Alan J. Pakula

The Pelican Brief

Another John Grisham legal thriller comes to the screen, pairing Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who is known for dark-hued suspense pictures such as Klute, The Parallax View,All the President's Men, and Presumed Innocent. The Pelican Brief isn't up to the level of those films, but it is a perfectly entertaining movie about a law student (Roberts) whose life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter (Washington) and the two become fugitives. The charisma and chemistry of the leads goes a long way toward compensating for the story's shortcomings, as does a truly impressive supporting cast that includes Sam Shepard, John Heard, James B. Sikking, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Tucci, Hume Cronyn, John Lithgow, William Atherton, and Robert Culp. --Jim Emerson

A New Orleans law student finds herself embroiled in a terrifying web of intrigue extending to the highest levels of government after she writes a speculative legal brief exposing the activities of a powerful oil magnate.

All the President's Men (Two-Disc Special Edition)

It helps to have one of history's greatest scoops as your factual inspiration, but journalism thrillers just don't get any better than All the President's Men. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are perfectly matched as (respectively) Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, whose investigation into the Watergate scandal set the stage for President Richard Nixon's eventual resignation. Their bestselling exposé was brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman, and director Alan Pakula crafted the film into one of the most intelligent and involving of the 1970s paranoid thrillers. Featuring Jason Robards in his Oscar-winning role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, All the President's Men is the film against which all other journalism movies must be measured. --Jeff Shannon

In the Watergate Building lights go on and four burglars are caught in the act. That night triggered revelations that drive a U.S. President from office. Washington reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) grabbed the story and stayed with it through doubts denials and discouragement. All the President's Men is their story. Directed by Alan J. Pakula and based on the Woodward/Bernstein book the film won four 1976 Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actor/Jason Robards Adaptation Screenplay/William Goldman Art Direction and Sound). It also explores a working newspaper where the mission is to get the story and get it right.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569734012 Manufacturer No: 73401

Sophie's Choice

The sunny streets of Brooklyn, just after World War II. A young would-be writer named Stingo (Peter MacNicol) shares a boarding house with beautiful Polish immigrant Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her tempestuous lover, Nathan (Kevin Kline); their friendship changes his life. This adaptation of the bestselling novel by William Styron is faithful to the point of being reverential, which is not always the right way to make a film come to life. But director Alan J. Pakula (All the President's Men) provides a steady, intelligent path into the harrowing story of Sophie, whose flashback memories of the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp form the backbone of the movie. Streep's exceptional performance--flawless Polish accent and all--won her an Oscar, and effectively raised the standard for American actresses of her generation. No less impressive is Kevin Kline, in his movie debut, capturing the mercurial moods of the dangerously attractive Nathan. The two worlds of Sophie's Choice, nostalgic Brooklyn and monstrous Europe, are beautifully captured by the gifted cinematographer Néstor Almendros, whose work was Oscar-nominated but didn't win. It should have. --Robert Horton

Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps who has found a reason to live in Nathan a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stengo the movies narrator a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions. Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her performance as Sophie. System Requirements:Directed by Alan J. Pakula Writing credits Alan J. Pakula Starring Meryl Streep Kevin Kline Runtime: 151 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 012236048701 Manufacturer No: 60487

Presumed Innocent

Rich with ambiguity, this smooth adaptation of Scott Turow's bestselling mystery novel stars Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich, the prosecuting attorney assigned to a case involving the murder of a beautiful, seductive lawyer (Greta Scacchi) with whom he'd been having a secret affair. After the investigation gets off to a slow start, damning evidence points to Rusty as the prime suspect. His career is destroyed when his superior and secondary suspect Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) sets him up for the fall. Bonnie Bedelia plays Rusty's wife Barbara, who is not above suspicion herself. While Ford's performance rides a fine line between presumed innocence and possible guilt, director Alan J. Pakula (All the President's Men) maintains a consistent tone of uncertainty that keeps the viewer guessing. --Jeff Shannon

All the President's Men

It helps to have one of history's greatest scoops as your factual inspiration, but journalism thrillers just don't get any better than All the President's Men. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are perfectly matched as (respectively) Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, whose investigation into the Watergate scandal set the stage for President Richard Nixon's eventual resignation. Their bestselling exposé was brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman, and director Alan Pakula crafted the film into one of the most intelligent and involving of the 1970s paranoid thrillers. Featuring Jason Robards in his Oscar-winning role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, All the President's Men is the film against which all other journalism movies must be measured. --Jeff Shannon

Klute

Jane Fonda came into her own with this Oscar-winning performance as an insecure high-class call girl who can't make it as a legitimate actress or model yet can't give up her addiction. She loves the control too much. But when she's stalked by a killer, she's forced to confront the darker aspects of her nature and profession. It's a complex and authentic performance and Fonda plays it cool and smart. Typical of early '70s films, Klute peels away social inhibition and hypocrisy with precision and candor. It's also typical of director Alan J. Pakula's intelligence and ability to work so well with actors. Donald Sutherland plays John Klute, the vulnerable detective trying to determine if his missing friend is the stalker and sexual deviant. This is the kind of moody, character-driven film so many of us miss today, even if the plot is pure hokum. --Bill Desowitz

Bree Daniels, a high-priced call girl is the only clue to the whereabouts of a missing research scientist. Sutherland is the detective who falls in love with her as he attempts to solve the mystery.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 30-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

The Devil's Own

An IRA assassin sent to New York to buy weapons, stays with a cop and his family who are unknowingly drawn into his conflicts.
Genre: Suspense
Rating: R
Release Date: 22-MAY-2001
Media Type: DVD

Any movie starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford has got to be worth seeing, right? That's as close to a guarantee as this well-meaning thriller ever gets, however, and the talents of Pitt and Ford are absolutely vital in making any sense out of this dramatically muddled scenario. Ostensibly the movie's about an IRA terrorist (Pitt) who escapes from British troops in Belfast and travels to New York City, where he stays in the home of a seasoned cop (Ford) who has no idea of the terrorist's true identity. (Why a veteran cop would host a complete stranger in his home is one of those shaky details you're better off not thinking about.) But while Pitt's passionate character waits to make an arms deal for his IRA compatriots back in Ireland, The Devil's Own conveniently avoids any detailed understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict, focusing instead on the cop's moral dilemma when he discovers that his young guest is a terrorist. The film is superbly acted, and overall it's quite worthwhile, but don't look to it for an abundance of plot logic or an in-depth understanding of Protestant-Catholic tensions in Northern Ireland. (For that, take a look at In the Name of the Father or the underrated historical biopic Michael Collins.) --Jeff Shannon.

The Parallax View

Directed by Alan J. Pakula (All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice), this is an excellent, paranoid thriller and a benchmark for films of this type from the 1970s. Warren Beatty (Bonnie and Clyde) plays Joseph Frady, an arrogant investigative reporter who witnesses the assassination of a United States senator and then discovers that other reporters who were on the scene are dying under mysterious circumstances. With the help of his editor (Hume Cronyn), Frady goes underground to infiltrate the Parallax Corporation, which uses mind control to train assassins. And Frady might be the next one in line to take a fall. Featuring a classic brainwashing sequence and laced with intensity from start to finish, The Parallax View is essential viewing for fans of the political thriller genre. --Robert Lane

Comes a Horseman

Richard Farnsworth received an Oscar nomination for this 1978 film, directed by the late Alan J. Pakula. He plays an aging ranch hand in the late 1940s, working for Jane Fonda. She's being pressured by her greedy neighbor, Jason Robards, to sell him her land--this after he has had her father murdered to expedite the sale. Robards wants the land because he knows it's full of oil, but he's not about to tell her that. Rather, he relentlessly strong-arms her and the rest of his neighbors, resorting to violence and killing when he doesn't get his way, knowing he's already bought the cooperation of the law. But Fonda, aided by returning World War II veteran and cowpuncher James Caan, stands up to Robards, setting off an almost biblically violent confrontation. Comes a Horseman was sumptuously photographed by Gordon Willis, who captures the true sweep of the wide open spaces, and strong acting overcomes what charitably could be described as a stately pace. As for Farnsworth, he brings a tastily understated quality to the role of the old cowpoke who knows he's signed on for his last roundup but has the grit to stick it out. --Marshall Fine

Jane Fonda and James Caan give stirring performances as an unlikely couple forced to fight for possession of their land in this sweeping and "enormously beautiful" (Newsweek) modern-day western. Comes A Horseman is an unforgettable saga of unrelenting action, adventure and romance on the American frontier. When a lovely widow (Fonda) is pressured to sell her failing cattleranch to her unscrupulous and powerful ex-lover (Jason Robards), she enlists the aid of an antagonistic neighbor (Caan) in a desperate attempt to restore the ranch's fortunes. With great skill and determination, the duo struggle to rope enough cattle to pay off their debts...but their problems are just beginning. Driven by a deep-felt rage against their adversaryand a growing affection for each otherthey stand tall against stampedes, betrayal and sabotage...and triumph with shotguns blazing in a dramatic climax of nerve-shattering intensity.

Rollover

The widow of a murdered bank president and a maverick financier must prevent a crisis when Arab nations threaten to pull their funds from U.S. banks thereby causing a worldwide financial collapse.Running Time: 118 min.System Requirements:Running Time 115 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 012569722651