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Scarecrow
by Warner Home Video
| List Price: |
$19.98 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
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DVD
Warner Brothers
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Vilmos Zsigmond
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Actors: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Lynch
Two very different men hitchhike across country and form a unique friendship.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 12-JUL-2005
Media Type: DVD
One of the great lost buddy films of the 1970s, this Jerry Schatzberg movie somehow never found its audience, despite the fact that both lead actors were riding high: Hackman from The French Connection, Pacino from The Godfather. They play a pair of drifters, seeing America by thumb, who hook up and discover unexpected soul mates in each other. Hackman is the loner who would rather pile on another layer of clothes than chance letting someone get close to him; Pacino is the likably funny loser who gets under Hackman's skin and teaches him to open up. Together, they hatch a plan to save up and buy their own car wash. But try as they do to keep each other out of trouble, their friendship provides only limited protection, though each take something positive away. Endearing performances that never sink to sentimentality; Pacino, in particular, proves that he could just as easily have been a screen comic as one of the great dramatic actors. --Marshall Fine
| Customer Reviews: |
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| a sleeper movie |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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I first saw this movie when it came out. I thought then that the two actors did a remarkable job portraying two totally opposite charaters thrown together by circumstance. As their friendship grew and changed both of them in minute ways the drama increased. The ending is both touching and sad but realistic. Watching it again after over thirty years it still moved me.
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| "A crow isn't afraid of a scarecrow. It laughs." |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Gene Hackman and Al Pacino star in this amiable but meandering buddy road picture. The pair meets while hitchhiking in California. Pacino has been drifting and now is making his way to Detroit to reunite with his wife and child, the latter of whom he has never met before; Hackman is a former con who has been saving money and is now heading to Pittsburgh to open a car wash. The duo becomes fast friends and decides to go into business together. Unfortunately, they run into trouble at every turn.
"Scarecrow" is an interesting movie - the kind that only could have been made in the early 1970s. Hackman and Pacino are in fine form; this picture was Pacino's first since his breakthrough in "The Godfather" and only his fourth movie overall. I think it demonstrates his career-long willingness to take on intriguing roles in less commercial faire. "Scarecrow" has a lot of quirky humor and situations, with amusing cameos by Eileen Brennan and Ann Wedgeworth. The picture was largely overlooked at the time, although it somewhat surprisingly won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It does have the kind of nihilistic feel that the Cannes jury often likes in other American winners, such as "Wild at Heart" and "Taxi Driver."
The movie, though, doesn't hold together very well in tone or plot. There are some undeniably touching scenes that take advantage of the genuine friendship between the two men, but it gets lost among the quirkier aspects of the plot, such as Hackman doing an admittedly very funny strip-tease in a bar. The film has much to offer and is certainly worth a look, although its slow and somewhat erratic pace will turn off some viewers.
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| Hackman, Pacino, and America |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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This is one of those little-seen gems of '70s American cinema that always seem to pop up (although maybe it's no longer accurate to say this film is little-seen, since it's been on DVD for three years). With films like this, it's always tempting to cry "lost masterpiece!" but in this case, while the movie is very interesting and worthwhile, to call it a masterpiece would be hyperbole. The chief pleasures derived from two hours spent with SCARECROW are (1) the fascinating interplay between actors Gene Hackman (doing a variation on the tightly-wound jerk we've seen him play many times) and Al Pacino (revelatory as a friendly drifter whose warmth and good humor is a far cry from the typical Pacino role) and (2) the gorgeous photography from master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, a name that should be familiar to all fans of '70s cinema. As Hackman and Pacino amble across American backroads, hopping trains and hiking through hills, Zsigmond's lens tints everything with a shade of magic. The episodic plot sets the pair on individual personal journeys (Hackman wants success in business, Pacino wants a reunion with his family) as well as collaborative ones. It is great fun to watch Pacino's warmth rub off on Hackman as he becomes steadily less grumpy. Because this was the '70s and pessimism was the order of the day, the film ends on an ambiguously dour note, but what lingers for the viewer is the ramshackle charm and beauty of the film's pleasant meanderings.
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| For Every Mood, There Is A Movie |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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One of the best I've seen in a long time. While filming is beautiful from the start, it took a little while for me to be sure I was really on board with the characters. Hackman is so prickly in the beginning, and Pacino's scarecrow solilique ("The scarecrow makes 'em laugh..") had me wondering. By the time they get thrown in the house of detentions, you're thinking what a nice guy Pacino is and how unreasonable is Hackman.. who ends up on a pigfarm. What a reverse the film suddenly takes after that! Suddenly, Hackman's stand-offish ways seem to make a little more sense!
But sure, Pacino was the charmer. Hackman was also interesting in his own loyalty and focused determination. One or two scenes may have been a bit over the top (Hackman strip-teasing in that greasy diner to show Pacino he's not gonna get in another fight?). Still, this movie was a real work of genius. It seems to teach something: Pacino's art of defusing a potential situation (the scarecrow) and Hackman's determination - or as it would manifest in his life (outside of his dreams) - too ready for a fight. The movie is a character study and a study of human nature. Both sides of the coin are represented in these two characters and I could respect the way it ended (remember the last scene? if I was gonna choose one scene to represent Hackman's character, that would be it!).
The substantial slice of their lives which the film gives us is enough to chew on. It's like the story has told us what it wanted to, and then it ends. Perhaps all the details have not been ironed out, but the essence, the "message", or something like that, has been given. Ending it where it did, while not answering all the questions pertaining to the specifics in their stories, leaves you to figure out what the real story is.
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| This movie was very well done a little to long perhaps, but, |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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very touching and down to earth. With the talent and charm of Al Pacino and the crusty gruffness of Gene Hackman their opposite personalities really mesh. Hackman the cold loner, Al the goofy, but loveable loser. This movie was not liked by critics, and I don't really understand why. Its really an overlooked, well done buddy flick about two very lonely people who find a connection. Enjoy.
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