lavatch In the opening scene of "Scarecrow," the character Max (Gene Hackman) has just been released from a six-year prison term and is walking down a hill carrying his suitcase. He then seeks to negotiate a small, barbed-wire fence, but gets enmeshed in the wire and tears his clothes. He then fails to observe a small incline ahead of him and tumbles down the hill on his ass. To add further humiliation, the entire act was observed by another hobo named Francis (or Lionel), as played by Al Pacino. Max prides himself on carefully planning everything out in advance. But he is caught in the lie in the earliest moments in the film.Hackman and Pacino create two unforgettable characters in this oddly matched pair of drifters. While both Max and Lion are running from their past, the film does not dwell on the past or even the future in their shared pipe dream of starting a car wash operation in Pittsburgh. Rather, the focus is on their present adventures, or encounters.Hackman is clearly infusing the character Max with his personal life story of a streetbrawler. At any given moment, his temper can flare and his smiling demeanor can turn on a dime. Pacino's character Lion is similarly on the edge with a disturbing proclivity to act out dramatic moments as a mask for his guilt at abandoning a woman whom he impregnated."Scarecrow" is successful in finding the right balance between the humor and the seething realities of the characters that lie beneath the surface. Nearly all of the small roles in the film are memorable, as the characters who come into contact with Max and Lion sense the danger under the congenial surface of the characters.When "Scarecrow" was released in 1973, film critic Roger Ebert wrote a mediocre review, criticizing the screenplay and the film aesthetics. But those very values are what are so striking today with the decline of quality and risk-taking in films. For this reason, it is difficult to find any "road picture" in the past half century that rises to the level of "Scarecrow."

DKosty123 This movie kind of remains under the radar today. TCM just ran it as part of star of the month Gene Hackman package. It is a really good solid film.In a way, there is a bit of a stretch in how Hackman and Pacino meet in the films beginning as there is no explanation why both of them are in the middle of nowhere. Once this prelude is over, the film is very solid. Pacino wants to go to Detroit to see his child. Hackman wants to go to Pittsburgh to open a Car Wash. For some reason I can visualize Hackman drinking a cold Iron City Beer.They do not have a car and keep hopping freight trains to make their way across the country. Shocking scenes - Hackman doing a male strip act in a bar. Pacino getting raped by a male inmate on a prison farm. Both scenes show how much talent these guys have as their acting makes them seem very real.There is plenty more to watch as Hackman has more hair in this movie than many of his films. He is a Scarecrow here, and a young Pacino pulls off a substantial dramatic role quite well. Pacino is told his son died in child birth and he goes off the edge into a mental state.The interaction of these actors raise this movie into a B+ film, when it would have originally been a B. It is a very well made film.

SnoopyStyle Max Millan (Gene Hackman) is an angry ex-con. Francis Lionel "Lion" Delbuchi (Al Pacino) is a childish ex-sailor. They meet on the road hitching rides. Max is unfriendly at first but after hours of not catching a ride, they become road companions. Max has a plan to open a car wash in Pittsburg. Lion is going to Detroit to see his estranged wife Annie after 5 years and his kid for the first time. He refuses to call her ahead of time.This is a lesser-known team-up of these two great American actors. There is no doubt that it's absolutely fascinating to watch these guys go to work during their energetic younger days. It has the grim existence of the back roads of America and a free-flowing acting sensibility. It does ramble on and on but it's never dull. In the end, their charisma never lets the movie get away from them. The scene with Annie and Lion on the phone is electric. This is a definite hidden gem.

jmillerdp Jerry Schatzberg made two interesting movies early in his film career, this and 1971's "The Panic in Needle Park." And, while both are well made, with very good acting, both seem pointless by the time they hit the end credits.I guess following the characters is the point in both films. But, their journeys seem to lead nowhere, and I guess that's the problem for me. I wonder what the point of all of it is. In "Panic," (spoiler alert) the two drug addicts we follow end up in the same place they started. In "Scarecrow," (spoiler alert) one of the two characters doesn't make it at all.Here, the film benefits from the excellent cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond, in one of his earlier films. Al Pacino and Gene Hackman are very good in their respective roles. And, the film is well made. But, when the film just kind of ends as it does, you wonder what the point of it was.It's especially interesting concerning Schatzberg, since he went from these iconoclastic films to something like "The Seduction of Joe Tynan," a straight-down-the-middle romantic comedy drama. What's most notable about "Panic" and "Scarecrow" is that they are prime examples of how gutsy 1970's cinema could be.***** (5 Out of 10 Stars)