The Panic in Needle Park
God help Bobby and Helen, they're in love in Needle Park
Country
Production
Budget
$1 645 000
Revenue
$2 197 000
Director
Actors
Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint, Richard Bright, Kiel Martin, Michael McClanathan, Warren Finnerty, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Raúl Juliá, Angie Ortega
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Operator
Composer
Katherine Wenning
Artist
Audition
Editing
Evan A. Lottman
All team (24)
All team (24)
Short description
A stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves.
What's left behind the scenes
- Al Pacino's first two films, "Me, Natalie" (1969) and "The Panic in Needle Park" (1971), successfully exploited the image of a weak, spineless man, which had stuck with him since his theater days. His performance was magnificent, and he was soon offered the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," which brought him his first major fame and his first Academy Award nomination.
- Two candidates were considered for the lead role: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Director Jerry Schatzberg only saw Al Pacino in the role. The director told De Niro that he would take Al Pacino, at which point De Niro got on his knees, grabbed Jerry by the pants, and pleaded: Don't give this role to Al, don't give it away. Robert De Niro subsequently denied this.
- Jerry Schatzberg initially rejected the script offered to him, but then Al Pacino became interested in the project, and Schatzberg was offered the chance to direct again. He agreed on the condition that Al Pacino would play the lead role. Later, however, difficulties arose in finding a studio that would approve filming with a newcomer (Al Pacino) in the main role.
- The Needle Park name came from a district in Manhattan, New York, where drug addicts gathered.
- Herman Bachman, who was responsible for the makeup, specifically studied the injection marks on the hands of drug addicts in hospitals and on corpses in morgues to achieve a realistic depiction of such marks on the actors in the film; those actors injected themselves with collodion. A nurse was always present on set during the filming of these scenes.
- It was this film that Francis Ford Coppola showed to the management of Paramount Pictures to convince them to give Al Pacino the role of Michael Corleone in 'The Godfather' (1972).
- 'Needle Park' is completely devoid of musical accompaniment.
- Initially, Jerry Schatzberg rejected the proposed script, but Al Pacino later became interested in the project, and Schatzberg was offered the chance to direct the film again. He agreed on the condition that Al Pacino would play the lead role. However, difficulties then arose in finding a studio that would greenlight a film starring a newcomer (Al Pacino) in the lead.
- It was this very film that Francis Ford Coppola showed to the executives of Paramount Pictures to convince them to cast Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
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