Scarecrow
Former photographer Jerry Schatzberg follows up his explosive directorial debut THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK with SCARECROW, which captured the Grand Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. Opening on a desolate highway, two drifters stumble into each other, and decide to hitchhike together across the country. Max (Gene Hackman), just released from prison, wants more than anything to own a car wash in Pittsburgh, staying out of trouble and living his life as an honest man. Lion (Al Pacino), who has returned from working at sea, dreams of reuniting with the wife and daughter he left behind years ago in Detroit. Embarking on their strange, confused journey, the dusty pair encounters a cast of peculiar characters as they struggle to reach their destinations (including a stop-off at Hackman’s sister’s house in Colorado). In the end, after beginning to accept the truth--that their dreams are not going to come to fruition--they find friendship, trust, and love, giving their lives justification.
Member Reviews
"For every car, there is dirt" - cstone
From the opening scene on a dusty road to the heartbreaking yet hopeful conclusion, Scarecrow delivers a road-trip tale of friendship and loyalty amidst isolation and a hard-scrabble existence. Max and Lion are two determined characters pursuing their own missions, who nevertheless convince themselves their chance of success is bettered by sticking together. Max, freshly out of prison, is headed to Pittsburgh to open a car wash; and Francis (Lion) is game to tag along, but is equally insistent on a trip to Detroit to see his old girlfriend and more importantly to find out about his son or daughter that he never met. Gene Hackman and a young Al Pacino bring dedication, vibrancy and physicality to their roles and the film is well paced with one compelling scene after another. Watch for the scene in the diner where Max and Lion order breakfast, eat it, harass the waitress, get to know each other, and map out their future in an unbroken shot five minutes in length.a great character study - vadim
This is a ultimately a road movie that presents us with 2 polar opposite characters. Pacino plays a man who refuses to grow up whileas Hackman plays an intimidating, short-tempered brute. As do other road movies, Scarecrow presents us with the experience and journey that these 2 characters undergo and all the characters they encounter in the process. In my opinion this was a beautiful subtle film about friendship, loyalty, hope and sense of empytyness; all the emotions that typical humans encounter. Id definetely reccomend zipping it.The Odd, Broken Couple - Spumco
Max and Lion, Lion and Max. Hackman plays the gruff, bad-tempered Max; Pacino plays the gentle and juvenile Lion. Pacino looks so young and fresh in this film it's hard to imagine he became a legendarily tough icon.
This film is, above all, a character piece. To enjoy it you must first understand that. I often complain that we get limited insight into a character's motivations and behvaiours because of how little we know about their histories prior to the film. If any movie should be held up as a shining example of established character history it's this one. While neither Max nor Lion are particularly funny guys, they are given a lot to work with in terms of their characters. Hackman in particular uses Max's precisely planned numbers jotting tendancies to let us know what sort of guy we are dealing with. Pacino does the same with jittery fresh-faced and well-meaning, though ultimately neuortically irresopnsible and juvenile Lion.
Their journey across the U.S. carries on the tradition of the gritty, down-on-their-luck 70's odd-couple roadtrip movie. Several people have already mentioned Five Easy Pieces, etc., the displacement of 60's idealism stranding many hopeless roamers. Even without any of this stuff Scarecrow is still an enjoyable film with likeable characters. Worth a Zip.
Member Reviews
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"For every car, there is dirt" - cstone
From the opening scene on a dusty road to the heartbreaking yet hopeful conclusion, Scarecrow delivers a road-trip tale of friendship and loyalty amidst isolation and a hard-scrabble existence. Max and Lion are two determined characters pursuing their own ...a great character study - vadim
This is a ultimately a road movie that presents us with 2 polar opposite characters. Pacino plays a man who refuses to grow up whileas Hackman plays an intimidating, short-tempered brute. As do other road movies, Scarecrow presents us with the experience and ...The Odd, Broken Couple - Spumco
Max and Lion, Lion and Max. Hackman plays the gruff, bad-tempered Max; Pacino plays the gentle and juvenile Lion. Pacino looks so young and fresh in this film it's hard to imagine he became a legendarily tough icon.
This film is, above all, a character ...