The Panic in Needle Park

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The Panic in Needle Park

U.S., 1971

A key screenwriting project of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne was The Panic in Needle Park, a story based on James Mills’ novel about drug addicts in love. The pair researched the demimonde depicted by spending time in a hotel near New York’s Sherman Square (the eponymous “Needle Park”), and their script is animated by Jerry Schatzberg’s stylized compositions. The movie, a harrowing chronicle of addiction, also marked the debut of a young Al Pacino, who delivers one of his best performances.

DCP, color, 110 min. Director: Jerry Schatzberg. Screenwriter: Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne. With: Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint.