By the end of the 1960s, Hollywood was at a crossroads. The new generations were not as appealed by the major blockbusters of the prior decades, and felt a deep need for the movies that played in theaters to be closer to their lives. Young actors within Hollywood felt that it was their time to bring upon a fresher take on what studios could do, and thanks to names such as Warren Beatty and Peter Fonda, a new way of making films in America began.

The success of films such as Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde led to major studios financing smaller films instead of the traditional big-scale productions of prior decades. The early 1970s marked the beginning of the New Hollywood Movement which revitalized the mainstream and set a new standard for what major award-contender films could be and the possibilities for original auteurism in Hollywood for the coming decade.
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This wonderful moment in film history not only alludes to the first works of names that are synonymous with cinema such as Coppola, Scorsese, or Spielberg but also made way for a new generation of performers that would go on to redefine the idea of what a movie star is. Among those who saw their careers flourish in this new landscape was Al Pacino. Before his legendary turn as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, he had his first big break with The Panic in Needle Park.

What Is The Panic in Needle Park About?

20th Century Fox

The film portrays the lives of heroin addicts who spend their time at “Needle Park,” also known as Sherman Square in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The protagonists are Bobby (Pacino), a small-time hustler and heroin addict, and Helen (Kitty Winn), a restless woman who falls in love with him and ends up becoming addicted as well. Their love story becomes torrid as they can’t seem to find a way out of addiction and their erratic situation leads to a series of betrayals.

Related: 10 Highly Underrated Al Pacino Movies

Based on a novel by James Mills, which itself was based on a pictorial essay Mills made for Life magazine, the film is true in visual style to the reality it stems from. Through cinema verité-shots, explicit injection scenes, and overall a ground-breaking raw look into the lives of those dealing with addiction, The Panic in Needle Park changed the way films about drugs, addiction to them, and the lives forever affected by it were made.

A Gritty and Realistic Look at New York

20th Century Fox

Shot on location, the film shows New York as an unforgiving concrete jungle, where those who are on the fringes of society, face an almost impossible dream of abandoning their predicaments and moving on to a better life. Their labyrinthic context is one that of a vicious cycle between struggle and illusions, where one just leads into the other and the prospect of a better life is just unreachable.

The struggle Bobby and Hellen face is perfectly framed by their landscape, as this is no peaceful setting where they could hope to find a moment of solace. New York is just as complex and demanding as their addiction, director Jerry Schatzberg delivers this feeling throughout the filming, as it is shot in a quasi-documentary style, to emphasize a sense of realism in both how the city permeates their situation and their own personal struggle as well.

The Panic in Needle Park Has Top-notch Acting, Writing, and Directing

20th Century Fox

The renewed energy there was in major filmmaking in the early ’70s gave the movies of this period a particular feeling in terms of originality and quality. Here both crew and talent felt they were almost creating a new way of making films, which gives an electric and engaging presence to the work. The Panic in Needle Park is not only one of those films but also counts with more than just the spirit of times, as it has stellar talent all over it.

First, the film brings into the world the talent of Al Pacino who after a string of secondary roles, got his first lead and smashes it out of the park in a tender, complicated and masterful performance, which is just as good as Kitty Winn’s turn as Helen which earned her the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Related: 10 Movies That Accurately Portray Drug Addiction

Just as powerful, is the film’s writing crafted by the husband-and-wife duo of John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. The two were already established writers, close to the prior decade’s counterculture movement, and had a deep knowledge of the realities addicts faced in New York, which helped them bring the novel to life in a compelling way. By the time, Jerry Schatzberg also had seen these realities up close, his career as a still photographer helped him craft the compelling and strong images which make up the film.

The Film Has an Everlasting Impact

20th Century Fox

While some of the early New Hollywood films dealt with drug use, none had explored in such a realistic and honest way as The Panic in Needle Park. The film sheds light on the issue away from the counter-cultural lens which was a part of its time, and examines it as part of an ongoing issue in societal health without ever posing a moral judgment over it. Part of this examination is the insight into how addiction takes a toll on individuals and their families and helped to spark a conversation around it and breakdown stigmas.

At the time, urban areas in the United States were grappling with a growing drug epidemic, one that had been brewing for the past years but was either dismissed or patronized, never humanized. The film truly spoke of its time, as the illusion of the ’60s youth became nihilism and pessimism influenced by the country’s continued involvement in Vietnam and the fall of public figures advocating for social change. In such light, its understandable how vulnerable young people would resort to drugs as a means of escape from their disappointing reality. Though the source material came from the mid-60s, the film truly is an early ’70s portrait of American youth.