The Panic in Needle Park is a grim, sometimes hard to watch drama that gives insight into drug addiction and the power it holds. The film features one heck of a performance by Al Pacino marking his first leading role and Kitty Winn keeps up with Pacino is a number of scenes.
The Panic in Needle Park
(1971)
Genre(s): Drama
Twilight Time | PG – 110 min. – $29.95 | June 14, 2016
Date Published: 06/20/2015 | Author: The Movieman
  |
|
PLOT SYNOPSIS
|
| Al Pacino made his starring debut as Bobby, a fast-talking, hustling junkie in The Panic in Needle Park, helmed by Jerry Schatzberg (Scarecrow), from a screenplay by the screenwriting team of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. Roaming a grim stretch of New York’s Upper West Side, Bobby hooks up with a relative innocent, Helen (KITTY WINN), and as she joins him in addiction, their doomed romance becomes the fulcrum around which this gritty slice-of-life drama turns. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
|
This comes with the usual 8-page booklet. There are a few featurettes included: Panic in the Streets of New York (25:31; SD), Writers in Needle Park (9:19; SD) and Notes on Ned Rorein’s Unused Score (2:17; HD) which are older features delving into the story behind the movie. Original Theatrical Trailer (3:00; SD) |
VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| This very well may be one of Twilight Time’s better looking releases to date. The Panic in Needle Park is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a very nice looking 1080p high-definition transfer. Colors are brilliant with great contrast and there’s a fine amount of natural film grain that only enhances the detail. There were no major instances of dust marks, artifacts, debris or other imperfections making this a fantastic looking transfer. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| Although only a mono track, the DTS-HD Master Audio isn’t half bad. The bulk of the movie is comprised with dialogue with some canned score thrown in for good depth. Dialogue levels sound crisp and clean throughout, free of pops and hisses. For a movie going on 40+ years, the sound design was pretty darn impressive as was this lossless track. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
|
Overall, The Panic in Needle Park is a grim, sometimes hard to watch drama that gives insight into drug addiction and the power it holds. The film features one heck of a performance by Al Pacino marking his first leading role and Kitty Winn keeps up with Pacino is a number of scenes. This release from Twilight Time offers excellent video and audio transfers and while nothing special, there’s some OK bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.