The Parallax View

Rating:
Summary: FInally the way it was supposed to be seen...
Review: Beatty plays journalist investigating mysterious deaths of witnesses to a political assassination.

Pakula's dark and paranoid masterpiece was origninally shot by Gordon Willis (Godfathers I II and III, Klute, Zeilig, etc.) in 2.35 aspect. Willis, a master of light and composition, developed frames for this film that are practically abstract. His sense of composition (I'm sure Pakula was part of this) is brilliant: the static formalistic compositions; the use of long lenses to flatten each image into an (almost) isometric projection.

Now, maybe I'm getting carried away here, but "parallax" and "isometric"...? Hmmm... Both are terms related to geometry the "perception" of reality -- which is more-or-less the subtext of this film.

Anyway, after its dissapearance from theater screens this film made numerous appearances on TV (mainly late at night) in a pan-and-scan version. Same with the VHS version. So until the DVD was released, this was the only way I (and most other people) had seen it.

Well twice the frame is twice as good -- now entire sequences can be re-examined and reinterpreted (the ending has elements which appeared seperated in the VHS version).

I found the picture and sound to be good, but I'd hoped for more additional material (a documentary, a making of, an interview or two -- anything). This is certainly one film that deserves the extra attention. However I'm grateful for the 2.35 version.

Bottom line: a real treat for cinephiles, and a great movie for everyone else.

Rating:
Summary: re brainwashing sequence
Review: I also think this is a very good movie... I'd like to give an extra special mention to the audio visual experience that is the psychometric test which Beatty undergoes. It is an example of wonderful film-making - still images and text being manipulated by a great director - perfectly pitched with the soundtrack. A must-see for students of Film and Graphic Design because it reminds people that low-tech film making in the hands of someone with an idea can be more effective that a mega budget piece of rubbish - it could be seen as a brilliant technique to exploit storytelling on the net while we still have to put up with low band width streaming. ...

Rating:
Summary: Riveting scenes of an escalator going up and down
Review: I have read other reviews of this movie and clearly I am the slow kid in the class because I was unable to discern just exactly what this film was about. It has a cool title, and who doesn't love a good 70s political thriller, but this movie just wanders all over the place. It moves at a pace that goes barely fast enough so that you keep watching, but never actually gets you excited. And they used so much film to accomplish this!

Rating:
Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT ALWAYS UNDERSTANDABLE
Review: I saw the movie on TV, and I don't understand why some of the "witnesses" are being killed off, when as Prentiss and Beatty's characters (both of whom are killed off) are in agreement that they observed nothing untoward. I also don't understand how Beatty's character escaped the bomb on William Daniels' ship.

Otherwise, fantastic, tightly-wound, well-acted movie!!

Rating:
Summary: Really good but with unintended consequence?
Review: I was trying to think how to describe The Parallax View and I realized its the conspricy movie Oliver Stone would make if had more talent and less ego.

Since that won't happen we're left with Parallax View which is a series of events that vaguely correspond to actual occurances. The point is not to theroize about an actual asasination; its to show how a fictional conspricy might unfold.

Alas, the unintended consequence is all the single bullet/talk radio/grassy noll nuts attaching undue importance to it. May I remind you that our current government--as sinister as any I can recall--can't even fake WMDs? How would people like this create a Parallax Corporation?

Rating:
Summary: A Political Thriller Well Worth Viewing
Review: In my humble opinion the late Alan J. Pakula was the finest suspense director of all time and the think man's answer to Alfred Hitchcock. Now I don't mean to put down the "Master of Suspense," but his movies were made with the sole intention of being entertaining, reguardless of how shallow they may be. Pakula, on the other hand, interweaved with his nail-biting tension meaningful substance-based stories that only added to my appreciation of his films. In fact in most instances it was the political ramifications that spawned from his movies that made them more terrifying than any shower scene or telescopic lens could ever think of being. Take for example All the President's Men. He allowed the picture to slowly build until your stomach's in knots and you leave the theatre more unsettled than you went in.

The Parallax View is much the same way. It starts with a political assassination and ends with a twist that even M. Night Shyamalan couldn't have written any better. Warren Beatty stars as a Washington reporter who's witness to the assassination and, like everybody else, doesn't question the government's findings when they rule it was the act of a lone gunman (where have we heard that before?). That is until other witnesses start dying off under mysterious circumstances. But it's not before six of the eighteen, including his ex-girlfriend, die that he is moved to action. He starts prying around, as reporters have a tendancy to do, seeing what he can uncover.

Joe (Beatty) follows a lead to the small town of Salmontail where a seventh witness has gone missing and is now presumed dead. He is, of course, having fallen victim to a fishing accident that drowned him. And it's not long after discovering this that the first attempt on Joe's life is made. This only serves to strengthen his resolve, which he puts to work by applying to a mysterious corporation that may be a front for finding and hiring potential assassins. If this isn't frightening enough for you waiting until you discover the bizarre truth, it's more chilling than anything you can imagine.

Now I don't pretend to be pretentious enough to suggest that everyone's going to be as engaged by this film as I was. It's a very intricate and complex thriller that doesn't allow you to breeze through without being made to think. If you're looking to put your brain on cruise control and relax after a long day's work, and there's nothing wrong with that, than you're looking in the wrong place. This is not the kind of movie you can simply wander in and out of, because it flows at a very particular pace that to break it up would only be doing yourself a disservice.

Beatty is superb in his performance and, being as he's the only notable name in front of the camera, is asked to carry much of the movie. There's seldom a scene that goes without him being in it, and by doing this we see the proceedings through his eyes. It's a very effect and absorbing technique that makes the audience a part of the story rather than merely observing it. We're never allowed to get ahead of our protagnoist, putting us on the same rollercoast ride of revelations that he's on.

I hate to overemphasize the impact of the film's conclusion, but if you lose patience just remember, the ending changes the tone of everything that proceeded it. This is a classic thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Conspiracy plots don't get any better
Review: Not only is this a great early performance from Warren Beatty, who plays a rebellious, idealistic reporter going undercover as a sociopath seeking to join an organization of government trained assassins, it is a first-rate example of action-suspense filmmaking. The eerie soundtrack music is especially effective, creating a mood that is by turns sinister and mournful.

What made this film one of my all time favorites is a "movie-within-the-movie" about halfway through. Beatty's character goes to a sort-of character screening as he attempts to join Parallax Corp., and as part of the 'audition' he must watch a bizarre 3-4 minute film of images and sounds while his vital signs are monitored. It is a brilliant concept, brilliantly executed.

For anyone who loves a tragic underdog fighting a war that you just know the poor guy can't win, this movie would make a welcome addition to your collection.

Rating:
Summary: Distinctive 70's cynicism
Review: On this Amazon website The Parallax View is linked to Three Days of the Condor, another classic conspiracy thriller from 1975, also produced by Paramount. But I contend that Paramount's 1974 The Conversation fits with The Parallax View. I say this because there is between them both a harsh violence and an atmosphere created that doesn't bathe the characters in safety or a belief that everything will be alright. As was the case in this era of films, including Chinatown, Night Moves, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Nashville, Z, Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon, etc., things are not alright.
What I appreciated about The Parallax View though, was the anger and fear it engendered. The suspense was palpable and the reasoning unclear. All you know is that Beatty is on the hunt, oblivious to his place in the game, and his opponent's true nature.
The Parallax View is a very effective thriller, though it includes a ridiculous bar fight, and a somewhat standard car chase. It does though, feature an ominous beginning and ending, creepy music, and acting that moves it all along fine.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Political Thriller!
Review: Pakula did a great job directing this classic. I love the imagery of this film, the scene set up and the eventual consequences that take place. Warren Beatty is great as the investigative reporter. This is one great film! One of the most underrated films of the 70's!

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Political Thriller!
Review: Pakula did a great job directing this classic. I love the imagery of this film, the scene set up and the eventual consequences that take place. Warren Beatty is great as the investigative reporter. This is one great film! One of the most underrated films of the 70's!