Power, Corruption and Lies on Screen

The Power, Corruption and Lies on Screen season at the Robert Burns Centre is a themed run of films exploring how power can be misused, how corruption develops, and how truth can be manipulated. Klute (1971), The Parallax View (1974), and All the President's Men (1976) are often grouped together as Alan J. Pakula's unofficial "Paranoia Trilogy" where characters are being watched, followed or manipulated. Also included in the season are rereleases of three thrillers from legendary French director Claude Chabrol, films which explore moral, rather than political, corruption and where polite society and dark secrets entwine to murderous effect. You can also see some upcoming films too such as Dominik Moll’s French drama Case 137 - an internal affairs investigator probes a police shooting, confronting institutional resistance and difficult questions of truth, loyalty, and justice. We also feature Wild Horse Nine, an upcoming dark comedy-thriller written and directed by Martin McDonagh, best known for In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Banshees of Inisherin. And from darkness comes light in the form of Carl Reiner’s wonderful noir homage Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and Mel Brooks’ brilliant comedy Blazing Saddles, a tale of corruption, land grabs and authentic frontier gibberish.