The Day of the Jackal
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Movie Reviews of The Day of the Jackal
Movie Review: AN EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THRILLER!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This political thriller, based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth, begins with a failed assassination attempt by the OAS, an organization angered by President DeGaulle's liberation of Algeria. They realize they are now under intense surveillance by French security and intelligence and must go outside France to hire a professional killer. His code name becomes Jackal. When the French kidnap and torture a member of the OAS, they get the word 'jackal' out of him before he dies. With that slim clue and Investigator Lebel they go to work to track down this apparent assassin. The film runs two parallel tracks between the French security forces and The Jackal, who always seems to be one step ahead. While the film covers in great detail the plans of The Jackal to carry out the perfect plot and the painstaking intelligence work on the part of the French government (before computers and cell phones), it never seems to bog down or be boring. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, building to the climactic 'Day of the Jackal' when DeGaulle is to be assassinated. You don't have to suspend logic to believe this film. It is based on the cleverness and genius of the assassin as well as the intuition and perseverance of Investigator Lebel. Both are obsessed with their jobs and are up to the challenge. A top notch thriller. Roger Ebert calls it 'spellbinding'. [...]Movie Review: Galvanizing
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the very few films I couldn't pick out any flaws in! Completely riveting from start to finish. Extremely well acted by everyone, especially Michael Lonsdale (whom you might recognize as the villain Drax in "Moonraker"), and Edward Fox. Attention is paid to detail, and there is never anything that happens that struck me as contrived or unbelievable. Zinnemann took a slight risk by using little or no dialogue in some scenes, and having such a quick, abrupt ending, but these things work to the film's benefit. The entire movie is a tension filled story of how the Jackal prepares for his last, biggest, career-ending hit; the cops' ingenious methods of tracking him; and his equally ingenious ways of eluding them. Fox studied hard for this role, and it pays off for the viewer: he perfectly portrays the Jackal as an utterly uncaring, egocentric, extremely elusive and clever individual, as a person with this occupation would probably be. Lonsdale is just as fantastic; his character is always completely believable as a man who is continually stunned by the Jackal's elusiveness, yet he never gives up and doesn't show over- or underconfidence. I give this film 5 stars because it's not only flawless, but still rewards attentiveness after all these years. Magnificent performances like these never date.Movie Review: DOCUMENTARY-STYLE THRILLER & ONE OF THE BEST!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my all-time favorite suspense movies. In almost documentary-style, director Fred Zinnemann takes the viewer through a believable plot to assassinate French President de Gaulle by French ex-soldiers angry at his freeing Algeria from colonialist rule. We see the plotters and their assassin (an excellent and unforgettable Edward Fox), the inept government ministers and the wily detective they hire to find The Jackal who just happens to stay one step ahead of them. This movie combines history, suspense and sheer entertainment (even a little sex) without all the overdone explosions and violence we have to sit through in current thrillers of its type. Oh, there are quite a few dead bodies left in the Jackal's wake but most of this is done quickly or discreetly off-screen (a nice little touch is the lobster on the kitchen floor who gets a reprieve while the cook is offed). There is probably no cooler killer in the movies than the Jackal but even more than that, this movie works because it slowly builds to a neat climax with a surprising twist. My only complaint with the DVD is the lack of any special features (how about a short docu on the Algerian war that preceded independence?) but for intelligent and exciting entertainment this one is a real winner.Movie Review: This is Madness!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is simply a great adventure film. It possesses a simple story. The French government slowly learns of a plot against the President and want to capture the killer but they simply know his code name and he possesses fair hair. Who is he? So they unload the job onto their best detective. This story moved at a rapid pace. There are multiple story lines but they simply serve the main storyline. The French assume that somebody must have noticed him and contact several different countries but it's a British inspector who's inspired to contact a colleague in the Foreign Office. If he's operating out of Britain then he must be squeaky clean here but the foreign office must be keeping watch on these people. Now this storyline feeds the main one. It's retired later in the film when the Jackal has crossed the border and it becomes a French operation. A film with so many characters and storylines seldom succeeds but nobody really carries this film. There are very few long scenes which test an performer's capabilities. Instead the entire cast provides the film with enormous support. Everybody is assingned a job and everybody does it well. This film just doesn't rely on 'star' power. Perhaps it's why it paid so much more attention to everything else.Movie Review: A true classic. One of the best of its kind.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Day of the Jackal is one of the best action-suspense films ever made! It's nothing short of brilliant and it's something of a hidden treasure. Movie buffs know the movie but, sadly, it doesn't get the sort of mainstream recognition of even a mediocre thriller like The Fugitive for instance.
What's fantastic about Jackal is that it works within the realm of possibility. The Jackal, a British contract killer hired by the OAS to assassinate Charles De Gaulle, is cunning, effective, sharp, but human; not the near super-human killers of movies of the last 20 or so years.
The drama builds and never relents. This is an extraordinary feat considering that the assassin's target is a real historical figure who was never assassinated.
All the main characters were terrifically portrayed. If there is a shortfall, it is that the French characters have British accents. This detracted a bit from the realism. It's a minor criticism, one that is all but swallowed by the strengths of the movie.
This is a must see. Even if you're not a fan of the so-called "spy fiction" genre, you'll enjoy the intrigue, suspense or, in the least, all the wonderful shots of Italy and France.