Film and Television
Further information: List of conspiracy thriller filmsOne of the earliest exercises in cinematic paranoia was John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate. Its story of brainwashing and political assassination holds the distinction of not merely reflecting contemporary fears and anxieties, but anticipating future conspiracies and scandals by some years.
The screenplays for two of the best-known conspiracy thrillers were written by the same writer, Lorenzo Semple, Jr.: The Parallax View, directed by Alan J. Pakula, was released in 1974, while Sydney Pollack's Three Days Of The Condor entered release the following year. Pakula's movie is considered to be the second installment of a "paranoia trilogy," beginning with Klute (1971) and ending with All The President's Men (1976). Pakula returned to the theme with The Pelican Brief. Actor-producer Robert Redford played a part in 'Three Days of the Condor and All The President's Men. Director Costa-Gavras attributed two entries to the subgenre: Z and Missing.
Gene Hackman starred in a variety of conspiracy-themed films: The Conversation, Night Moves, The Domino Principle, The Package, No Way Out, Absolute Power and Enemy of the State.
John Travolta starred in Blow Out, a conspiracy-themed movie, directed by Brian De Palma.
On television, The X-Files was rich in conspiracy theory lore, often drawing influence from the aforementioned 1970s conspiracy thrillers.
Read more about this topic: Conspiracy Fiction
Famous quotes containing the words film and, film and/or television:
“The obvious parallels between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz have frequently been noted: in both there is the orphan hero who is raised on a farm by an aunt and uncle and yearns to escape to adventure. Obi-wan Kenobi resembles the Wizard; the loyal, plucky little robot R2D2 is Toto; C3PO is the Tin Man; and Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion. Darth Vader replaces the Wicked Witch: this is a patriarchy rather than a matriarchy.”
—Andrew Gordon, U.S. educator, critic. “The Inescapable Family in American Science Fiction and Fantasy Films,” Journal of Popular Film and Television (Summer 1992)
“All film directors, whether famous or obscure, regard themselves as misunderstood or underrated. Because of that, they all lie. They’re obliged to overstate their own importance.”
—François Truffaut (1932–1984)
“So by all means let’s have a television show quick and long, even if the commercial has to be delivered by a man in a white coat with a stethoscope hanging around his neck, selling ergot pills. After all the public is entitled to what it wants, isn’t it? The Romans knew that and even they lasted four hundred years after they started to putrefy.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)