Directing

Alan J. Pakula

Born April 7, 1928 · New York City, New York, USA

Died November 19, 1998 · aged 70

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 …

Known For

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird · 1962

To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

The Devil's Own

The Devil's Own · 1997

The Devil's Own

MovieCrimeThriller

Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.

The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief · 1993

The Pelican Brief

MovieThrillerDrama

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

All the President's Men

All the President's Men · 1976

All the President's Men

MovieDramaMystery

During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.

Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent · 1990

Presumed Innocent

MovieMysteryCrime

Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions.

Sophie's Choice

Sophie's Choice · 1982

Sophie's Choice

MovieDramaRomance

Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.

The Parallax View

The Parallax View · 1974

The Parallax View

MovieCrimeDrama

An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.

The Stalking Moon

The Stalking Moon · 1968

The Stalking Moon

While moving a group of Apaches to a Native American reservation in Arizona, an American scout named Sam Varner is surprised to find a white woman, Sarah Carver, living with the tribe. When Sam learns that she was taken captive by an Indian named Salvaje ten years ago, he attempts to escort Sarah and her half-Native American son to his home in New Mexico. However, it soon becomes clear that Salvaje is hot on their trail.

Filmography

Sort

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird · 1962

To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

Producer

The Devil's Own

The Devil's Own · 1997

The Devil's Own

MovieCrimeThriller

Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.

Director

The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief · 1993

The Pelican Brief

MovieThrillerDrama

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Director

All the President's Men

All the President's Men · 1976

All the President's Men

MovieDramaMystery

During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.

Director

Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent · 1990

Presumed Innocent

MovieMysteryCrime

Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions.

Director

Sophie's Choice

Sophie's Choice · 1982

Sophie's Choice

MovieDramaRomance

Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.

Director

The Parallax View

The Parallax View · 1974

The Parallax View

MovieCrimeDrama

An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.

Director

The Stalking Moon

The Stalking Moon · 1968

The Stalking Moon

While moving a group of Apaches to a Native American reservation in Arizona, an American scout named Sam Varner is surprised to find a white woman, Sarah Carver, living with the tribe. When Sam learns that she was taken captive by an Indian named Salvaje ten years ago, he attempts to escort Sarah and her half-Native American son to his home in New Mexico. However, it soon becomes clear that Salvaje is hot on their trail.

Producer

Klute

MovieThrillerCrime

A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.

Director

Starting Over

Starting Over · 1979

MovieComedyRomance

After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.

Director

Comes a Horseman

Comes a Horseman · 1978

Comes a Horseman

MovieWesternDrama

Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.

Director

Consenting Adults

Consenting Adults · 1992

Consenting Adults

Richard and Priscilla Parker are an ordinary suburban couple whose lives are invaded and rocked by their hedonistic, secretive new neighbors, Eddy and Kay Otis.

Director

Love with the Proper Stranger

Love with the Proper Stranger · 1963

Love with the Proper Stranger

MovieComedyDrama

Angie Rossini, an innocent New York City sales clerk from a repressive Italian-American family, engages in a short-lived affair with a handsome jazz musician named Rocky Papasano. When Angie becomes pregnant, she tracks down Rocky hoping he'll pay for her abortion.

Producer

Rollover

Rollover · 1981

MovieDramaMystery

The wife of a murdered petrochemical company chairman and a banker investigating the liquidity of his new bank stumble upon an international financial scheme that could lead to global economic collapse.

Director

Inside Daisy Clover

Inside Daisy Clover · 1966

Inside Daisy Clover

MovieDramaMusic

A girl on the road to stardom fights the dehumanizing effects of Hollywood life.

Producer

Up the Down Staircase

Up the Down Staircase · 1967

Up the Down Staircase

Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.

Producer

Fear Strikes Out

Fear Strikes Out · 1957

Fear Strikes Out

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

Producer

Orphans

Orphans · 1987

MovieDramaCrime

Brothers Treat and Philip have only had each other since they were kids, when a small-time criminal abruptly upends their routine lives.

Director

See You in the Morning

See You in the Morning · 1989

See You in the Morning

MovieRomanceComedy

Two divorcees who fall in love must help their children cope with the changes in their families as they try to learn how to make own relationship survive.

Director

Baby the Rain Must Fall

Baby the Rain Must Fall · 1965

Baby the Rain Must Fall

MovieDramaRomance

Henry Thomas tries to overcome the horrors of his childhood and start a new life with his wife and kid. However, his abusive step-mother and his dependence on alcohol threaten to ruin his future.

Producer

Dream Lover

Dream Lover · 1986

MovieHorrorCrime

After she's been attacked in her apartment, Cathy starts reliving the event in her dreams. She seeks help at a sleep disorder research center, but in doing so she encounters some unexpected results.

Director

The Sterile Cuckoo

The Sterile Cuckoo · 1969

The Sterile Cuckoo

MovieComedyDrama

Uptight college freshman Jerry Payne finds a carefree friend in zany Pookie. After an awkward meeting on the bus, Pookie quickly works her way into Jerry's life. She makes an unannounced visit to Jerry's campus, and before long annoyance turns to affection, and friendship turns to romance. But with Pookie's increasingly neurotic behavior, how long can this love affair last?

Director

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing · 1973

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing

MovieDramaRomance

While bicycling through the Spanish countryside, Walter, the aimless young son of a doctor, makes the acquaintance of proper, middle-aged, clumsy and secretive Lila. He falls in love with her, but she is resistant.

Director