Movie Review: "The Panic In Needle Park"

The Panic in Needle Park (1971)

Starring Al Pacino, Kitty Winn

Director:  Jerry Schatzburg

Writer:  Joan Didion

110 Minutes, USA

The Panic in Needle Park (1971) is now available on DVD.  I strongly suggest you rent it or put it in your queue; it is a classic of 1970s cinema verité.

Pacino and Winn play lovers Bobby and Helen, who live on the Upper West Side of New York.  This isn’t the Upper West Side we know, with yuppies pushing Maclaren strollers in and out of trendy eateries.  No, this is hippies, heroin freaks, welfare moms, hookers, and flophouses located in and around Sherman Square, which was known in the early 70’s as Needle Park.

Bobby and Helen and their friends hang out, paint, gab, and eat.  They also shoot up, steal, and hook in order to fund their habit.  The film is as gritty as they come and it’s compulsively watchable.  Winn, who disappeared from film after the mid-seventies, won top acting honors at Cannes for her role as Helen.  Pacino does his usual fine work as Bobby.  It’s also a pleasure to see the late Raul Julia show up in a supporting role.

The film has a documentary-like quality and although it is hard to believe that some of the scenes are real it is never downbeat.  The 70’s clothing is also quite amusing.