Klute

This article is about the film. For other uses, see Klute (disambiguation).

Klute
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan J. Pakula
Written by
Produced byAlan J. Pakula
Starring
CinematographyGordon Willis
Edited byCarl Lerner
Music byMichael Small
Production
company
Gus Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • June 23, 1971 (1971-06-23)[1]
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.5 million
Box office$12.5 million[2]

Klute is a 1971 American neo-noir psychological thriller[3][4] film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula, and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Nathan George, Dorothy Tristan, Roy Scheider, and Rita Gam. Its plot follows a high-priced New York City call girl who assists a detective from Pennsylvania in solving the missing person case of a john who may be stalking her.[5] It is the first installment of what has informally come to be known as Pakula's "paranoia trilogy", followed by The Parallax View (1974) and All the President's Men (1976), all films dealing with themes of paranoia, conspiracies, and surveillance.[6][7]

The original screenplay for Klute was written by brothers Andy and Dave Lewis, with Andy drawing inspiration from a serial he read as a child about a man attempting to solve his brother's murder in a city. Principal photography took place in late 1970 and early 1971 in New York City.

Klute was released theatrically in the United States on June 23, 1971, by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised the film's direction and screenplay, with Fonda's performance receiving widespread critical acclaim, while the film grossed over $12 million against a $2.5 million budget.

Klute received two nominations at the 44th Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, with Fonda winning Best Actress. At the 25th British Academy Film Awards, Fonda received a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. At the 29th Golden Globe Awards, it received a nomination for Best Screenplay, with Fonda winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference crittenden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Klute (1971) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Parish 1990, p. 316.
  4. ^ Thomson 2009, p. 124.
  5. ^ Silver & Ward 1992, p. 404.
  6. ^ LoBrutto 2021, p. 55.
  7. ^ Dean 2003, p. 371.