THE MASTERPIECE
The Parallax View
ALAN J. PAKULA was the master of paranoia. Between 1971 and 1976, he directed three thematically rich and stylish psychological thrillers, each dealing with differing aspects of politics, the abuse of power and surveillance. Dubbed the ‘Paranoia Trilogy’, it began with Klute , which starred an Oscar-winning Jane Fonda as a Manhattan call girl in the crosshairs of a killer, and concluded with All The President’s Men , which chronicled The Washington Post’s investigation into the Watergate scandal, and won four Academy Awards.
In-between came , arguably the pick of an exceptional bunch. Loosely based on theMichael Ritchie, the script, by Lorenzo Semple Jr, of fame, eventually found its way to actor/ producer Warren Beatty, whose star power had lost some of its allure after a run of box-office misfires. Beatty had taken the previous two years off to help with his friend George McGovern’s unsuccessful 1972 Presidential campaign and saw as his comeback, bringing it to Pakula, then riding high on the success of .
