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The Parallax View
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The Parallax View

The Parallax View

1974
Suspense/Thriller
1h 42m
Joe Frady is a determined reporter who often needs to defend his work from colleagues. After the assassination of a prominent U.S. senator, Frady begins to notice that reporters present during the assassination are dying mysteriously. (imdb)

Directed by:

Alan J. Pakula

Screenwriter:

Robert Towne, David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Starring:

Warren Beatty, Kenneth Mars, Earl Hindman, William Daniels, Bill McKinney, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn, Walter McGinn, Kelly Thordsen, William Joyce, Chuck Waters, Bettie Johnson

Genre:

Suspense/Thriller

Country:

USA

Language:

English
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The Parallax View

1974
Suspense/Thriller
1h 42m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 61.18% from 713 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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suldrupSuldrup
Rated 13 Oct 2010
75
72nd
Solely focusing on pushing the plot forward, the film's main character is heavily underdeveloped, and one never fully understands the character's drive and motive power - just as Pakula has intended. The lack of character depth emphazises the film's overall cynicism as does the outstanding cinematography, reminiscent of Antonioni: Stunning scenery is filmed in long shots, keeping the audience emotional afar. A gloomy depiction of the paranoia that ruled America in the beginning of the 70's.
Rated 13 Oct 2010
sebbysebby
Rated 06 Dec 2010
70
73rd
Second-tier 70's American political thriller. Beatty is very good, but the story tends to unravel rather than unfold as it goes along. The first third of the film is fantastic; after that, the story becomes a bit dull instead of becoming tenser and tenser as a great paranoid thriller should. Still, a good watch for fans of the genre/time period.
Rated 06 Dec 2010
andreasthauAndreasThau
Rated 03 Nov 2010
80
77th
Warren Beatty is just class, and Pakula fills this with high quality suspense and some brilliant camera stuff. It's still a strange film, though. Like The Conversation, its sound mixing keep you very distant at all times; somehow it's never as if you're there - maybe to strengthen the feeling that you're watching rather than participating. Maybe that's what make these films so unique.
Rated 03 Nov 2010
mentaculusMentaculus
Rated 28 Jun 2009
80
72nd
First of all, this film has THE MOST EFFECTIVE MONTAGE I have ever witnessed (sorry, Eisenstein), worth the cost of admission/OOP DVD alone. The movie, as a whole, is bleak and depressing, with interesting visual flourishes that only insist the world is depraved and ready to cave in on poor Beatty. Unfortunately, scenes that should be more suspenseful either come off as boring as paint drying or the ending to a Dukes-of-Hazzard ep. Still underrated, besides.
Rated 28 Jun 2009
darrenDarren
Rated 15 Aug 2022
90
92nd
The colours of the flag lingering in every long take, an adventure that goes coast to coast to expose the inside of American culture and it’s rotted core. Warren Beatty and all he means to New Hollywood taking a sledgehammer to foundations of American ideals. Where anyone could be a agent. Where anyone could end up the patsy like a certain man in Texas. Government and business intrinsically linked. All cover ups. No questions this is just an announcement
Rated 15 Aug 2022
nathan_sNathan S
Rated 20 Jan 2020
3
45th
Patriotic fervor conceals the vacancy of justice, the corruption of institutions, the farce of ideals. Pakula's cynicism hangs low, easy to grasp but no less engaging for it. He and Frankenheimer are the twin pillars of conspiracy thrillers, and if The Parallax View isn't quite on the level of their greatest works, it at least contains a few extraordinary sequences: the dam, the montage, the airplane.
Rated 20 Jan 2020
billkerwinbillkerwin
Rated 22 Dec 2009
81
48th
Suspenseful, paranoid political thriller.
Rated 22 Dec 2009
natebarriosnatebarrios
Rated 31 Jul 2022
80
87th
somehow the best Thor movie.
Rated 31 Jul 2022
rosenritterrosenritter
Rated 30 Jul 2018
8
85th
All you have to do to make a good noir movie is cut out all the parts of the script that would allow the viewer to make sense of the story. One of the most immaculately directed thrillers I've seen. Best montage scene, best napkin scene.
Rated 30 Jul 2018
astrakhanastrakhan
Rated 03 Jan 2017
70
17th
A few visually interesting shots cannot save a long, boring film with an overly political plot lacking in human elements.
Rated 03 Jan 2017
zipsterZipster
Rated 11 Aug 2014
90
81st
The 1rst half is about paranoia, the 2nd is paranoia. The movie is not about suspense. It's about mood and atmosphere. And when something malevolent happens, the suspense is diffused in favor of creeping through this dark, kitchen-sink world governed by power, fear and indoctrination.
Rated 11 Aug 2014
johnsandwichJohnSandwich
Rated 05 May 2011
75
74th
Gordon Willis photo+montage+general paranoia
Rated 05 May 2011
actionbergActionberg
Rated 08 Mar 2011
80
71st
The Parallax View is a great, suspenseful movie that engages and subverts American iconography (most obviously in the brain test photo montage) in order to challenge collective national memory and expose its bizarre fragmentation. It is also, in terms of the local, a unique portrait of the region of the Pacific Northwest. The film explores the faded American dream through modernistic spaces of the densely urban city of Seattle, contrasted with its nature. Gordon Willis slays it as always.
Rated 08 Mar 2011
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 16 Jan 2008
78
88th
Since The Parallax View doesn't have an excellent script like All the President's Men, it's rather fortunate that it's sparser, allowing for some really good scenes that are nearly silent and owe their strength to Pakula's directing and Gordon Willis's cinematography. Anyway this is maybe the most paranoid of the bunch of paranoia movies, but it's taut and has a great atmosphere.
Rated 16 Jan 2008
ironcity18ironcity18
Rated 19 Jan 2007
97
92nd
Great, under-appreciated 70's political thriller that holds up today in a way most of the quiet conspiracy films do not. Needs to be reintroduced to a new generation, and could easily be remade today. Beatty is kickass in a lcaonic way, with some cool fights and chases has he tracks a shadowy organization. Great ending that will piss you off. I like it most for its blaring lack of a constant underscore/soundtrack like most action thriller today, which over-engineer the sound. this has a ta
Rated 19 Jan 2007
doyler29doyler29
Rated 18 Feb 2024
80
68th
I don't know that I buy Beatty in this film. He most certainly does not turn in a bad performance, but his somewhat vague screen persona isn't a great fit for a driven reporter. While I like the film's climax, it's entirely dependent on Beatty doing a series of actions of that Parallax could neither predict nor control. Still ... really good little paranoid thriller.
Rated 18 Feb 2024
vv238vv238
Rated 23 Nov 2023
70
73rd
The Parallax View is so good it's a small wonder it isn't more well-known. This feels distinct from a lot of other 70's political thrillers due to the constant tension, paranoia, and experimental sections baked throughout. The ending at first felt like a letdown but after more consideration it's actually pretty ingenious and only adds to the conspiratorial nature of this film.
Rated 23 Nov 2023
thatyoungmthatyoungm
Rated 25 Dec 2022
77
11th
Pakula is a competent director with an eye for this type of political intrigue material and he creates a sense of foreboding with his unbroken long shots and masterfully built montages. The problem with the movie is that, though it is competently produced and directed, it's completely devoid of any heart or emotion. Beatty's character serves merely to push the film's paranoia plot forward and even though a lot happens in the film, I didn't feel connected to any of it.
Rated 25 Dec 2022
biggerkevinbiggerkevin
Rated 28 Sep 2022
6
86th
Warren Beatty is the most beautiful man that ever lived
Rated 28 Sep 2022
seethruskinSeethruskin
Rated 12 Aug 2022
6
95th
It’s really at its best when it’s using the long shots in an Antonioniesque way. Letting scenes unfurl inside some beautiful framing. Pretty nuts how true a lot of the conspiratorial nature of this film turned out to be.
Rated 12 Aug 2022
shockularSHOCKULAR
Rated 31 Jul 2022
71
46th
Solid extremely pessimistic thriller, but the weakest of Pakula's Conspiracy Trilogy, and not as good as other conspiracy movies made that year (which isn't necessarily an insult, as some of those include The Conversation, one of my all time favorites, and Chinatown.) The ending seems a bit abrupt and the pacing is a bit off. I felt some plot points were not well explained (not the fact that there weren't clear solutions--that is part of the point--but like how they get onto the editor, etc.)
Rated 31 Jul 2022
honestthiefHonest_Thief
Rated 20 Jul 2022
4
63rd
probably what surprised me the most, besides the ending, is how entertaining this was. when it wants it dials up the paranoia of some spook at the edge of the frame, ready to shoot, but then it throws all sort of scenarios like a car chase or a bar fight
Rated 20 Jul 2022
bownBown
Rated 15 Jul 2022
83
67th
It’s so perfectly 1970s that this movie is frequently so matter-of-fact and undramatic about its all-encompassing conspiracy storyline. Like “well yeah that’s just how it is y’know”. Slightly undercooked but brilliantly shot and tense.
Rated 15 Jul 2022
nathanbatesNathanBates
Rated 19 May 2022
60
35th
I enjoyed it for the paranoid feel, but I couldn't help wondering what sort of movie it was -- it really wasn't thrilling enough to be a thriller, and there were some strange bits of comedy tugging it out of drama. Definitely worth watching once (especially for that early 1970s conspiracy theory ambience); it doesn't seem like it would be a film that has enough secrets to reveal on a second showing.
Rated 19 May 2022
glumpy99glumpy_99
Rated 25 Feb 2022
67
31st
Strangely, almost disconcertingly edited to throw the viewer off-balance, impressively shot by Willis who makes extensive, unsettling uses of wide shots to keep the viewer at a chilly distance. Where the film fails is in Pakula’s directorial style – this needed a director more capable of turning up the heat in the second half to draw his audience in, rather than keeping them at a remove and ultimately leaving room to ponder some of the absurd conspiracy angles that the film’s screenplay takes.
Rated 25 Feb 2022
yiannosYiannos
Rated 30 Jan 2022
73
78th
Stylish thriller makes good use of a quasi-Antonionian use of space and distance to create tension and the feeling of being 'watched'. The script plays like a first draft, and there is a dull patch in the middle act that hurts it, but it is redeemed by several great set pieces and an overwhelming atmosphere of dread and unease that builds quite subtly and surely in the hands of Pakula, whose best direction is arguably contained here.
Rated 30 Jan 2022
shewasSheWas
Rated 13 Jan 2022
89
93rd
Love. Mother. Father. Me. Country. Enemy. Love.
Rated 13 Jan 2022
mysticMystic
Rated 26 Dec 2021
4
65th
Controlled, off-beat, elaborate, and sinister. The last few tense minutes redeems an overall average thriller.
Rated 26 Dec 2021
decanusellisDecanusEllis
Rated 23 Jul 2021
77
54th
You cannot win against the overwhelming tentacles of corporate influence and greed
Rated 23 Jul 2021
jakeaestheteJakeAesthete
Rated 04 Jul 2021
25
22nd
A movie about how watching an Adam Curtis documentary turns you into a political assassin, or something.
Rated 04 Jul 2021
picklemanPickle_Man
Rated 02 May 2021
90
78th
An excellent example of both the political assassination conspiracy thriller and the 70s American New Wave/New Hollywood style.
Rated 02 May 2021
stuie299stuie299
Rated 02 May 2021
90
90th
Sure, you could maybe say that the screenplay is a little too sparse, but that's not really the point of it all. The screenplay is nothing more than an outline for Director Alan J. Pakula and Cinematographer Gordon Willis to show off their craft. The Cinematography is simply outstanding. Despite first impressions Warren Beatty is surprisingly well cast. I absolutely love the muted patriotic score. The atmosphere this film generates is something special. Overall the film holds up incredibly well.
Rated 02 May 2021
obdurateObdurate
Rated 15 Mar 2021
80
67th
The story itself is usually tense and since it reveals its secrets relatively slowly the viewer is never entirely sure what's going on. The ending is really cool, how it calls back to a scene early in the film. The montage is brilliant and says so much during its chaos. Acting is good all around, some cool music.
Rated 15 Mar 2021
radumsmnradumsmn
Rated 13 Mar 2021
77
76th
That chaotic screenplay wasted some of the best wide angle cinematography you could see on a big screen.
Rated 13 Mar 2021
hisblobhisblob
Rated 11 Feb 2021
50
30th
DNF
Rated 11 Feb 2021
wwallce4prezWWallce4prez
Rated 26 Dec 2020
78
66th
Pakula's less talked about entry into his Conspiracy Trilogy may not have the dynamite script that the others have, but it still is a tight and effective thriller. Its somber ending is right on par for time.
Rated 26 Dec 2020
julesfmbjulesfmb
Rated 19 Aug 2020
72
84th
Conspiracy theorists' favorite
Rated 19 Aug 2020
braddad68braddad68
Rated 27 Oct 2019
92
65th
One of the better 1970s conspiracy movies, and it had much more action than I expected. Beatty was just right for the role.
Rated 27 Oct 2019
neonmanNeonman
Rated 15 Feb 2018
79
61st
Following a terrific opening scene (featuring a shot so exciting it made me bite my fingers), this film eschews a nice conspiracy feeling well and it doesn't slip into many predictable patterns, which the 17:52mins mark in the film proves. It doesn't have the greatest amount of depth as some of the silly plot-points suffocate what importance it could've had, though this feels like it's made for enjoyment, given that it's not afraid to throw in a country town car chase.
Rated 15 Feb 2018
thehynesthehynes
Rated 31 Dec 2017
57
52nd
unlikely yarn feeding off the paranoia of the 70's
Rated 31 Dec 2017
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 06 Nov 2017
65
73rd
Very good.
Rated 06 Nov 2017
capodelnullacapodelnulla
Rated 12 Mar 2017
80
81st
sayısı hepi topu iki olan aksiyon sekansları biraz fazla abartılı ve filmin tonunda bir kırılma yaratıyor gibi. bu anlamda her pakula filminin kaderi olan "aslında harika iş olabilirmiş gerçekten" hissini göze sokup duruyor. beatty çok iyi. en iyi komplo filmlerinden biri.
Rated 12 Mar 2017
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 08 May 2016
84
77th
Really good neo-noir thriller. The visual style is strong, though not very noirish, but it's Beatty's character and the winding plot that dominate the film's tone and make it compelling from start to end.
Rated 08 May 2016
aflickeringAFlickering
Rated 04 Aug 2015
6
86th
might be the most brilliantly directed thriller this side of hitchcock, and i don't say that lightly.
Rated 04 Aug 2015
ribcageribcage
Rated 23 Jun 2015
76
70th
Well shot and well acted. Huge sense of paranoia you can't find in thrillers of any other era. The montage was cool but overlong. Excellent ending!
Rated 23 Jun 2015
redactedredacted
Rated 08 Nov 2014
40
16th
Not as deep/ verbose as you'd like it to be around the central topic. Filled with some unmemorable characters and some strangely paced shots.
Rated 08 Nov 2014
jacoiiiJacoIII
Rated 07 Jan 2014
40
54th
Very, very, very well shot. I don't usually go in for conspiracy films because if they aren't arrogant ("open your eyes, sheeple") then they're often too slow-moving and I fall asleep.
Rated 07 Jan 2014
disconnecteddisconnected
Rated 12 Sep 2012
61
36th
It's compelling and it has a lot of interesting things to say about psychopathy and ordinary people's failure fail to do their jobs properly, but as a pure genre piece it's nowhere near as compelling as a deconstruction of the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy/DeLillo ilk.
Rated 12 Sep 2012
kasperlKasperL
Rated 10 Jun 2012
80
86th
Excellent conspiracy thriller with a somewhat dissatisfying ending. Beatty is ably supported by Prentiss and Daniels in small roles, and Walter McGinn is particularly good. The film's editing features some highly effective cuts.
Rated 10 Jun 2012
ofterdingenOfterdingen
Rated 10 Feb 2012
73
83rd
Taut, elegant and cynic. In other words - not bad at all.
Rated 10 Feb 2012
barthalenBarthalen
Rated 18 Oct 2011
80
81st
A moody, oppressive atmosphere enhances this pretty cool conspiracy-themed film. The viewer is kept in the dark about a lot of elements, which enhanced the sense of paranoia. Awesome montage as well.
Rated 18 Oct 2011
davidkahaneDavidKahane
Rated 08 Aug 2011
69
47th
Pakula favors long holds of wide master shots, giving the film an almost hypnotic quality at times, especially since the director seems disinterested in scenes of actual action, rushing through them as quickly as possible, which has the misfortune of making them more awkward than they should be. Beatty is in movie star mode here, playing most of his scenes with a sort of perplexed casualness that was his trademark approach in any movie in which he didn't have a major creative investment.
Rated 08 Aug 2011
pigletPiglet
Rated 21 Jul 2011
70
59th
Hysterical ending, but I would have preferred a bit more insight into the conspiracy.
Rated 21 Jul 2011
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 11 Jul 2011
90
80th
First time around, I had no idea what to make of this. Second time around, it could very well be the best conspiracy thriller of the 70s, and that's saying something. Beautifully shot and edited, with a perfect Warren Beatty performance and the use of America as a theme is really fascinating, making it a perfect pick for today. Happy July 4th, everybody. (two times)
Rated 11 Jul 2011
boredomsboredoms
Rated 09 Dec 2010
84
93rd
Astonishingly well-shot; DP Gordon Willis practically out-Antonionis Antonioni with his masterful, architectural and overall thrillingly unconventional sense of framing, making extensive use of empty spaces. The sparse use of music is superb as well, lending an uniquely chilling air to the picture. Of course the film is necessarily exaggerated, but it still contains some undeniable dark truths at its core. I'll take this lean, mean paranoia piece over Coppolla's bloated Conversation any day.
Rated 09 Dec 2010
talibanTaliban
Rated 11 Aug 2010
25
31st
just couldn't bring myself to care, the nemesis is left too vague for too long.
Rated 11 Aug 2010
chimpCHIMP
Rated 08 May 2010
66
27th
Some nice flourishes, and probably deserving of at least one rewatch, but this Watergate-era paranoia-thriller didn't really come together for me as well as a lower-key contemporary work like The Conversation.
Rated 08 May 2010
sweekodenSweekoden
Rated 23 Apr 2010
43
25th
That montage was great. Other than that, it's an okay, at times pretty dull, conspiracy flick.
Rated 23 Apr 2010
evolutionEvolution
Rated 10 Oct 2009
65
32nd
How the fuck is this on theyshoot? The only things I liked were the idea behind the title and the brainwashing sequence, other than that it was quite predictable and at times it even felt like a B movie.
Rated 10 Oct 2009
spleenspleen
Rated 28 Jul 2009
65
32nd
Don't be fooled by the summary. This "thriller" packs as much punch as a wet diaper. Boring, boring, boring.
Rated 28 Jul 2009
monstergearMonsterGear
Rated 06 Feb 2009
77
47th
Twisty, kind of interesting, but predictably bleak. The 'reprogramming' sequence was, dare I say, kind of cool.
Rated 06 Feb 2009
theyshoot07theyshoot07
Rated 02 Mar 2008
60
36th
# 798
Rated 02 Mar 2008
onelaOnela
Rated 14 Aug 2007
76
21st
Emblematic of 70s American filmmaking, The Parallax View is replete with the unlikely coupling of fabulous acting and horrible hair. Memorable envelope structure and an ambivalent ending that seems to perfectly capture the themes it stood for, The Parallax View stares at itself through the barrel of a gun of its own curious design.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
stainStain
Rated 02 Apr 2007
100
95th
Conspiracy thrillers don't get any better than this. A notorious narcissist like Warren Beatty is the perfect star for a paranoia epic, too
Rated 02 Apr 2007

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