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Alan J. Pakula

Director

Alan J. Pakula

Born April 7, 1928 in New York City, New York, USADied November 19, 199816 films

Alan Jay Pakula (/pəˈkuːlə/; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Associated with the New Hollywood movement, his best-known works include his critically acclaimed "paranoia trilogy": the neo-noir mystery Klute (1971), the conspiracy thriller The Parallax View (1974), and the Watergate scandal drama All the President's Men (1976). His other notable films included Comes a Horseman (1978), Starting Over (1979), Sophie's Choice (1982), Presumed Innocent (1990), and The Pelican Brief (1993).

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Pakula received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for All the President's Men and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sophie's Choice. He was also nominated for Best Picture for producing To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Additionally, he was a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Directors Guild of America Award nominee.

Pakula's films often dealt with psychological and political themes. His obituary in The New York Times stated Pakula made "different kinds of movies, all of them intended to entertain, but the thread connecting many of them was a style that emphasized and explored the psychology and motivations of his characters." He was the subject of the 2023 documentary Alan Pakula: Going for Truth.

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The best way into Alan J. Pakula's work
All the President's Men posterFirst watchAll the President's Men19767.7During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Sophie's Choice poster7.3Sophie's Choice1982The Pelican Brief poster6.6The Pelican Brief1993Presumed Innocent poster6.8Presumed Innocent1990The Devil's Own poster6.2The Devil's Own1997Klute poster6.8Klute1971The Parallax View poster6.8The Parallax View1974Consenting Adults poster5.4Consenting Adults1992Starting Over poster6.4Starting Over1979

Filmography

16 films as director
  1. 1997The Devil's OwnDirector
  2. 1993The Pelican BriefDirector
  3. 1992Consenting AdultsDirector
  4. 1990Presumed InnocentDirector
  5. 1989See You in the MorningDirector
  6. 1987OrphansDirector
  7. 1986Dream LoverDirector
  8. 1982Sophie's ChoiceDirector
  9. 1981RolloverDirector
  10. 1979Starting OverDirector
  11. 1978Comes a HorsemanDirector
  12. 1976All the President's MenDirector
  13. 1974The Parallax ViewDirector
  14. 1973Love and Pain and the Whole Damn ThingDirector
  15. 1971KluteDirector
  16. 1969The Sterile CuckooDirector