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Alan J. Pakula

American film director, writer and producer (1928–1998)

5.49body-of-work score · ranked #185 of 2631 directors · 4 films in our library

A director's score is the sum of their films' composite canon scores — methodology.

Born
April 7, 1928 · The Bronx
Died
November 19, 1998 · Melville
Nationality
United States
Work
film director, writer, director, film screenwriter
Reference
Wikipedia · Wikidata
Portrait of Alan J. Pakula
Towpilot · CC BY-SA 3.0

Films in our library, ranked

Ranked by composite canon score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — our ordering, with every placement citing its evidence on the film's page.

  1. 1
    All the President's MenMust-See #221

    1976 · United States · crime, drama, thriller

    Siskel's annual top 10 1976 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1976 · AFI 100 (2007) #77

    2.6010 citations
  2. 2
    Sophie's ChoiceMust-See #378

    1982 · United States · drama

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1982 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #91

    2.024 citations
  3. 3
    Klute

    1971 · United States · film-noir, thriller, crime

    NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #987 · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies

    0.443 citations
  4. 4
    The Parallax View

    1974 · United States · thriller

    NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #1064 · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies

    0.443 citations

Complete filmography

All 16 directorial credits recorded on Wikidata, in chronological order; films in our library link to their canon-score page.

  • 1969The Sterile Cuckoo
  • 1971Klute
  • 1973Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
  • 1974The Parallax View
  • 1976All the President's Men
  • 1978Comes a Horseman
  • 1979Starting Over
  • 1981Rollover
  • 1982Sophie's Choice
  • 1986Dream Lover
  • 1987Orphans
  • 1989See You in the Morning
  • 1990Presumed Innocent
  • 1992Consenting Adults
  • 1993The Pelican Brief
  • 1997The Devil's Own