Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Vivekmaru45 But it saddens me to say that over the years, I have seen much better films that starred the above Hollywood veteran actors. If you think about it, Midnight Cowboy directed by John Schlesinger and starred Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman was a much superior film to watch. My all time favorite film being The Saint of Fort Washington (1993) which starred my favorite actors Danny Glover and Matt Dillon. We also have Brokeback Mountain starring the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.Then we have more action oriented films, the Richard Donner Lethal Weapon trilogy with the pair of actors Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. We also have the superb thriller The Machanic which starred veteran actor Charles Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent.We have comedy films, such as the ones which starred Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. These were Stir Crazy, See No Evil Hear No Evil, The Silver Streak, Another you.All these above film explore the relationship that develops between two men. In this film we have a recently released ex-con Max(Hackman) who meets an immature ex-sailor Lionel(Pacino). They strike up a friendship. Max confides to Lionel his dream of starting up a successful car wash business. Lionel agrees to help him, but explains that he has some personal problems to take care of before they can start-up the business Max had proposed.The rest of the film deals with unexpected and unforeseen events which occur. Will Max fulfill his dreams? See the film to find out what happens.Verdict: I have watched so many films over the years, both Hollywood and foreign language that I am very well versed. To me this film feels that it lacks the depth to other films of similar plot and genre. The film is well photographed, the actors are professional and the direction is efficiently handled. Note that this is the only Jerry Schatzberg I have ever seen.More Jerry Schazberg films to see: Misunderstood (1984), No Small Affair (1984), Street Smart (1987), Blood Money a.k.a Clinton And Nadine(1988).Gene Hackman Films: The French Connection 1971, French Connection 2 1975, Superman 1978, Superman 2 1980, Superman 4 1987, Narrow Margin 1990, Unforgiven 1992, Crimson Tide 1995, Extreme Measures 1996, Under Suspicion 2000.Al Pacino Films: Dog Day Afternoon 1975, Cruising 1980(Freidkin Masterpiece and a cult film to boot), Scarface 1983, Sea Of Love 1989, Scent Of A Woman 1992(I Highly recommend to you this beautiful film), Carlito's Way 1993, Heat 1995, Donnie Brascoe 1997, Insomnia 2002(a very underrated Chris Nolan film, highly recommended).Add these to your DVD/BLURAY collection and enjoy!

leplatypus I conclude those facts with this movie :1) it's clearly a 70s movie as it tells a moving, human story about losers, freethinkers, non conformists, ordinary people. It tells something about some fundamental values like friendship. Now, this kind of movie has just disappeared from American production as they are just about heroes blasting enemies and reconstructed biopic of famous « people ». 2) Pacino is a fabulous actor as he just exudes humanity. So, it's just a pity he did so many movies about characters with too little humanity (gangsters, cops, major, celebrity) because when he played ordinary people, you can see he's compassionate, funny and fragile ! 3) I think Gene Hackman belongs, like Adrian Brody, to the club of the exceptional but underrated artists : Here, he's excellent playing a grumpy but courageous and loyal friend. 4) At last, this movie points exactly where i am now : i remember watching « Dark Water » writing it was like my battle against a leaking studio, then « une vie meilleure » writing it was like my shared moments with the kid of my friend, now with this « Scarecrow », like « Just like a woman » or like « Hideous Kinky », it's about the fullness of living empty. Like all those characters, the daily life has become just so complicated that it would be a dream to ran away with nothing and take a day after a day with the dream to start from zero again...

Prismark10 I only recently got a chance to see Scarecrow, a film I knew very little about and I was intrigued with the casting of Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. There is a Wizard of Oz motif about this film, hence the title of the film Scarecrow.This is essentially a road film with two damaged characters that encounter each other on the road whilst they seek a destination but not sure how to get there.Hackman (Max) is an ex-convict with a short temper who wants to go to Pittsburgh and open a car wash. Pacino (Lionel) an ex-sailor who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend to go the high seas but did send money back regularly for his child whom he has never met. He also is rather childlike himself, naive and trusting. Whilst Max uses his temper and physical presence to keep people at his distance and if the occasion demands it, to get his way, Lion uses humour and slapstick.For a 1970s road film you might expect this to be grim and grey but it has gorgeous cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, in many senses that lighting makes the film rather ahead of its time with its vibrant yellow and brown hues.Max and Lion strike an unlikely friendship Max wants Lionel for his partner in business and along the way Max mellows somewhat.Both actors play fully formed characters with Pacino getting the chance to shine with the more playful side of Lion. You do get to care about these people, they have lived rough lives but they are not bad, nasty people but just trying to make their way in the world and have modest dreams and ambitions and you really hope they go on to do well.It is a series of vignettes as they encounter other characters and ladies who they make out with although it seems Hackman is the ladies man in this film and not Pacino. There is a stint in jail where Lion's vulnerabilities are exposed but the film although keeps good pace rather starts to lose steam towards the end until Lion contacts his ex- girlfriend and she gives him a metaphorical punch in the gut.

AaronCapenBanner Gene Hackman and Al Pacino play two drifters(Max & Francis) who befriend each other, and decide to form a business partnership in Pittsburgh, where they hope to open a car wash. Film details their adventures along the way.Both actors are very good as usual, and being filmed on real road locations helps, but film, which feels very inspired by the far superior "Midnight Cowboy" never amounts to much, feels like an extended sketch study stretched to feature length. Hackman(Max) is a hot-tempered brawler, which gets them in frequent trouble, while Pacino(Francis) is a simple man who just wants to see his son again, but fate has other ideas. The ending is disappointing because it just stops, without any real emotional resolution. Nice try, but misses.