Synopsis
The Panic in Needle Park (1971) is an American drama directed by Jerry Schatzberg — watch online on iFILM and see Al Pacino in the breakout role that put him on the map. Bobby is a small-time heroin dealer working the stretch of Sherman Square in Manhattan that addicts called Needle Park. He is charming and completely unreliable, and when Helen drifts into his orbit, looking for something solid to hold onto, he provides exactly that — until he cannot.
Schatzberg shot on the actual streets with a near-documentary rhythm. The film does not dress addiction up: what you see is withdrawal, petty crime, debt and the particular numbness of people who have stopped imagining a way out. Kitty Winn, playing Helen, took the Best Actress prize at Cannes in 1971 for a performance that is raw even by today's standards.
The script gave a young Francis Ford Coppola early visibility and convinced him Pacino was right for Michael Corleone — a piece of casting history worth noting. Stream The Panic in Needle Park (1971) online on iFILM.
Starring
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