“Trust no one and nobody is safe” is the tenet of THE PARALLAX VIEW, the second installment of Pakula’s Political Paranoia trilogy, sandwiched between KLUTE (1971) and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN (1976).
Constructing as a David and Goliath story about a conscientious journalist Joe Frady (Beatty) bird-dogging Parallax Corporate, a secret organization which is behind many a flagrant political assassination, the film is so driven by the stark revelation of an omniscient entity which can snuff out any living beings on planet earth in a trice, that our David is on a hiding to nothing, Goliath, which we are only permitted to see a tiny tip of its iceberg, perversely wins.
Narratively, only by the death of his old flame Lee Carter (a distraught Prentiss), a television journalist who has tearfully solicited his help after she finds her life in danger, but to no avail (a self-important man can never trust a woman’s sixth sense?), could Joe be jolted into action to burrow into the myth. After brushing with death multiple times (car chase is a tired visual stimulus, but for a ‘70s thriller, it is a prerequisite, and Joe’s survival of a boat exposition is simply because he has that “protagonist’s halo”), he finally attains the paper trail that leads him to the furtive organization and tenders his application as a potential psychopath under an alias.
After that, the film enters into the spirit of the all-powering myth of an opaque, immaterial behemoth (those hallucinatory brainwashing montages chalk up the ethos of that particularly turbulent era to a fare-thee-well), every progress made by our heroic Joe (he niftily thwarts the attempt of an explosion inside an aloft aircraft) can only imperil him further in the trap awaits him.
The climax takes place inside a cavernous auditorium, and Joe is framed not by his action but inaction, a fly on the wall hidden in the shadows, he watches attentively but hasn’t a clue of what is on the horizon, until another assassination takes place and he becomes the fall guy who cannot extricate himself from his sorry fate.
Beatty’s aloofness (and awful hairdo) does sugar the bitter pills we must swallow for the movie’s bleakness, but the technique of Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis is so remarkable that THE PARALLAX VIEW can survive simply for its visual brilliance: those gorgeous split focus shots will continue to shine in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN two years later; its mise en scène often reflects an abstracted, architectonic vein of beauty, yet more often than not, it breathes like a menacing, almost primordial beast (the dam with onrushing water, the empty, three-colored festooned auditorium with ambulating squad cars, or the lofty Space Needle it self, looks like a somber harbinger of perilousness).
The effect often diminishes its characters into a flyspeck, not unlike what the film tries to scare us: every and each one, whether important or ordinary, is expendable and unlamented. It leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, but that doesn’t make it less true, Pakula’s picture dares to go against the grain, for that matter alone, it deserves a loud pat on its shoulder!.
referential entries: Pakula’s ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN (1976, 8.3/10); John Schlesinger’s MARATHON MAN (1976, 7.3/10); John Frankenheimer’s THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962, 7.8/10).
如果你是个阴谋论爱好者，
这是一部，证据电影。
它提供了阴谋论的一个调查样本，以谋杀开始，以谋杀结束。
如果你是个阴谋论厌恶者，
这是一部，打脸电影。
它展示了一个阴谋论的制造过程，以悬疑开始，以悬疑结束。
如果你准备策划一个阴谋，
这是一部，实战教程。
跟它齐名的是，另一部刺客电影教程，《豺狼的日子》 The Day of the Jackal (1973)
如果你准备以阴谋论的名义，撰写一篇十万+，
这是一部，理论指导。
它把阴谋论的核心武器，精神分析与精神影响，做了最通俗的讲解。
整部电影，都是阴谋的节奏。
慢慢发酵，
悄悄发生，
突然结束。
根据这部电影的理论指导，
本文标题应该是：
《一部电影看清美国404真相》
《007吹哨的下场》
《十八线记者与惊天阴谋对抗的1984天》
《102-94，谁删的8分钟？》
备注：
阴谋论，经典电影《视差》 The Parallax View (1974) 导演: 艾伦·J·帕库拉
阴谋论，学术经典《视差之见》The Parallax View 作者: [斯洛文尼亚] 斯拉沃热·齐泽克
“Trust no one and nobody is safe” is the tenet of THE PARALLAX VIEW, the second installment of Pakula’s Political Paranoia trilogy, sandwiched between KLUTE (1971) and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN (1976).
Constructing as a David and Goliath story about a conscientious journalist Joe Frady (Beatty) bird-dogging Parallax Corporate, a secret organization which is behind many a flagrant political assassination, the film is so driven by the stark revelation of an omniscient entity which can snuff out any living beings on planet earth in a trice, that our David is on a hiding to nothing, Goliath, which we are only permitted to see a tiny tip of its iceberg, perversely wins.
Narratively, only by the death of his old flame Lee Carter (a distraught Prentiss), a television journalist who has tearfully solicited his help after she finds her life in danger, but to no avail (a self-important man can never trust a woman’s sixth sense?), could Joe be jolted into action to burrow into the myth. After brushing with death multiple times (car chase is a tired visual stimulus, but for a ‘70s thriller, it is a prerequisite, and Joe’s survival of a boat exposition is simply because he has that “protagonist’s halo”), he finally attains the paper trail that leads him to the furtive organization and tenders his application as a potential psychopath under an alias.
After that, the film enters into the spirit of the all-powering myth of an opaque, immaterial behemoth (those hallucinatory brainwashing montages chalk up the ethos of that particularly turbulent era to a fare-thee-well), every progress made by our heroic Joe (he niftily thwarts the attempt of an explosion inside an aloft aircraft) can only imperil him further in the trap awaits him.
The climax takes place inside a cavernous auditorium, and Joe is framed not by his action but inaction, a fly on the wall hidden in the shadows, he watches attentively but hasn’t a clue of what is on the horizon, until another assassination takes place and he becomes the fall guy who cannot extricate himself from his sorry fate.
Beatty’s aloofness (and awful hairdo) does sugar the bitter pills we must swallow for the movie’s bleakness, but the technique of Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis is so remarkable that THE PARALLAX VIEW can survive simply for its visual brilliance: those gorgeous split focus shots will continue to shine in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN two years later; its mise en scène often reflects an abstracted, architectonic vein of beauty, yet more often than not, it breathes like a menacing, almost primordial beast (the dam with onrushing water, the empty, three-colored festooned auditorium with ambulating squad cars, or the lofty Space Needle it self, looks like a somber harbinger of perilousness).
The effect often diminishes its characters into a flyspeck, not unlike what the film tries to scare us: every and each one, whether important or ordinary, is expendable and unlamented. It leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, but that doesn’t make it less true, Pakula’s picture dares to go against the grain, for that matter alone, it deserves a loud pat on its shoulder!.
referential entries: Pakula’s ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN (1976, 8.3/10); John Schlesinger’s MARATHON MAN (1976, 7.3/10); John Frankenheimer’s THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962, 7.8/10).
一桶猫
很惊喜的政治惊悚+阴谋论 教科书级别的摄影构图 对中间那段接受测试的短片印象最深
法式曌影
太好看了。高效简洁的同时始终蕴藏巨大的能量与危机意识，终于迎来蓄谋已久、且注定的黑色落幕。
阿斯巴-甜
恐怖的政治氛围塑造得不错，并且结尾也没有落入俗套的圆满结局。
爱丽丝梦魇
可以当做摄制教科书的电影，整部电影的摄影严谨不出错，剪辑也相当完美，可惜的是故事有些简单。
欧.尹
本以为是从小众影片中挖到了惊喜之作，没想到无非是一部我更加更加不喜欢的唐人街罢了。1. 首先是政治惊悚与阴谋论，我看无非是前后两个回环一样的zoom in/zoom out镜头，是还不错但这技巧要我去拍我也会拍；其余地，实实在在没给出任何有价值的点啊，无非是阴谋，然后呢？没了，就这俩字而已。2. 其次是很多人说节奏好，可我觉得差极了，从信息交待上很多关键信息和环节没有交待，却将一些单场戏的处理得极为冗余，比如飞机上的纸巾，拍的就非常old—fashion，两下对比观感就非常割裂，节奏也就乱了套。能看出这种“跳跃”或说“简化”是导演有意为之的，但您以为是谁都能做戈达尔或布列松吗？
子夜有人
并不输给同一年出自大导演之手的《唐人街》和《窃听大阴谋》，同为70年代美国政坛动荡的直接产物，包括三部片子的男主角也有相同设计，都有情报或安全人员的背景，与体制保持着若即若离的关系，而从政治电影的角度它甚至是其中更冷感、更纯粹的。最伟大的地方当然是男主角接受测验时看到的那些画面卡片，那是绝对意义上的“政治奇观”。能从电影媒介的角度来还原社会情绪、感受时代空气原本应该是电影的基本职能，而对于今天的我们来说，只能是一种伤今悼古的发愿了。
苍山古井空对月
视觉风格突出，高反差的打光+全景景别+人物边缘化的构图共同营造阴郁不安与渺小无力的气氛。刺杀者总隐藏在暗处，不展示暗杀的过程以及暗杀者面貌，只展示出暗杀的结果，上一秒在相拥安慰，下一秒便躺在停尸房，简洁省略的叙事方式更加强化了不寒而栗的心理感受。叙事方面导演对节奏和气氛的掌控很到位，虽然没有过于强烈的戏剧性，但是依靠影像风格制造出了张力：水坝一场戏弱化落水两人的缠斗戏剧性，而以全景镜头突显人物的渺小，水坝的水流如同时代的洪流，水中两人皆是洪流中的蝼蚁；参议员彩排部分参议员沿着对称画面的中线离场，工整对称的构图传递出权力的强大威慑感；开头与结尾的委员会报告的推镜与拉镜的呼应，同样是对称构图，暗示着真正的幕后主使。
#FIFF25#第8日的场刊将于稍后释出，请大家拭目以待了。
这是一部30年前的电影了，围绕总统候选人被杀，小报记者暗中调查所引发出的一系列阴谋、暗杀以及政治谎言。
不可否认，我一直青睐技术类的影片：我对电影的叙事技巧的关注远远胜过对内容本身。故事人人都可以讲，但一个大师可以把一个平庸的故事讲得绘声绘色；而一个庸才只能将一个伟大的故事讲得平淡无奇。
电影一开始，是总统候选人贾洛准备在一个高塔旋转餐厅发表演说，就在他的演讲刚一开头，他就被突如其来的子弹射中，当场毙命。影片没有正面描写暗杀现场，而是把镜头放在旋转餐厅外，让贾洛隔着玻璃墙背对观众。枪响了，血溅在玻璃墙上，贾洛顺着玻璃倒下，此时，镜头才切换到现场。导演此举有意不让观众走得太近，但人的心理都是，你越不让我靠近，我偏要靠近。观众无须热身即进入状态。
接下来的一幕是参议院调查委员会的发布会。几个委员端坐在讲台后，镜头由远及近地推过来，“这是一起独立事件，没有有力的证据表明凶手背后有其他阴谋……”一宗针对国家“大员”被刺的调查就在看似庄严的参议院委员会大厅终结。
三年后。
小报记者祖•范迪极不情愿地接待了三年前贾洛被谋杀时在场的记者利达，后者告诉他，在这三年中，当年现场的某些人离奇的死亡了，她怀疑有人要杀她。而范迪认定是利达多疑：这些看似离奇的死亡只是某种巧合而已。利达的反复申述并没有说服范迪，他只是在利达委屈的痛哭时以轻轻的拥抱表示了安慰。影片在此时给了一个薄纱窗帘后两人的影子，而下一个镜头，却是躺在冰冷的停尸房里的利达。这种跳接给人以极大的视觉冲击，因为你还在为上一个镜头的利达担心的时候，下一个镜头里，你的担心立刻成为现实，中间甚至连过渡都没有。同样的跳接还出现在范迪的老板被害的夜晚：熬夜工作的主编正在付外卖的钱，他发现送餐者不是往常的人，说了句：“你们换人啦？”，然后慢慢地喝下咖啡，若有所思地想着事情；镜头缓缓地移到墙上，是一些照片，闪回某些人生的段落，再回来的时候，主编已经在书桌边死去，收尸的人正嘀咕着他可能的死因。
范迪相信了利达的推测，于是展开调查。
后面又是一连串的谋杀。电影的名字叫The parallax view，“视差”：摄影术语，即镜像与真实物体之间的差异，不难理解这是一部讲述表象与阴谋的故事，而意译成《暗杀13招》有招徕观众的噱头之嫌，但其中招招致命的暗杀，确实每一个都有不同凡响的讲述。
其中一招是，范迪找到了当年的一个保安，此人也察觉到有人在威胁他的生命，还专门请了保镖。范迪找到他的时候，还被仔细地搜身及盘问。在确认范迪没有威胁后，前保安邀请范迪一起乘船出海，在无人的大海上，向其讲述他的发现及推测。当一切和盘托出后，范迪到船舷边沉思，而保安和他的保镖则在船尾轻声交谈，仿佛携落包袱后的轻松。一个远景将观众推到一边，我们看到的是大海上正静谧航行的小船，突然，一阵爆炸声，接着又是一声，范迪落入水中，而其他两位事主则当场毙命。
更让人透不过气来的是结尾处的对另一位总统候选人贺文的暗杀，这段必然成为电影史上的经典段落是这样的：贺文的竞选班子在某个学校组织了一场演讲，为了达到出彩的效果，他们安排了一批学生配合演讲做表演，即通过手中不断变化历任总统的图像来烘托贺文势在必得的气氛，同时，乐队也在密锣紧鼓的彩排。贺文亲自来打气，彩排导演介绍说，“我们现在放事先录好的演讲，然后大家跟着录音做动作。”贺文一番表演后，开着一辆小车离开，会场上，他的录音正在回荡，突然，一阵枪响，贺文中弹，小车失去方向，在会场胡乱地游荡，惊慌的现场中，他的录音却一直没停，人已死，音犹在，寒气逼人。此时，导演又推了个远景，把观众再次拉远，而越是这样，观众的脖子就越伸得长。
除了营造突如其来的暗杀场面，导演对悬念的掌握也相当到火候。导演的悬念观应该是这样的：“悬念”与“后怕”紧密相接，从这个意义上讲，导演突破了希区柯克的悬念观。比如，当范迪在调查中，要尾随一个参议院上飞机，而范迪已经觉察到有人会将炸弹带上飞机，但此时人已经在飞机上了，范迪只有硬着头皮踏上死亡之旅。正如希区柯克常用的招数一样，观众的心悬了起来。几番周折后，范迪终于在没暴露身份的情况下，让空姐发现了他写的“机上有炸弹”的餐巾纸，飞机迅速返航。随着机场上“各位乘客，我们对飞机因技术原因返航给你们导致的不便表示歉意……”，范迪心事重重地、抑或是如释重负地走下飞机。当我们正在为这次不成功的暗杀而庆幸的时候，一阵巨大的爆炸声传来，旋动的画面前，我们可以想像，如果晚那么一点点的话……后怕的怕，比怕更可怕，而且每当你回想时，就又会被吓一次。
范迪最终没能逃脱那些幕后的黑手，我们始终也不知道是谁在后面导演这一切，与片头相对应的又是参议院的一个调查委员会在做结论，“由于范迪相信是贺文指使暗杀了贾洛，于是策划暗杀了贺文，这是一起独立的事件，没有证据表明后面有其他阴谋……”有趣的是，结尾处的镜头是朝相反的方向拉的，在徐徐后退的镜头中，恍恍糊糊的委员们变成了“视差”，而发言者有如催眠师的声音，在我们耳边充满了暗示的飘逸，让人有寒夜听鬼话的战栗。
此片的导演艾伦·J.·帕库拉是政治惊悚片的大师，其代表作《塘鹅暗杀令》、《大阴谋》都给人留下深刻印象，遗憾的是，９８年时，他死于意外的车祸，或许他拍了那么多的政治惊悚，是不是他的“意外”也是某种策划的结果？但他留下的这些名作，构成了政治类型片的顶峰，迄今为止我也没有看到有人征服过。