Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Elton John: Amoreena [1970]


“The most touching element in Dog Day Afternoon is Sonny’s inability to handle all of the responsibilities he has assumed. Though he is half-crazed by his situation, he is trying to do the right thing by everybody—his wife and children, the suicidal Leon, the hostages in the bank. In the sequence in which Sonny dictates his will, we can see that inside this ludicrous bungling robber there’s a complicatedly unhappy man, operating out of a sense of noblesse oblige....This picture is one of the most satisfying of all the movies starring New York City because the director, Sidney Lumet, and the screenwriter, Frank Pierson...let us move into the dark, confused areas of Sonny’s frustrations and don’t explain everything to us. They trust us to feel without being told how to feel.”
-- Pauline Kael, in When the Lights Go Down

This song from Tumbleweed Connection plays during the opening montage of New York City scenes in Dog Day Afternoon (1976) which, for my money, is one of the more memorable movie beginnings. If you haven’t seen it, rent it. Early Elton John’s not bad either. Nor, for that matter, is Pauline Kael's writing on movies of the 70s.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Amoreena, you must a-seen her, dancin' in the sand."

I love this song.

Sheridan Dupre said...

Young Master Littlefield! It has been too long!

Anonymous said...

yes - a great opening sequence. somehow the melody helps capture the Mayor Lindsay, stag-flation, Lefrak City era. i could be wrong but i don't think there's any other music on the soundtrack for the rest of the film.

Sheridan Dupre said...

You are correct sir! That is indeed the only music in the movie.

Anonymous said...

Stagflation? An economist among our readers? You nerd.

Anonymous said...

just trying to class things up a bit.

Anonymous said...

I think it's excellent Benno. I miss GuardTheGuardians.

Emmett said...

For the record, "If I Lose My Job" by the Fantastic Four is also about stagflation.

Anonymous said...

I am going to start a new blog called musicaboutstagflation.blogspot.com. It will be our first spin-off blog, examining music inspired by oil crisisses and high-inflation.

Anonymous said...

Well, I am of the school of thought that ALL music is inspired by stagflation.