‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975) is on my short–very short–list of movies I can watch at any time. The credit sequence, setting up a hot New York city summer, is masterfully realized and uses very simple footage, much of which I’m guessing was culled from stock. The flavor of the various boroughs is perfectly captured and the whole thing is set to a song that is both perfect and makes no sense whatsoever; Elton John’s ‘Amoreena’. Aside from having been recorded in the same decade as the movie was made, there is nothing about the song, its meaning, its locale or genre that has anything to do with the visuals. Yet somehow the song and the images are a perfect fit. Who was inspired to use this utterly inappropriate song for this sequence? My guess is that it was not Sidney Lumet’s idea. I base this opinion on the fact that many of Lumet’s musical choices were deeply misguided–the dreadful opening song for the otherwise excellent “Q & A” (I believe its called ‘Don’t Double Cross Your Friends’), the unfortunate hiring of Cy Coleman for several of his ‘lighter’ movies…oh hell, the whole decision to make ‘The Wiz’ in the first place. On second thought, perhaps the use of ‘Amoreena’ was a misguided decision of Lumet’s that actually made a brilliant sort of sense. Anyway, enjoy being in New York in the heart of the 1970s…and if you’ve never seen the full movie, one of life’s great treats awaits…