'The Panic in Needle Park’ Director Recalls the 70s, a Young Al Pacino, and Risking his Life for a Good Shot on 50th Anniversary

There are a handful of parks around the world that have been referred to as “Needle Park,” because heroin addicts have shot up in them. But the authentic Needle Park (a dubious distinction, but part of our lore) was on the Upper West Side: a sliver of a traffic island, wedged between Broadway and Amsterdam, off 71st Street, which played a leading role in a 1971 film classic.