It has such a powerful, unmistakable mood and feeling that honestly only a movie like Blade Runner replicates. I first watched this film on a VHS, bought it on DVD immediately and have seen it 7 times. Fonda and Sutherland's performances are masterful and the direction by Pakula is stunning.
I think the great thing about this movie is that it rises above the somewhat cliched plotline with its wonderful visual style and atmosphere.
...yes, me!
I think they hardly make movies like this anymore but that´s just my opinion.
"Klute´s" atmosphere is so real and powerful that you sometimes even forget you are watching a movie. I have always admired Jane Fonda´s performance of this lonely, troubled young woman who is unable to feel love but tries to convince herself that she is not doing tricks because of money but because of the feeling of control over situations and men.
In some way Bree reminds me of Marlon Brando´s Paul in "The Last Tango in Paris" and Fonda seems to have improvised her role just as well.
Sutherland also gives a fantastic performance of Klute; I especially like the scenes where he doesn´t speak at all. You can clearly read what is going on in his mind by watching his face; my favourite scene is when he nurtures Bree back to health. Simply magic.
It´s interesting, marbleindex, that you compare "Klute" to "Blade Runner"; some critics also did. Could you please tell me what do these movies have in common?
You also mentioned the "somewhat cliched plotline".
I admit that this might be true as far as the "crime story" is concerned. But what about the story of Klute and Bree? They fell in love even if they didn´t want to and obviously didn´t end up together.
Do you think that this is a cliche, too? I really would be interested in your opinion.
I saw this film when it first came out, and I've always said and I still say that it is a PERFECT movie.
shareYes! It's perfect. Just as BLADE RUNNER. My favorites ever. Thank you.
shareI'm watching "Klute," right now, on Cinemax, for perhaps the 50th time. I'll tell you what blows me away about the movie: Jane Fonda's shag hairdo. VEEERRRY sexy! She showed more skin in
"Barbarella," but THIS was Jane at her FINEST! I can easily watch this flick, over, and over. It NEVER
gets old for me. A TRUE CLASSIC.
it's not perfect...far from it. A perfect thriller is Se7en. This was more drama than thriller. There was ZERO mystery about who the killer was... This movie is VERY overrated imo - but still enjoyed most of it. It is FAR from perfect though.
You Suck...now deal with it.
Oh wow, you don't get it. you just really don't get it - at all.
sharePoor dear - no he/she doesn't get it.
This is a character study. The plot is just there to give these subtle and complex characters a context within which to reveal themselves.
This is a film about loneliness, self-loathing, isolation, how people yearn for love, meaning and fulfillment in the face of societal expectations and judgment. It reeks of 70s cultural hubris and self-absorption.
And the chemistry between Fonda and Sutherland alone is worth the two-hour watch.
First-rate directing, first-rate acting (Fonda's monologue at her shrink's is one of the most devastating bits of acting I've ever seen), and completely absorbing. Especially Jane Fonda - you can't take your eyes off her.
Plot shmott, I've watched this probably six or seven times and I enjoy it just as much each time.
"A sword is useless in the hands of a coward" - Nichiren Daishonin
Klute has always been on of my top 10 most favorite films from the 60-70's era. Included are Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, Easy Rider
This film always captured my interest and focus and the eerie, almost subliminal film score by the late great writer Michael Small adds to Klute's mystique, drama, and pace of the movie.
I can't imagine another set of actors that could have been cast any better for Klute other than, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland and Charles Cioffi, the brilliant executive "serial" killer. Those 3 actors were born to play the characters in the script.
I watched it again for the ? time, instant download from Netflix this week and the film is still one of the best ever. 5 Stars always on this one
This is a a great film. I recently listened to the director's commentaries on David Fincher's films "Seven" and "Zodiac" and I am pretty sure he mentions "Klute" as being influential on him; "All the President's Men" also which was also directed by Pakula and shot by Gordon Willis. Willis is I think the real legend behind the camera and this was the time when he really shined.
shareOne of my favorite movies ever. I'm surprised it's not on the top 250. Great performances by Fonda and Sutherland. A perfect blend of suspense and character study. Very subtle, almost subdued, but very touching.
shareSuch a highly stylized film, yet so realistic and gritty. Pakula is unjustly overlooked as one of the quintessential directors of the 70s. He is the epitome of what made films good in that era - good writing and thorough work with actors, and, above all, seriousness about careful storytelling and creating the atmosphere. Visually, he is here as exciting as Kubrick, but not as shallow and more humane.
Although, All President's Men is my favourite.
I'm going to find it and I'm going to destroy it. Possibly with dynamite.
I think this is Jane's most over-rated film and her most over-rated performance. As a "mystery-thriller," The Morning After has a much better story; and as a "down and out" character Alex Sternbergen is incomparable. (Of course, in The Morning After Jane also had the advantage of Jeff Bridges as a co-star, though I admit that Donald Sutherland did put on some amusing skits when he joined Jane in F.T.A.).
Glenda Jackson deserved the Oscar for Sunday Bloody Sunday, except that she'd won the year before, so the Academy finally gave Jane an Oscar as a consolation prize for losing out to Maggie Smith two years earlier. They Shoot Horses is an incomparably better film than Klute, and Gloria is an incomparably better performance than Bree Daniel. Jane just had the misfortune that year of being in the running against one of the greatest performances in film history, Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie.
Jane should have had an Oscar nomination for Cat Ballou and should have beaten Julie Andrews that year for the Golden Globe. Had she not been up against Maggie Smith, the Oscar would rightly have been hers for They Shoot Horses.
Nothing against Diane Keaton, but Jane probably deserved an Oscar for Julia (though probably not against Vanessa Redgrave if Vanessa had also been Best-Actress nominated, as she should have been). I don't begrudge Jane her Oscar for Coming Home, though I don't consider it one of her greatest performances (but that's just judging Jane against herself). She absolutely should have had an Oscar for On Golden Pond, and her failure to win for The Morning After is one of the great lapses in Academy voting. She also should have had at least a nomination for Agnes of God, and either she or Anne Bancroft should have won for that movie.
So obviously I'm no Jane Fonda basher. Quite the contrary. As an actor, I place her in fact second only to Laurence Olivier. I just fail to see what everyone else seems to see in Klute.
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"Klute" GREAT film. Love watching it every single time.
Just one note: technically speaking, Fonda's character is Bree Daniel. That's the way it's listed in the credits AND in Fonda's autobiography, even SHE calls the character Bree Daniel.
Here's the thing: check out the final scene when she answers the phone on the floor. She clearly identifies herself as Bree Daniels. Weird.
I watched this wonderful film last night and, as with most great film sfrom the 70's (The French Connection, All the President's Men, Taxi Driver, Three Days of the Condor, Jaws) it just shows how poor so many modern movies are; Klute was a film for adults and the filmmakers assumed that their audience was intelligent and sophisticated.
Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland are both so superb, so naturalistic in their performances; they look and feel like real people, not movie stars. I was watching the filmas I finished off some work late last night and I had to just put down my things and watch it. The mood of the film just grips you; the long takes and superb cinematography of Gordon Willis (probably the most important cameraman of the 70's), the brilliant direction of Alan J. Paukla (who also made the equally superb Parallax View and the masterful All the President's Men); the whole film is superb.
I dunno, something has been lost in cinema in the last few decades. Everything now is so obviously commercial and crass. And usually about superheroes. As much as I love Spiderman 1 & 2 (And I do!), films like The Wedding Crashers and popcorn fluff like Stealth, I can't help but look at movies from the 70's like Klute and conclude that, sadly, films today are dumber.
Hear,hear, nickh72.
I also watched this film the other night and I totally agree that they don't make films like this anymore.
Films generally before Jaws in 1976 treated the audience as adults and paced the films slowly so you really 'got' the atmosphere.
The creepy 'Parallax View' (when is this ever going to come out on DVD?!)is another case in point. A classic film, which slowly ties you in with the main character and never lets you off the hook.
After Jaws, it was big blockbusters with 'when is the next helicopter going to explode' moments to keep the punters happy.
Who is the current Gordon Willis of cinematography?
I thought it was great. I agree with the original poster on everything they said. The use of darkness was used a lot in the film and added to the atmosphere and the performances were great.
"I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived" - Bette Davis
i agree. this film definitely blew me away. i rented the film just to see why jane fonda won her oscar for and i found out. i was stunned by how the film turned out and jane's performance. this is surely one of jane's best performances. i loved the screenplay in the film. they were sexual but it worked for me. some quotes from the film is absolutely rememorable. jane fonda shines. i don't think i would've liked this film if jane fonda wasn't in it.
shareWatched it last night for the 1st time. What a great film it is. The relationship between Klute and Bree is the heart of the movie and it fascinated me. She is so interesting, helpless, sexy, lovely, neurotic...I've seen a lot of films in my life but only a few make me FEEL something. This film is one of them.
shareSaw it last night. Great movie, love the feel of it. And Sutherland is just superb, as always. Thank god for films that don't explain every single detail. They don't make movies like this anymore.
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Incredible movie!!
I read another post about movies from 1970-1975,
being a golden age of movies. It is so true. We
just don't get these kind of gritty, dark, sometimes
hopeless kind of films anymore. Look at the variety
and quality of some of my favorites from 1971.
In no particular order:
Klute
A Clockwork Orange
Harold & Maude
The Last Picture Show
Dirty Harry
Willy Wonka
The French Connection
Straw Dogs
Banannas
Omega Man
Vanishing Point
Carnal Knowledge
Get Carter
Andromeda Strain
The list is far from exhaustive, and that is just one year.
More than a few classics in that list. Great year
Hey! You can't fight in here...this is the war room!!
Look at the variety
and quality of some of my favorites from 1971.
In no particular order:
Klute
A Clockwork Orange
Harold & Maude
The Last Picture Show
Dirty Harry
Willy Wonka
The French Connection
Straw Dogs
Banannas
Omega Man
Vanishing Point
Carnal Knowledge
Get Carter
Andromeda Strain
The list is far from exhaustive, and that is just one year.
More than a few classics in that list. Great year
I have three films from 1971 on my all-time top 10:
Walkabout
The Devils
Klute
I was. The way I found out about it was the documentary movie "Terror In The Aisles". I came here to look it up back in 2001 so I could see if it was the correct movie and yes, Sutherland, Fonda, it's the one. Couldn't find it in any video stores, so I guess it was just pure luck that it came on my digital cable system a few times. I looked at the TV guide and it said "Klute"; I nearly did a backflip because I was so interested in seeing it. I wasn't disappointed at all. Jane Fonda was so satisfyingly sexy as Bree and Sutherland had a way about him as he always does. I can't say anything good about this movie that hasn't already been said. Klute rules!!!
I've killed three people, but yet I don't consider myself a terrible man