Fred Zinnemann the first 25 American films chosen in 1989 for the National Film Registry. With its psychological and moral examinations of its lawman hero Marshall Will Kane, played by Gary Cooper and its innovative chronology whereby screen time approximated the 80-minute countdown to the confrontational hour, the film broke the mold of the formulaic western. Working closely with cinematographer and longtime friend Floyd Crosby, he shot without filters, giving the landscape a harsh "newsreel" quality that clashed with the more painterly cinematography of John Ford's westerns. During production he established a strong rapport with Gary Cooper, photographing the aging actor in
Fred Zinnemann with the moral dilemmas of his characters. His philosophy about directing influenced director Alan Parker: In "From Here to Eternity", for example, he effectively added actual newsreel footage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which enhanced and dramatized the story. Similarly, in "A Hatful of Rain", he used a documentary style to present real life drug addiction in New York. Zinnemann again incorporated newsreel footage in "Behold a Pale Horse", about the Spanish Civil War. "The Day of the Jackal", a political thriller about an attempt to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, was shot on location in newsreel style, while