A tightly woven thriller from director Alan J. Pakula, Klute reaches to a higher standard by virtue of excellent character development. Klute is
more chess game than mystery, as each minor piece must topple to clear the playing board before reaching a resolution of checkmate. All of
Pakula's pieces sacrifice themselves to the making of the best movie possible.
     Klute features two very fine lead performances. Jane Fonda does a brilliant job as call girl Bree Daniels. Fonda arms Bree with exterior armor
to protect a confused and fragile character. Her wonderful voice adds a layer of sophistication to her characterization. Fonda received the Best
Actress honor for the 1971 Klute. Donald Sutherland's cold style mirrors the methodical thoroughness and bulldog perseverance of detective Klute.
     Director of photography has created a lighting scheme with heavy emphasis on shadows. The lighting is natural throughout the film. The
kinkiness that pervades the film like a perfume generously applied to mask an unpleasant odor is underscored by Michael Small's restrained
score.
     .While the overall luminance level might have been higher, details in the many shadowy scenes are always clear enough. The colors are accurate.
The mono soundtrack is very effective and has been recorded with excellent detail. Klute, from Warner Home Video runs 114 minutes and is
presented widescreen 2.20:1.