The Parallax View (1974)

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

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

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)
Jim Davis	...	George Hammond
Joan Lemmo	...	Organist
Kenneth Mars	...	Former FBI Agent Will
William Jordan	...	Tucker's Aide
Edward Winter	...	Senator Jameson
Stacy Keach Sr.	...	Commission Spokesman #1
Ford Rainey	...	Commission Spokesman #2
Alma Beltran	...	Joy Holder
Richard Bull	...	Parallax Goon
Suzanne Cohane	...	Stewardess
Ronda Copland	...	Girl
Joe Di Reda	...	Ralph Scoletta (as Joseph Di Reda)
Patsy Garrett	...	Woman
Penelope Gillette	...	Woman
Robert P. Lieb	...	Senator Gillingham (as Robert Lieb)
William Swan	...	Herbert Moon
John S. Ragin	...	Buster Himan
Vernon Weddle	...	Harry Lutz
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Kelley	...	Class President (uncredited)
Anthony Zerbe	...	Prof. Schwartzkopf (uncredited)

Directed by
Alan J. Pakula

Writing credits
David Giler		(writer) and
Lorenzo Semple Jr.		(writer)
Loren Singer		(novel)
Robert Towne		uncredited

Produced by
Robert Jiras	....	assistant producer (as Robert E. Jiras)
Gabriel Katzka	....	executive producer
Charles H. Maguire	....	associate producer
Alan J. Pakula	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Small

Cinematography by
Gordon Willis

Film Editing by
John W. Wheeler

Casting by
Alixe Gordin
Joe Scully

Production Design by
George Jenkins

Set Decoration by
Reg Allen

Costume Design by
Frank L. Thompson		(as Frank Thompson)

Makeup Department
William Turner	....	makeup artist (as Bill Turner)

Production Management
Charles H. Maguire	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hawk Koch	....	first assistant director (as Howard W. Koch Jr.)
John M. Poer	....	second assistant director (as John Poer)

Art Department
Dudley Holmes	....	property master (as R. Dudley Holmes)

Sound Department
David Dockendorf	....	sound re-recordist
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound re-recordist (as Bud Grenzbach)
Tom Overton	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Tim Smyth	....	special effects

Stunts
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunt driver
Paul Baxley	....	stunt coordinator
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunt double: Warren Beatty (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer: special assignment
George Holmes	....	gaffer
Chris Schwiebert	....	camera operator

Other crew
Jon Boorstin	....	assistant to director
Karen Hale Wookey	....	script supervisor (as Karen Wookey)
Don Record	....	design consultant
Barbara Spitz	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Doubleday Productions
• Gus
• Harbor Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Pacific Titles & Optical

Other Companies

• DeForest Research  research
• Pacific Title  opticals

Also Known As:

À cause d'un assassinat (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Zeuge einer Verschwörung (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A Última Testemunha (Portugal) [pt]
A Trama (Brazil) [pt]
Ansa - Parallax View (Finland) [fi]
Asesinos, S.A. (Puerto Rico) [es]
El último testigo (Spain) [es]
Perché un assassinio (Italy) [it]
Sidste vidne (Denmark) [da]
Sista vittnet (Sweden) [sv]
Syndykat zbrodni (Poland) [pl]
Ypothesi Parallax (Greece) [el]

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 score in the "Pong" game between the scientist and the monkey.

Quotes:

Bill Rintels: We're in the business of reporting the news, not creating it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: 'The Contender': The Making of a Political Thriller (#7.17)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Political conspiracy thriller par excellence.

The late Alan J. Pakula's 1974 film about political murders is a superbly crafted thriller that holds the audience in its quiet, unsettling grip.

Warren Beatty gives his character of Joe Frady, a "third-rate" journalist, just the right balance of recklessness and determination to enable one to have faith in this man to uncover such shady, potentially threatening goings-on.

Beatty is ably backed up by the supporting cast, most notably Hume Cronyn as Frady's editor, and Paula Prentiss and William Daniels as, respectively, a television reporter and columnist both in fear for their lives.

Composer Michael Small's main theme (used at strategic points throughout the film and often playing on the traditional patriotic sound of the trumpet) has a quality both mournful and despairing that relates effectively to what we are watching. It is a rather sparse music score, but this seems to add to its power. Gordon Willis's Panavision photography conveys threat in even the most everyday of locations (his rendering of modern architecture is especially strong in suggesting a faceless, omnipotent threat), while the editing rhythms and sound design contribute a great deal in throwing the audience off-balance.

Pakula has been involved in more widely-known projects such as All The President's Men and Presumed Innocent, but The Parallax View is definitely one of his best and most powerful films.