A gripping, paranoid thriller from the director of All the President's Men
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY
"A Hitchcockian fictional model. […] Warren Beatty is absolutely brilliant."
THE UNROCKUPTIBLES
On July 4, 1971, Independence Day in the United States, Senator Carroll was assassinated during a reception in Seattle. The investigation concluded it was a lone-wolf hit by a deranged individual. Three years later, witnesses to the scene began to die one after another. Present at Senator Carroll's assassination, journalist Joseph Frady decided to investigate and uncovered a far-reaching conspiracy…
An iconic film of the 1970s, The Parallax View perfectly illustrates the paranoid climate that reigned in the United States in the aftermath of the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr., soon followed by the Watergate scandal. Alan J. Pakula masterfully captured this obsession with conspiracy, a theme he explored in two other films, Klute and All the President's Men . Available for the first time in France in its new restoration, The Parallax View remains an unparalleled example of formal virtuosity, with its chiaroscuro cinematography by Gordon Willis ( The Godfather ) and its cold, hostile settings within which its protagonist, a whistleblower in the making, is portrayed by a remarkable Warren Beatty.
BECAUSE OF AN ASSASSINATION of Alan J. Pakula
(1974 - Color - 102 min)
2K restoration from a 4K scan
Original version with French subtitles + French version
CUC (ULTRA COLLECTOR'S SET) #29
THE BOX CONTAINS
// THE FILM (2K RESTORATION FROM A 4K SCAN)
// EXTRAS (IN HD)
. ALEX COX ON "BECAUSE OF AN ASSASSINATION" (15 min)
"This dreamlike world that Pakula and Beatty introduced us to in 1974 is the one we live in today. [...] All our data belongs to private companies and government agencies and is for sale." A presentation by director Alex Cox.
CLARIFICATION : THE GENESIS OF "BECAUSE OF AN ASSASSINATION" (15 min)
Jon Boorstin, who assisted Alan J. Pakula on the film set, recalls the synergy between the director and his cinematographer, Gordon Willis. Far from being a political film, The Parallax View , according to Boorstin, deals with the culture of control and paranoia, brilliantly illustrated during the key test sequence.
REVISIONS (27 min)
"The theme of conspiracy, particularly in cinema, has resurfaced because of 9/11 and, of course, all the conspiracy theories surrounding it. 9/11 was probably our assassination of John F. Kennedy." An exclusive interview with filmmaker Nicolas Pariser ( Alice and the Mayor ).
// A 160-PAGE BOOK
(INCLUDES OVER 40 ARCHIVAL PHOTOS)
"THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TOTEMS: BECAUSE OF THE ASSASSINATION OF ALAN J. PAKULA"
BY JEAN-BAPTISTE THORET
"I believe that filmmaking is a very collaborative process. That's why the auteur theory is only partly correct ." - Alan J. Pakula
The Other Side of Totems praises the paranoid genius of The Parallax View , based on a perfect osmosis between the talents – from the committed actor Warren Beatty to the composer Michael Small – and on its dazzling aesthetics of conspiracy, before dissecting the so-called “parallax effect” program applied to the film . An unpublished work by Jean-Baptiste Thoret, accompanied by 40 archive photos and enhanced with two interviews with Alan J. Pakula (one of which was conducted in 1998 by Steven Soderbergh).
// AN EXCLUSIVE VISUAL CREATED BY LAURENT DURIEUX
A major figure in contemporary poster art and illustration, Laurent Durieux has quickly become a recognized name among renowned artists and filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg. Inspired by the works of Antonio Petruccelli and Ernest Hamlin Baker, by retrofuturism and cinema, the Belgian artist has been creating a unique and instantly recognizable body of work for nearly fifteen years.
Discover all of Laurent Durieux's creations at www.laurentdurieux.com
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BD 50 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • 1080/23.98p • AVC ENCODING
Original Version / French Version • French Subtitles
2.39 aspect ratio respected • Colors • Film Length: 102 minutes
DVD 9 • NEWLY RESTORED MASTER • PAL • MPEG-2 ENCODING
Original Version / French Version • French Subtitles
2.39 aspect ratio respected • 16:9 compatible with 4:3 • Color • Film Length: 98 minutes
Release date : June 17, 2025
