The Panic in Needle Park1971
The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
The Panic in Needle Park Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Bobby
as Helen
as Hotchner
as Hank
as Chico
as Sonny
as Sammy
as Marcie
as Marco
as Irene
as Mickey
as Whitey
as Penny
as Robins
as DiBono
as Samuels
as Freddy
as Santo
as Prep Schoolboy
as Pawnshop Lady
as Doctor
as Ward Nurse
as Admitting Nurse
as Hotel Clerk
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Critic Reviews for The Panic in Needle Park
All Critics (15) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
Schatzberg doesn't romanticize addicts' troubles; with a tender but unsparing eye, he spins visual variations on shambling degradation and transient relief.
The Panic in the Needle Park rolls up the drug culture's sleeve and picks at the scabs underneath.
A gruelling but highly responsible film about the influence of heroin on a New York street romance.
It is not filled with quick cutting or gimmicky editing, but Jerry Schatzberg's direction is so confident that we cover the ground effortlessly.
Though Winn and Pacino give buoyant performances, I think the film often nearly falls into afterschool special territory.
Despite its moderate concessions to a tidier commercial narrative line than the book afforded, The Panic in Needle Park remains pretty uncompromising.
Audience Reviews for The Panic in Needle Park
A stark drug addiction tale, dignified child of the early seventies, when explorations of social, economical and political taboos were brutally honest. Back then newcomers, Al Pacino and Kitty Winn pour their souls as a couple of heroin addicts struggling to survive their habit. aesthetically the statement is as grim as life itself: hope is brief, there's no music, nor full closure, it goes on and on, and gets harder each time.
Super Reviewer
I loved this movie from start to finish. I could have watched it for hours. I loved the style that Schatzberg uses and it is one of the more realistic drug films I have seen. Al Pacino is phenomenal and it was cool to see a very young Raul Julia and Paul Sorvino. A depressing gem with an amazing ending.
Super Reviewer
There isn't much going on in this movie it seems, or maybe it's just me? Sure there's a love story, and it has it's ups and downs like all love stories, and yes it's interesting to see what life was like for these people in needle park, but there isn't an end to the movie, and I didn't like that.
Super Reviewer
The Panic in Needle Park Quotes
| Bobby: | I don't want you coming down when I'm up. |
| Helen: | I think I'm gonna go home, I think. |
| Bobby: | Oh yeah, where's home? |
| Helen: | Ft. Wayne... |
| Helen: | Ft. Wayne. |
| Bobby: | Illinois?? Hey, I did time there! |
| Bobby: | Illinois? Hey, I did time there! |
| Helen: | *laughs* No, Indiana... |