| The Panic In Needle Park | |
|---|---|
 Original poster (with Ontario Censor Board classification) | |
| Directed by | Jerry Schatzberg |
| Screenplay by | Joan Didion John Gregory Dunne |
| Based on | The Panic in Needle Park 1966 novel by James Mills |
| Produced by | Dominick Dunne |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Adam Holender |
| Edited by | Evan A. Lottman |
Production companies | Gadd Productions Corp. Didion-Dunne |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,645,000[1] |
The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino (in his first lead role) and Kitty Winn.[2] The screenplay is written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills.
The film portrays life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in "Needle Park" (a nickname at that time for Sherman Square on Manhattan's Upper West Side near 72nd Street and Broadway).[3] The film is a love story between Bobby (Pacino), a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen (Kitty Winn), a restless woman who thinks Bobby is charismatic. She becomes an addict, and life goes downhill for them as their addictions worsen, eventually leading to a series of betrayals.
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p256
- ^ Ciment, Michel. "Biography". Jerry Schatzberg's Official Website. Archived from the original on March 16, 2007.
- ^ Greenspun, Roger (July 14, 1971). "Screen: Schatzberg's 'The Panic in Needle Park'; Drug Addicts Trapped on Upper West Side Kitty Winn and Pacino Are Ill-Fated Lovers". The New York Times. p. 19. Filmmuseum Berlin - Deutsche Kinemathek Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine