Development
The film is based on a novel by Loren Singer. The novel followed witnesses of John F. Kennedy's assassination who were subsequently killed, but in the screenplay they see an assassination more like that of Robert F. Kennedy.[2] Robert Towne did an uncredited rewrite of the screenplay.[3]
The Gorge Dam was used as a filming locationCinematography
Frady is often filmed from great distances, suggesting that he is being watched.[2]
Montage
Most of the images used in the assassin training montage were of anonymous figures or important historical figures, featuring among others Richard Nixon, Adolf Hitler, Pope John XXIII, and Lee Harvey Oswald (in the picture taken moments after his shooting). The montage also uses drawings by Jack Kirby from Marvel Comics' Thor. It juxtaposes the concepts of LOVE, MOTHER, FATHER, HOME, ENEMY, HAPPINESS, and ME. The montage "captures the confusion of post-Kennedy America" by demonstrating the decay of values and longstanding traditions.[4] It has been compared to the brainwashing scene in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.[5][4]
