Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Panic in Needle Park Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 16, 2016

Winner of Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Jerry Schatzberg's "The Panic in Needle Park" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; scenes with audio commentary by director Jerry Schatzberg; archival featurettes; and more. The release also arrives with a 200-page hardcover book with writings on the film, extracts from the original film script, interviews, promotional materials and stills. In English, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The lovers

The Panic in Needle Park was the very first film about drug addiction that I saw. It was a long time ago, but I remember well that I did not like it. Initially, I simply could not understand its characters and the community they were a part of.

Years later I saw the film again, after I had befriended a young man who was a drug addict. In the beginning I did not know about his addiction because there was absolutely nothing that made him look different. He was full of energy and very enthusiastic about life. He loved hiking and camping and at one point someone even convinced him to join an amateur soccer team. He had a girlfriend and they were very much in love.

He had told his girlfriend that his addiction isn’t serious and that he can manage it. I think that in the beginning she truly believed him and had assumed that eventually he will get himself clean. After all, he was strong and had his entire life under control. So for a while they were both hiding that he had a problem -- a serious one.

She called me after I had moved to a different city. I hadn’t seen them in a long time but knew that they were still living together. I learned from her that my friend had entered rehab twice but was still struggling with his addiction. This was shocking news to me because I did not know that he had a problem with drugs. So I went back, met her first and then drove to the clinic to see him. I could not believe my eyes because the man I met there was not the friend I had. He had lost a lot of weight, his hair had started falling and when he talked I could sense how incredibly tense he was. The drugs had literally reshaped him into a completely different person. It was a very disturbing meeting, and I simply could not understand how someone like him can allow such drastic transformation to occur.

It was around that time that I started reading more about drug addiction and saw The Panic in Needle Park again. This time the film left a lasting impression on me. The two characters played by Al Pacino and Kitty Winn looked a lot like my friends -- beautiful together and full of life in the beginning, completely broken and disillusioned at the end.

The film very effectively shows how the transformation occurs, and how after a while it is basically impossible to reverse it. It is an ugly self-destruction process during which people do some truly terrible things and suffer in horrible ways.

Schatzberg and cinematographer Adam Holender shot the film on location in New York City amidst some real addicts and dealers and at times it looks and feels a bit like a low-budget documentary. There is chaos, unfiltered street noise and plenty of people who are completely unaware that there is a camera rolling somewhere in the back.

Pacino and Winn easily blend with the rest of the addicts. There are many sequences throughout the film where it really does look like they have taken some hard drugs. (See the sequence where Pacino’s character overdoses in the tiny apartment room).

The Panic in Needle Park Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jerry Schatzberg's The Panic in Needle Park arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films.

The release is sourced from a brand new 2K restoration of the film which was supervised and approved by director Jerry Schatzberg. The new master was prepared by Twentieth Century Fox.

The majority of the film really does look quite impressive. Typically, detail is outstanding and depth probably as good as one can expect it to be. Fluidity is also dramatically improved. The daylight street footage, in particular, looks excellent. Contrast levels are well managed and remain stable. The entire film, however, now has a notably colder color grading. There is a strong range of blues and grays. Reds and browns appear to have been toned down, but whites and blacks are largely preserved. The overall balance is rather good, but there are select segments where the shift does feel a bit too strong (see screencaptures #15 and 16). There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no encoding anomalies to report in our review. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Panic in Needle Park Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. (Use your remote control to turn off the subtitles).

Depth is excellent throughout the entire film and balance -- even where the camera movement is very fluid -- is terrific. Dynamic intensity is modest, but the film has an organic sound design that never tries to impress. The dialog is always stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

The Panic in Needle Park Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bande-annonce - original U.S. theatrical trailer for The Panic in Needle Park. In English, with optional French subtitles. (3 min).

• Scenes comentees par le realisateur - in this featurette, dierctor Jerry Schatzberg discusses five scenes from The Panic in Needle Park. The bulk of the information addresses the lensing of specific segments, Al Pacino's performance (and improvisations), the film's atmosphere, and the unique nature of Helen and Bobby's relationship. In English, with optional French subtitles. (22 min).
  
  1. Helen & Bobby
  2. Baseball
  3. Bobby's Overdose
  4. Prison
  5. Prison
  6. Ferry

• Jerry photographe - in this featurette, Jerry Schatzberg discusses his early years as a photographer and eventual transition to the film business. Mr. Schatzberg opened his studio in the late 1950s and worked 11 years as a photographer. He did numerous assignments for Vogue, Town & Country, Esquire, Life, and Look. In English, with optional French subtitles. (18 min).

• Jerry cineaste - in this featurette, Jerry Schatzberg discusses his early work as a director, the types of stories he wanted to tell (which were about models and the industry they were a part of), his first film, Puzzle of a Downfall Child, and interactions with Faye Dunaway, The Panic in Needle Park and its production history, Al Pacino's contribution to the film, cinematographer Adam Holender's lensing, etc. In English, with optional French subtitles. (22 min).

• Al & Jerry - in this featurette, Jerry Schatzberg discusses his work with Al Pacino on The Panic in Needle Park, key sequences from the film and how they were shot (some featured a great deal of improvising), how Al Pacino rarely "gets out of character" even after he has finished shooting, etc. In English, with optional French subtitles. (10 min).

• Jerry a Cannes - in this archival featurette, Jerry Schatzberg recalls how The Panic in Needle Park was accepted by the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to win Best Actress Award (Kitty Winn). A year later, Jerry Schatzberg returned to the Cannes Film Festival with Scarecrow, which won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award. In English, with optional French subtitles. (6 min).

• Book - 200-page hardcover book with writings on the film in French, extracts from the script for The Panic in Needle Park in English, interviews, promotional materials and stills. (See screencaptures).

The Panic in Needle Park Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jerry Schatzberg's The Panic in Needle Park is a very powerful film, but I can't force myself to like it. It always reminds me about a good friend whose life could have been so much better. French label Carlotta Films' upcoming Blu-ray release of The Panic in Needle Park is sourced from a new 2K restoration of the film which has been supervised and approved by director Schatzberg. The elegant deluxe set also comes with some very good supplemental features and a massive 200-page hardcover book with plenty of archival stills, promotional materials and additional reprinted archival content. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (In addition to the deluxe set, Carlotta Films will have available for sale a srtandard Blu-ray edition of The Panic in Needle Park which will be released on the same date).