The Parallax View
Directed by	Alan J. Pakula
Produced by	Alan J. Pakula Warren Beatty
Written by	David Giler Lorenzo Semple Jr Loren Singer (novel)
Starring	Warren Beatty Hume Cronyn William Daniels
Music by
Cinematography	{{{cinematography}}}
Editing by	{{{editing}}}
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Released	1974 (USA)
Running time	102 min.
Language	English
Budget
Preceded by	{{{preceded_by}}}
Followed by	{{{followed_by}}}
IMDb profile

The Parallax View is a 1974 movie directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty (who was also a producer), adapted from the novel by Loren Singer. The movie is a dark, paranoid, political thriller about a reporter's investigation into an obscure and murderous organization, the Parallax Corporation. Image File history File links The Parallax View This image is of a DVD cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the DVD or the studio which produced the movie in question. ... Alan Jay Pakula (April 7, 1928 - November 19, 1998) was an American film producer, writer and director noted for his contributions to the conspiracy thriller genre. ... Alan Jay Pakula (April 7, 1928 - November 19, 1998) was an American film producer, writer and director noted for his contributions to the conspiracy thriller genre. ... Warren Beatty Henry Goro Beaty (born March 30, 1937 in Richmond, Virginia), now known as Warren Beatty, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ... Warren Beatty Henry Goro Beaty (born March 30, 1937 in Richmond, Virginia), now known as Warren Beatty, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ... Hume Blake Cronyn, OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a stage and film actor. ... William Daniels (born March 31, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York) is an Emmy-award-winning American actor whose distinctive, nasal voice and penchant for portraying critical yet competent characters has landed him a number of roles over the years. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... See also: 1973 in film 1974 1975 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in USA May 1 - George Lucas creates the first draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Alan Jay Pakula (April 7, 1928 - November 19, 1998) was an American film producer, writer and director noted for his contributions to the conspiracy thriller genre. ... Warren Beatty Henry Goro Beaty (born March 30, 1937 in Richmond, Virginia), now known as Warren Beatty, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ...

The movie can be seen as part of a trilogy of paranoid political thrillers directed by Pakula, with Klute (1971) and All the President's Men (1976). There are very clear parallels to the Kennedy assassination and its conspiracy theories running through the movie. Klute is a 1971 film which tells the story of a prostitute who assists a detective in solving a murder mystery. ... See also: 1970 in film 1971 1972 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 8 - Bob Dylans hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New Yorks Academy of Music. ... All the Presidents Men is a 1974 non-fiction book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post. ... See also: 1975 in film 1976 1977 in film 1970s in film years in film film Events March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas Star Wars science fiction film. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... This proposed logo for a U.S. government agency was dropped due to fears that its pseudo-Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ...

Plot

Beatty portrays reporter Joe Frady. A colleague and former lover of his, Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss), is present at the assassination of a U.S. Senator and Presidential hopeful at the Seattle Space Needle. The assassin dies just after his target and the whole assassination is officially reported as the work of a single individual. Carter feels there is more to the killing and her idea seems justified when seven of the witnesses to the death also die. Paula Prentiss (born Paula Ragusa March 4, 1939 in San Antonio, Texas, USA) is an actress probably best known for her starring role in The Stepford Wives. ... It has been suggested that Targeted killing be merged into this article or section. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... The President of the United States (fully, President of the United States of America; unofficially abbreviated POTUS) is the head of state of the United States and the chief executive of the federal government. ... Nickname: The Emerald City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... View of the Space Needle. ...

Frady follows up her investigation after she herself turns up dead (ostensibly of an overdose) and he finds the conspiracy leads to the Parallax Corporation. The corporation offers itself as a therapy institute. Frady believes Parallax detects certain types of personalities and recruits them as sociopaths capable of amoral assignments, such as political assassinations. He fakes a psychological test and is accepted for the Parallax therapy but finds himself seriously outclassed and isolated by the subtle and invasive corporation. He can sense the fate the corporation intends for him but cannot avoid it.

There is a memorable sequence when Frady is bombarded with a montage of emotional images, words and music, the links between the words and images shifting as the sequence progresses and speeds up. The montage is filmed in a subjective manner. Frady and his reactions are not shown - the montage is projected at the audience. Such montages were popular in the film schools of the 1970s and can be seen in other contemporary films. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

The action culminates when Frady, continuing his investigation, tails (he believes covertly) Parallax conspirators to a dress rehearsal of a political rally for another U.S. Senator. Frady hides in the catwalks of the auditorium trying to secretly observe what the men, who are also walking around the catwalks, are up to. Too late, Frady realizes he's been set up. Having Frady follow them to this specific location was actually what they intended all along. As Frady discovers he's trapped, the senator is shot and killed. Frady then notices a rifle that's been planted at his location. As those on the auditorium floor look up to the catwalks for the gunman, they see Frady moving about. He tries to hide and evades the initial search for him. But before he can escape the building, he's discovered and shot to death. A catwalk is an elevated service platform from which many of the technical functions of a theater space may be manipulated. ...

Parallax has set him up perfectly. He's been spoted hiding among the catwalks and there's rifle right where he was. Thus, it's entirely believable to the observers that he was the assassin. And indeed, in the final scene, the same committee who determined that the assassination of the senator in the beginning was the work of just one individual announces that the assassination at the end was also the work of just one individual - Joe Frady.

The distinctive panavision (2:35) photography with long lens, unconventional framing and shallow focus was supervised by Gordon Willis. Panavision is a motion picture equipment company specializing in camera, lens, and grip equipment, along with related accessories. ... Gordon Willis (born May 28, 1931 in Queens, New York) is a highly respected Hollywood cinematographer best known for his work on the The Godfather series and on some of Woody Allens most popular films. ...

See also

• Conspiracy thriller

The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of the thriller which flourished in the 1970s in the US (and was echoed in other parts of the world) in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies (most notably Vietnam, the assassination of President Kennedy, Chappaquiddick...

External links

• DVD Savant review of the montage
• The Parallax View at the Internet Movie Database