Conspiracy thriller

The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of the thriller which flourished in the 1970s in the US (and was echoed in other parts of the world) in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies (most notably Vietnam, the assassination of President Kennedy, Chappaquiddick and Watergate), and which exposed what many people regarded as the clandestine machinations and conspiracies beneath the orderly fabric of political life.

Film and television

One of the earliest exercises in cinematic paranoia was John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate (1962). 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.

Related Topics:
Paranoia - John Frankenheimer - The Manchurian Candidate - 1962 - Brainwashing - Assassination

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Other films in the "paranoiac" or "conspiracy" vein include Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974), Capricorn One (1978), directed by Peter Hyams, and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981).

Related Topics:
Francis Ford Coppola - The Conversation - 1974 - Capricorn One - 1978 - Peter Hyams - Brian De Palma - Blow Out - 1981

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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, came out in 1974, while Sydney Pollack's Three Days Of The Condor came out the following year. Pakula's movie is considered to be the second installment of a "paranoia trilogy" that began with Klute in 1971 and ended with All The President's Men in 1976.

Related Topics:
Screenplay - Lorenzo Semple Jr. - The Parallax View - Alan J. Pakula - 1974 - Sydney Pollack - Three Days Of The Condor - Klute - 1971 - All The President's Men - 1976

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Modern analogues include Conspiracy Theory (1997), directed by Richard Donner, Tony Scott's Enemy of the State (1998), and Mark Pellington's 1999 thriller Arlington Road.

Related Topics:
Conspiracy Theory - 1997 - Richard Donner - Tony Scott - Enemy of the State - 1998 - Mark Pellington - 1999 - Arlington Road

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One of the most celebrated contributions to the genre in the United Kingdom was the BAFTA award-winning television drama Edge of Darkness (1985), written by Troy Kennedy Martin.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - BAFTA - Edge of Darkness - 1985 - Troy Kennedy Martin

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David Drury's Defence Of The Realm (1985) and A Very British Coup (1988) offered other British takes on the conspiracy topos.

Related Topics:
Defence Of The Realm - A Very British Coup - Topos

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