The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
In the early 1970s, I suppose it was “cool” to make movies about taboo subjects and to film them with realism unconstrained by the restrictive Hays Code that had recently left Hollywood alone. The Panic in Needle Park is about a bunch of drug-addicted New Yorkers, and it’s fairly gritty and realistic.
A relatively newcomer to the screen Al Pacino stars in the lead, alongside Kitty Winn. While he starts off in the movie as a, for lack of a better word, scumbag, Kitty is merely clueless and believes she can’t and doesn’t deserve to get out of her bad surroundings. Kitty makes the same fatal mistake many young women make: she trusts the kind, gentle first impression of a good-looking guy. This story will hit home for lots of women, since they know what it’s like to defend someone’s despicable behavior because they remember he was nice in the beginning. It doesn’t matter what Al does, Kitty stands by him. She gets addicted to drugs, prostitutes herself, steals, deals, and all because a bad man steers her wrong. Why does she let him steer her wrong? Because he’s Al Pacino, and he has expressive eyes, and he ties a bandana around his head, and he’s tender in a rough world. Needless to say, The Panic in Needle Park is a woman’s movie.
This movie is extremely heavy, but if you can handle it—or more importantly, if you want to, since the footage of drug use is quite extensive—it is very well done. The performances are realistic, and the 1970s camerawork makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on these people’s lives as they hustle their way through the filthy streets of New York City.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sexual content and graphic drug use, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Al Pacino movies here!
A relatively newcomer to the screen Al Pacino stars in the lead, alongside Kitty Winn. While he starts off in the movie as a, for lack of a better word, scumbag, Kitty is merely clueless and believes she can’t and doesn’t deserve to get out of her bad surroundings. Kitty makes the same fatal mistake many young women make: she trusts the kind, gentle first impression of a good-looking guy. This story will hit home for lots of women, since they know what it’s like to defend someone’s despicable behavior because they remember he was nice in the beginning. It doesn’t matter what Al does, Kitty stands by him. She gets addicted to drugs, prostitutes herself, steals, deals, and all because a bad man steers her wrong. Why does she let him steer her wrong? Because he’s Al Pacino, and he has expressive eyes, and he ties a bandana around his head, and he’s tender in a rough world. Needless to say, The Panic in Needle Park is a woman’s movie.
This movie is extremely heavy, but if you can handle it—or more importantly, if you want to, since the footage of drug use is quite extensive—it is very well done. The performances are realistic, and the 1970s camerawork makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on these people’s lives as they hustle their way through the filthy streets of New York City.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sexual content and graphic drug use, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Al Pacino movies here!