A Gritty Al Pacino Crime Thriller Is One Of Meryl Streep's Favorite Movies

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It's astonishing to think that acting legends Meryl Streep and Al Pacino didn't appear on screen together until "Angels in America," the record-breaking 2003 miniseries based on the plays by Tony Kushner. In that miniseries, Pacino played lawyer, Reagan acolyte, and closeted gay man Roy Cohn (based on the real-life person), while Streep played multiple roles, including an angel and the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. The ghost haunts Roy Cohn as he begins to shuffle off his mortal coil. 

Pacino once admitted that when he first met Streep, he wasn't too struck by her. He said that she was shy and not too talkative. He assumed she didn't like him. They had a mutual friend in John Cazale, who was dating Streep at the time. All three of them are among the most important and talented actors of their generation, and their respective filmographies include some of the best movies of all time. I needn't remind you that Streep and Pacino have piles of Academy Award nominations between them, while Streep has three Oscars, and Pacino has one. 

Naturally, the two of them admire each other's talent. They both discussed each other's careers in a mutual interview conducted by EW back in 2003. Pacino admitted that he had recently seen Streep's performance in Fred Schepisi's 1988 drama "A Cry in the Dark" (released as "Evil Angels" in its native Australia). He also said that he watched her Best Picture-winning movie "Out of Africa" "all the time." Streep, meanwhile, admitted that Pacino actually starred in one of her favorite movies: Because she is a woman of impeccable taste, she said that she always loved Sidney Lumet's 1975 heist thriller "Dog Day Afternoon."

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It's likely that you've seen "Dog Day Afternoon," but for those who haven't, it follows a man named Sonny Wortzik, based on the real-life John Wojtowicz, who robs a bank in Brooklyn one mild morning in 1972. The heist goes poorly, however, as Sonny and his co-conspirators accidentally arrived after the bank's cash pickup had already been made. They also accidentally attract the attention of the police, and have no recourse but to take the bank employees hostage. Sonny had never committed a serious felony before. It's eventually revealed that Sonny was only seeking money to afford gender-affirming surgery for his transgender partner (Chris Sarandon). A lot of their dialogue was improvised.

When speaking next to Al Pacino, Meryl Streep confessed that she hadn't actually seen all of Pacino's movies. Pacino was taken aback (whether jokingly or not is unconfirmed). But she was unguarded after that confession and admitted to a particular fondness for "Dog Day Afternoon." Her exact quote was: 

"The one where you couldn't go to sleep? 'Insomnia'? I just thought, 'How can this man surprise me again and again?' But 'Dog Day Afternoon' is one of my favorite movies in the world." 

Pacino immediately commented that he had also seen Streep's movies multiple times. It's actually hard not to be a fan of Streep or Pacino, so it makes sense that they are each other's fans as well. "Angels in America" also starred Patrick Wilson, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeffrey Wright, Emma Thompson, and James Cromwell. It's currently available to stream on HBO Max.