An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.
Acting
Nicholson and Streep at their most physically transformed and heartbreaking.
Cinematography
Frostbitten Albany streets that look like they want to apologize.
Writing
William Kennedy adapting his own Pulitzer Prize novel with zero compromise.

Director
Héctor Babenco
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster!) plays a hobo — casting so unexpected it actually works.
Babenco, fresh from 'Kiss of the Spider Woman,' was an odd choice for this very American story — but his outsider eye captures Albany's specific rot and grandeur.