Klute Is the Pick of the Week

The 1970s was a hugely groundbreaking decade for film. During this decade, Cinema reflected on the aftermath of Vietnam, the Watergate scandal, women’s rights, and the uncertainty of more political unrest. Director Alan J. Pakula reflected this with his unofficial ‘paranoid trilogy’, which included 1974’s The Parallax View and 1976’s All The President’s Men. However, his 1971 neo-noir thriller, Klute, started it all. It’s a film about menace, uncertainty, but also a woman’s place in the world. That woman is Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), a self-liberated call girl who’s given one trick too many, and finds herself on the wrong end of a killer’s wrath. She unwillingly seeks help from a detective who is dealing with his own investigation of his missing friend. They are both reluctant towards each other, but eventually get involved in a romantic relationship. This is where Bree stops playing her part and reveals her true, complex self.

The new Criterion release perfectly accompanies the gritty classic with some new supplements, including a new conversation between Jane Fonda and Illeana Douglas; a new video program about the fashion and period style of the film; a collection of new interviews included in an upcoming documentary about Pakula’s films, and a vintage program centering on the production of the film. I think that this should be a huge must-have addition in any movie lover’s collection.

Other releases:

The Baker’s Wife (Criterion Collection): Middle-aged baker Aimable settles down in a new village in Provence, where his young and attractive wife cheats on him, eventually causing his breakdown.

Footlight Parade (Warner Archive): James Cagney plays a Broadway director put out of business by motion pictures. He finds a second chance with producing musical sequences for movies, but gets his ideas stolen from a ruthless competitor.

The Leopard Man (Shout/Scream Factory): A cult classic about an escaped leopard who may or may not be behind a serious of gruesome murders in a small New Mexican town.

Moon 4K UHD (Sony Pictures): Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, a worker for Lunar Industries who starts to suspect that his employers are wanting to replace him in a far more disturbing way than he thought, especially after hearing and seeing strange things on his ship.

Hold Back the Dawn (Arrow): Charles Boyer hopes to get into the United States by marrying a citizen after getting stopped in Mexico.