Pakula. Pakula was on absolute fire from 1971 to 1976 with this unofficial paranoia trilogy and then we’re largely done—unlike Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg and others American filmmakers that emerged during that incredibly fertile period in American cinema– there’s no second act here for Pakula. Those three films though—Kluke, The Parallax View, and All the President’s Men– are immaculately crafted and are consistent so let’s appreciate what we have. They are clearly the work of an artist. He’s a style-plus director (very easy to discuss below in that section) even if his filmography, specifically the depth beyond those top 3 films, may not warrant being rated as the 74th best director of all-time.
Best film: The Parallax View
- It’s the middle film in the paranoia trilogy Pakula did from 1971-1976— all 3 films (Klute, All the president’s men) are superb
- Rightly so- this films comes up often when critics talk about the best political or paranoia films of all-time
- After the breathtaking prologue- the forward dolly “warren commission”-like statement shot and finishing free-frame is wonderful
- The eerie score certainly adds to the atmosphere
- There’s a long brainwashing video sequence that certainly made me think of a clockwork orange
- There is just one wonderful set piece after another ( space needle, gorge damn, the yacht, the parallax corporation building (the architecture here looks like it’s from Tati’s playtime))
- Long silent chase sequence, followed by a Manchurian candidate and JFK inspired finale amongst yet another beautiful set piece… it’s a stunning ending with the long shot of the tables at the convention
- Reverse-dolly warren commission finale shot is a wonderful bookend to the opening and a massive middle finger to the establishment
- One of Warren Beatty’s best films as an actor in the lead
- Top 5 of the year quality level film
- Must-See/Masterpiece border
total archiveable films: 7
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 2 (The Parallax View, All the President’s Men)
top 100 films of the decade: 3 (The Parallax View, All the President’s Men, Klute)
most overrated: Nothing- Pakula only has one film in the TSPDT critical consensus top 1000 and it’s All the President’s Men at #483 which is underrated by 100 + slots.
most underrated: Parallax View. I have it rated out as Pakula’s best film and, disastrously (for the poor critics), it’s not on the TSPDT top 1000.
gem I want to spotlight: Klute. This page isn’t about Gordon Willis but many are going to give Willis credit for Pakula. Before Manhattan, Annie Hall, The Godfather and Part II we had Klute—and Pakula needs to get some credit for shaping the look and darkness here (Willis’ work before this, with like Hal Ashby on 1970’s The Landlord doesn’t look like this). It’s the first film in the paranoia trilogy, chalk-full of gorgeous paranoia-inspiring camera zooms, the Antonioni architectural influence, and Jane Fonda’s best performance.
stylistic innovations/traits: If this is easy to discuss it’s a good sign for the auteur and Pakula is so easy and fun to talk about. His best work emphasized dread in large looming set pieces—corporate offices, the space needle (this is pure Hitchcock but instead of thrill Pakula went with Orwellian fear) and the congressional library. That’s right, through superior film style, Pakula makes a library seem horrifying. The paranoia here is achieved through the small characters lost in oppressive architecture (La Notte), machinery/modernity (Red Desert, Modern Times, Playtime) and open spaces (Antonioni). The natural lighting (or lack thereof) and shadows is trademark—it’s more consistent in Pakukla’s work than Coppola’s, Roeg’s or anyone else who emerged from this era or worked with Gordon Willis (and influenced the likes of David Fincher, Soderbergh). If the set piece work and lighting weren’t enough we have the trademark Pakula camera zooms. It’s a beautiful marriage of content and style with the surveillance themes in his trilogy. We’re watching (Fonda, Beatty, Redford/Hoffman) from afar. I could do another page on Pakula’s work (albeit from Welles) using the ceiling, specifically corporate natural lighting, as mise-en-scene and how it’s influenced so many films today from Zodiac to Homecoming.
top 10
- The Parallax View
- All the President’s Men
- Klute
- Sophie’s Choice
- Comes a Horseman
- Presumed Innocent
- Starting Over
By year and grades
| 1971- Klute | MS |
| 1974- The Parallax View | MS/MP |
| 1976- All the President’s Men | MS |
| 1978- Comes a Horseman | R |
| 1979- Starting Over | R |
| 1982- Sophie’s Choice | HR |
| 1990- Presumed Innocent | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Considering it is election day, what do you think are some of the best political movies of all time. I don’t mean like do the right thing or something that addresses political topics but a movie about politicians or political conspiracy. May i suggest blow out by de palma as one. Would citizen kane or face in the crowd count as kane is a politician and so was Andy griffith in that movie? Any great political biopics besides jfk?
Hi @D.WGriffith. Interesting question, i doubt that someone will answer you, here we don’t talk about politics.
@D.WGriffith- I don’t necessarily agree with the order but this list is pretty good https://www.insider.com/best-political-movies-ever-ranked-2020-7 The movie with Andy Griffith is Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd. Il Divo is great as well. I hate to nitpick but JFK isn’t a biopic, right?
@Drake I suppose not in the conventional sense but it is based on a real man and oliver stones version of historical events. Thank you i will have to look into that list. Have you seen stones W. About Bush. It looks good and I want to see it. Also i knew the face in the crowd with griffith but I said “in that movie” because It took less time to write. Personally I think that is better than waterfront and a very emotionally interesting film. Good job with the site, it is really cool and an interesting study particularly of auteurism.
@aldo. Thank you. I wasn’t trying to get into a partisan/political discussion I was just wondering about political thrillers and conspiracy movies. Do you know any good ones.
But you mean they must be real (biopics)?
because Taxi Driver has a curtain on elections, i can think of the Manchurian candidate, the conformist has a political background, i don’t want it to sound like a joke haha but Salo, Pasolini’s work is very political.
I’m sorry if it doesn’t help, i don’t think much about this.
I revisited Klute (1971), happy I did as I did not think much of it when I first watched several years ago. Visually its brilliant, with Gordon Willis aka “Prince of Darkness” shooting so much of the film in dimly lit apartments and streets. The score is crucial as well in creating paranoia. I see some similarities with Coppola’s The Conversation which admittingly is the superior film but I still was quite impressed here. Ebert says the thriller aspects were not always done well and I do agree. This works best as a character study and atmospheric thriller more than a plot driven one.
Drake, love your work, keep it up; no Sterile Cuckoo in the archives?
@Haider- thank you for the kind words- I need to track this one down still. The next time I see it on TCM I’ll record it and watch.
My ranking of Pakula`s films that I`ve seen:
1. The Parallax View MS/MP
2. Klute MS
3. All the President`s Men MS
4. Sophie`s Choice HR
5 Best Performances
1. Streep- Sophie`s Choice
2. Fonda- Klute
3. Beatty- The Parallax View
4. Redford- All the President`s Men
5. Hoffman- All the President`s Men
Just finished watching a good portion of Pakula’s filmography, including all but Starting Over from your list, with a couple added other ones. I think you have him waaaaay overrated. I would drop him maybe 100 spots or so. I think I can see why you like Parallax View and Klute so much. Klute, eg, very much reminds me of something by Antonioni.(Now that I’ve read above, it appears you say exactly that.) I have them scored the same, under All the President’s Men, which, while it’s not directed or photographed as interestingly, is a better film overall, I think. There are a couple scenes I think are pretty flawed in PV and Klute. But also, I find them both too arm’s length. PV, eg, as a conspiracy thriller should draw the audience in more, like Frankenheimer’s conspiracy thrillers. But it never really does. It’s more realistic than Manchurian Candidate and yet less compelling. I also wouldn’t put any of them as masterpieces though. For me it’s:
1. All the President’s Men (MS)
2. Parallax View (HR)
3. Klute (HR)
4. Sophie’s Choice (HR)
5. Comes a Horseman (R)
6. Sterile Cuckoo (R)
7. Presumed Innocent (R)
8. Pelican Brief (R)