seriously wtf was the point of this movie other then showing how NOT to live? its just terrible, depressing garbage from the crappy 70's "gritty realism" cinema.
Realism, Remakes and Unnecessary Sequels are ruining movies!
OK then stick to your comic book movies you seem to love so much.
I don't usually reply negatively to peoples opinion but your just so stupid I feel I have to.
This film is FAR from "garbage" of course it's depressing and dark but it shows into the lives of addicts which is a REAL problem back then and even worse today. The characters are real people in real situations, and it shows how addiction is driving them into insanity. Yes it is hard to watch but if you (like me) are a recovering addict then it really hits home.
Even if a person has never touched a drug this film is important because it exposes some stuff that some people are not aware of. Both the characters were really nice, loving, caring people on the inside however the heroin destroyed them.
You say realism is "ruining" movies so why are you watching realism films? Go watch batman or something about a man that can transform into a green monster and shut up rather then coming on here and complaining on movies you don't like.
Plus you think "Batman & Robin" is a good film so any opinion you give towards a movie will be disregarded.
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Ahhh, how some people just cant handle reality in their films!! I am too a recovering addict and other than time and place, this was my life. Some folks will just never understand... I've just come to this conclusion over time. This is one of my personal favorites... Pacino didn't overshine the role(Being so early in his career), its perfectly directed and has a great documentary type feel. WE know, THEY don't... It's that simple. Batman and Robin lol, riiiight.
shareYeah, the OP is probably just some teen who apparently hasn't seen or can't relate to any movie that dosen't have special effects and explosions, or any movie made before 2000 or something. Never been on drugs myself, but knew someone who was an addict, and it was sad and pathetic. Very good and realistic film---typical of the gritty realism of '70s films that the OP downgraded. What the OP dosen't seem to understand is that the '60s and the '70s were the decades in which the movies finally got real,got mature, grew the hell up, and started showing life as it really was, not just as it should be. And a film dosen't always have to have a linear plot to be appreciated,either---which anybody who's watched a lot of foreign and indie films already knows firsthand.
Anyway, this film wasn't a hit when it came out, but it's gotten more respect over the years for its unflinching portrayal of the subject matter, without exploiting it in any way---one reason for its excellence, and the fact that Al Pacino (in only his second film, and his first starring role) was in it is another reason that it's good,too.
It was '71 too, like you said, it was really that special time in Cinema. Reality took over, artistic merit took over and it was about so much more. No music was used in the film, it was the first(Supposedly) to show an actual Heroin Injection and of course that doesn't make a great film, it just shows what was going on at the time in most movies. So you get a boom mic and camera in the stick ball game lol... I dont mind. One of my favorite scenes is when Bobby watches the Heroin being cut up and packaged, obviously he just cant wait for a taste... And boom! He's zipping and zooming telling the Needle Park Crew how it went down. While i dont miss the bad times, i remember those times too and thats what the film shows, those few GREAT moments, mixed in with a bunch of AWFUL moments... But hey, lets go blow up a bunch of buildings and drive cars really fast!! Thats a movie! Lol
shareThe O.P.'s pathetic post is showing me "how not to live".
The clown feels that realism is ruining cinema. I have a new foe.
Lol, it really is. Certainly there are films where Realism isn't necessary but this wasn't one of them. It was an important film for the time. We even have History Repeating right now. Without the realism, the film fails. Instead it's one of my personal "Sleeper" favorites.
shareSorry. All movies can't be Disney or Adam Sandler movies.
Short Cut, Draw Blood