The Al Pacino Collection: Panic in Needle Park

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A couple loves heroin as much as they love each other in Jerry Schatzberg's grim drug drama. After an illegal abortion at the behest of her faithless lover (Raul Julia), lost innocent Helen (Kitty Winn) finds solace with small-time crook Bobby (Al Pacino), a regular in Manhattan's "Needle Park." As Bobby shows her around his Upper West Side world, the two become inseparable. When Helen realizes that Bobby is a full-blown junkie, she joins him in addiction, and their downward spiral begins in earnest. Weathering overdoses, prostitution, betrayals, and a "panic" after a major bust, the pair manages to stick together, the habit sealing their fate. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)

AWARDS

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Actress - 1971 (Kitty Winn)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Al Pacino - Bobby
       Kitty Winn - Helen
       Alan Vint - Hotchner
       Richard Bright - Hank
       Kiel Martin - Chico
       Michael McClanathan - Sonny
       Florence Tarlow - Ward Nurse
       Bryant Fraser - Prep Schoolboy
       Gil Rogers - Robins
       Nancy MacKay - Penny
       Anthony Palmer - Hotel Clerk
       Warren Finnerty - Sammy
       Marcia Jean Kurtz - Marcie
       Paul Sorvino - Samuels
       Larry Marshall - Mickey
       Angie Ortega - Irene
       Dora Weissman - Pawnshop Lady
       Raul Julia - Marco
       Joe Santos - DiBono
       Paul Mace - Whitey
       Arnold Williams - Freddy
       Sully Boyar - Doctor

• Director:

  Jerry Schatzberg

• Producer:

  Dominick Dunne

• Screenwriter:

  Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne

• Book Author:

  James Mills

• Cinematographer:

  Adam Holender

• Editor:

  Evan Lottman

• Art Director:

  Murray P. Stern

• Associate Producer:

  Roger M. Rothstein

• Set Designer:

  Phil Smith

• Costume Designer:

  Jo Ynocencio

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Richard Vorisek

• Makeup:

  Herman Buchman

• First Assistant Director:

  Robert Greenhut

• Casting:

  Marion Dougherty

REVIEW:

• One of a cycle of drug addiction films from the early 1970s, including Born to Win and Dusty and Sweets McGee (both 1971), Panic in Needle Park reveals the dark underside of the late '60s drug culture. Rather than explain why Helen and Bobby turn to drugs, the film focuses on relationships ravaged by heroin; the ending may be abrupt but it's clear where they are headed. Panic was shot on location in New York City, with a script by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne based upon James Mills' reportage about Needle Park, and its atmospheric authenticity extends to excruciating close-ups of junkies laboring to find a good vein. While its grim realism earned accolades, and Winn was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, the realism proved too much for the paying public, despite the timely subject matter. Al Pacino's first major film performance, however, convinced Francis Ford Coppola that he was the man for The Godfather (1972). Needle Park, itself, may have since become upscale real estate, but Panic in Needle Park remains a ruthless testament to the fallacy of heroin chic. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi