ancient sacred texts of the Book of Mormon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroni_%28Mormonism%29)

1898: The Hundred Days' Reform in China was abruptly terminated when Empress Dowager Cixi forced the reform-minded Guangxu Emperor into seclusion and took over the government as regent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days%27_Reform)

1937: J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, a predecessor to The Lord of the Rings, was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit)

1942: The prototype model of the B-29 Superfortress flew for the first time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-29_Superfortress)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free. -- Leonard Cohen (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen)