The Panic in Needle Park

The Panic in Needle Park (1971)

Genres - Drama, Romance  |   Sub-Genres - Addiction Drama, Romantic Drama, Urban Drama  |   Release Date - Jul 13, 1971 (USA - Limited)  |   Run Time - 110 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - PG
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Synopsis by Lucia Bozzola

A couple loves heroin as much as they love each other in Jerry Schatzberg's grim drug drama. After an illegal abortion at the behest of her faithless lover (Raul Julia), lost innocent Helen (Kitty Winn) finds solace with small-time crook Bobby (Al Pacino), a regular in Manhattan's "Needle Park." As Bobby shows her around his Upper West Side world, the two become inseparable. When Helen realizes that Bobby is a full-blown junkie, she joins him in addiction, and their downward spiral begins in earnest. Weathering overdoses, prostitution, betrayals, and a "panic" after a major bust, the pair manages to stick together, the habit sealing their fate.

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Keywords

abortion, abuse, addiction, apartment, arrest, brother, city, conflict, drugs, finances, girl, habit [custom], help, humiliation, imprisonment, kingpin, life, love, lover, marijuana, meeting, misguided, obsession, offer, officer, operation, police, prison, promise, prostitute/prostitution, pursuit, release, robbery, scar, secrets, selling, time, understanding, underworld, walking, woman, youth