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 film is adapted from a 1970 novel by Loren Singer with the same title, about a reporter's dangerous investigation into an obscure organization, the Parallax Corporation, whose primary enterprise is political assassination.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening Independence Day parade sequence, there are no leaves on the tree branches visible as the senator and his wife pass by, but the leaves would be full and green on July 4th in Seattle.

Quotes:

Joseph Frady: I'm dead, Bill. I just want to stay that way for awhile.

Movie Connections:

References Shane (1953)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

THE definitive 1970s paranoid thriller. Intelligent, tense and effective.

When I hear mention of Warren Beatty these days I almost begin to snore, but before Beatty became a boring old fart he made a handful of very interesting and adventurous movies like 'Mickey One', 'McCabe & Mrs Miller' and 'The Parallax View', hardly safe Hollywood movie star material. 'The Parallax View' is THE definitive 1970s paranoid thriller, beaten only by Coppola's 'The Conversation', released incidentally the same year. The movie has to be watched in the context of when it was made. It's shot through with post-Watergate cynicism and the Kennedy assassinations cast a long shadow over the plot. Beatty gives a very subtle, relaxed performance, and for me is totally believable. The supporting cast is first rate. Veteran Hume Cronyn ('Shadow Of A Doubt') plays Beatty's editor, Paula Prentiss ('The Stepford Wives') a hysterical fellow journalist, and William Daniels (Dustin Hoffman's father in 'The Graduate') has a brief but memorable bit as another witness who fears for his life. Also keep an eye out for the legendary Bill McKinney (who nobody who's ever seen 'Deliverance' will forget!) as an assassin, Anthony Zerbe ('The Omega Man') as a psychologist (playing Pong with a chimp!), and Earl Hindman ('The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three') in the bar fight scene. Much of 'The Parallax View' was later used in 'Arlington Road', an unconvincing movie which was much too contrived for me to be believable. It just didn't have the subtlety that this one has, and spelled everything out, seeming assuming its audience wasn't bright enough to get it. 'The Parallax View' is still one of the most intelligent, tense and effective conspiracy thrillers ever made, and the direction by the late Alan J. Pakula is just about flawless. Highly recommended.