The Parallax View (1974)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

David Giler (writer) and
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (writer) ...

Release Date:

14 June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

There is no conspiracy. Just twelve people dead.

Plot:

An ambitious reporter gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the worlds headlines.

Plot Keywords:

Assassination | Conspiracy | Reporter | Senator | Investigative Reporter

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	Joseph Frady
Paula Prentiss	...	Lee Carter
William Daniels	...	Austin Tucker
Walter McGinn	...	Jack Younger
Hume Cronyn	...	Bill Rintels
Kelly Thordsen	...	Sheriff L.D. Wicker
Chuck Waters	...	Thomas Richard Linder
Earl Hindman	...	Deputy Red
William Joyce	...	Senator Charles Carroll (as Bill Joyce)
Bettie Johnson	...	Mrs. Charles Carroll
Bill McKinney	...	Parallax Assassin
Jo Ann Harris	...	Chrissy - Frady's Girl (as JoAnne Harris)
Ted Gehring	...	Schecter - Hotel Clerk
Lee Pulford	...	Shirley - Salmontail Bar Girl
Doria Cook-Nelson	...	Gale from Salmontail (as Doria Cook)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | UK:AA | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:U | Norway:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:R (certificate #23909)

Filming Locations:

Gorge Dam, Skagit River, Washington, USA

Company:

Doubleday Productions

Trivia:

The opening sequence was designed to mirror that of Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination.

Goofs:

Continuity: The sheriff's police cruiser switches from a 1973 Plymouth Satellite Custom to a 1973 Dodge Coronet where Frady takes a shortcut through a construction site. And when he crashes the cop car in a local Safeway, the cop cruiser is a 1973 Plymouth.

Quotes:

Bill Rintels: [after Frady's run-in with police] You're enjoying yourself, aren't you.
Joseph Frady: You gotta admit, it's funny.
Bill Rintels: It makes me laugh, but I don't think it's funny.
Joseph Frady: What's that supposed to mean?
Bill Rintels: Have you ever laughed at a comedian when he pretended to stutter? There's nothing funny about a man who stutters, but people laugh. They're amused. But they're not happy about it.

Movie Connections:

References La hora de los hornos: Notas y testimonios sobre el neocolonialismo, la violencia y la liberación (1968)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Fascinating And Creepy View To Kill

Tricky Dicky Nixon is known for a lot of (mostly bad) things, but I'd like to think that he is responsible for a slew of genuinely great conspiracy-theory films that were made as a direct result of the Watergate scandal. I'm not sure if this thriller by director Pakula is the best of its kind, but I'm totally convinced that it is the scariest one. In the film nothing is as it appears to be. People die suddenly, and shockingly, as if they were struck down by an out of this world force. As I watched this movie, I felt as nervous as some of the characters in the film because it is truly unnerving to think that one could be in a situation in which you have no control over your fate; it is the 'Patriot Act' gone bad. Warren Beatty is surprisingly great as the doomed hero of this piece of the macabre. But the true hero of the production is cinematographer Gordon Willis; his superb chiaroscuro cinematography is (no exaggeration) among the best of the decade. Sound, editing and production design contribute to create the film's spine-tingling atmosphere (Pakula and most of his team were also responsible for the masterful "All the President's Men"). In addition, the film has strong film noir tendencies, so fans of the genre should check this one out. Terrific film from start to finish.