{"id":25419,"date":"2021-02-04T21:44:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T05:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=25419"},"modified":"2021-02-04T21:45:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T05:45:33","slug":"review-parallax-view-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2021\/02\/review-parallax-view-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Parallax View: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Parallax View<\/em><\/strong> is an entertaining if not a bit far-fetched conspiracy theory political thriller born out of the Kennedy assassination. Warren Beatty delivers a solid performance, even if some shots seem to be for a GQ photo shoot.<\/p>\n

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The Parallax View
\n<\/span>\u2014 The Criterion Collection \u2014<\/span>
\n(1974)
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Political Thriller<\/span>
\nThe Criterion Collection | R \u2013 102 min. \u2013 $39.95 | February 9, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 02\/04\/2021 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Director: <\/strong>Alan J. Pakula
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Loren Singer (novel); David Giler, Loren Singer (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Paula Prentiss, Walter McGinn<\/span><\/p>\n
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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Interviews
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>No
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/span><\/p>\n
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Audio: <\/strong>English (PCM 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>47.16 GB
\nTotal Bitrate: <\/strong>40.27 Mbps
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/span><\/p>\n
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The Criterion Collection provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>After a presidential candidate is assassinated, political reporter Joe Frady (WARREN BEATTY) begins to suspect that the mysterious Parallax Corporation may be involved. As he investigates, others who share his suspicions start turning up dead. Eventually, Frady uncovers a conspiracy bigger than anyone expected and must race to prevent the corporation’s next big hit.<\/p>\n

Review: The Parallax View<\/em><\/strong> is a conspiracy-based political thriller akin to something like Three Days of the Condor<\/em> or The Manchurian Candidate <\/em>and while those movies were far superior in almost every regard, including the direction, I still found Parallax<\/em><\/strong> to be an interesting endeavor from director Alan J. Pakula.<\/p>\n

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The film was made during a time of turmoil apparently, with a writers\u2019 strike not to mention the Watergate hearings. The writers\u2019 strike however did make for an interesting production which forged ahead due to Warren Beatty\u2019s pay-or-play contract and you can tell, at times, some dialogue was done on the fly, though at least Beatty\u2019s performance was solid, if not especially memorable when you compare him to Redford (in both Condor<\/em> as well as All President\u2019s Men<\/em>, directed by Pakula).<\/p>\n

On the downside, the film is far-fetched and even taking it seriously, doesn\u2019t make a lick of sense. Why is this Parallax Corporation assassinating senators? Who knows. It\u2019s never really explained. And like in many movies, the villains kind of make it hard on themselves by offing people who could easily be labeled as crackpots, people not taken seriously by a media that at that time wasn\u2019t terribly skeptical, in fact pretty idealistic when it came to the politicians.<\/p>\n

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In addition, the technical aspects were a little amateurish with some terrible ADR (one scene in particular goes from on-location dialogue to ADR and back again). And while one of the explosions on a boat was impressive, another on a plane was done off-screen with the camera shaking instead of actually seeing it. Kind of takes the impact away from what was an otherwise tense scene.<\/p>\n

With that being said, couldn\u2019t help but be amused at the convoluted aspects and in that regard, was fairly entertaining. And in addition, the cinematographer by Gordon Willis was fantastic, some fantastic shots (in conjunction with some stark locales) that really makes the movie stand out and make up for some of the deficiencies.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This release comes in a clear HD keep case and inside a thick booklet<\/strong> with an essay and interview with Pakula from an article of \u201cFilmmakers Newsletter\u201d in 1974.<\/p>\n

Alex Cox Introduction (15:00)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Recorded for the Criterion Collection, filmmaker Alex Cox discusses the themes of the movie including that of conspiracies.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n