Scarecrow

Gene Hackman would often cite this underseen Palme d’Or winner from 1973 as his favourite film from his long and illustrious career. Often overlooked in favour of the thematically similar Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy , Scarecrow endures as an unsung masterpiece from the New American Cinema movement. Meandering and freewheeling, propelled by rich characters rather than a propulsive narrative, it follows a pair of drifters, who head out across America, buoyed up by the tenuous promise of starting a car wash business together. Boasting career-best performances from Hackman and Pacino, in their only onscreen pairing, the film captures the urban bustle and rural sprawl of a troubled nation wrestling with its own fractured identity, and framed brilliantly through Vilmos Zsigmond’s impeccable photography.

Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or, Best Actress and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury