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Summary: The Standard By Which Other Movies Are Judged
Review: An intelligent, mature, thorough drama that asks the question: can an entire nation stop one man? It's a question that is increasingly relevent, and The Day of the Jackal is more modern in its way now than ever. But all that aside, it is a great film by its own merit, the best of its genre, and ultimately the film by which all others of its kind are judged. A gripping, brilliant classic that has gained with age.
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Summary: A true classic
Review: This movie has some excellent acting, a wonderfully tight plot, and some brilliant casting, superb direction... I could go on.The movie is an assasination plot. Sure, we've seen so many of these in today's age. But this one is different. It is a serious plot, and is truly brilliant in its casting and direction. The expression of Lebel as he realises that he has to work round the clock, the expressions of anxiety, pressure, tiredness, excitement... and the pace of the movie keeps one riveted to the seat even if one knows the entire story beforehand by reading the book. The film's strongest character is Fox, who plays the assassin. Cool, calm and collected, he is focused and decisive. He is ruthless and charming. He is cunning and meticulous. Fox has a toothy smile and his perfectly combed hair and his perfect attire make him the consummate Englishman. A lot of this films' directorial style and screenplay seems to have inspired another classic - The Fourth Protocol, where the whole Cat-and-mouse game is replayed. Fox plays the perfect professional killer - cold, methodical, planned and unremorsefully and ruthlessly committed to his goal. The Day of the Jackal is a silent and terse film. The screenplay and the direction seem to show the same sense of urgency and focus within the plot, that the characters display in their own objectives. If one has a collection of movies at home, this is one movie that demands its place. Definitely a treasure.
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Summary: A Tour de Force
Review: This is one great film- almost a tour de force. It is rare that a film comes off as good as the book it was adapted from, but in this case the film is just as good as its most excellent book 'The Day of the Jackal'. After reading the very powerful Frederick Forsythe novel, and seeing this film was made in the 1960-1970's era, I was hopeful at best that the film would be somewhat as good as the book. But this film surpassed my best expectations and proves to be extremely effective and stylish even today. It has nothing of the dowdy or cheezyness of the 70's, nor the poor quality acting or production as one might fear. It was a very cutting-edge film, and still is today; it was very ahead of its time. The story- that of a mysterious man hired to assissinate the French President Charles De Gaulle- while at the same time himself being hunted by top-notch government privates, is very exciting and effective here.
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Summary: Perhaps the best 70s Crime/Spy Movie
Review: Filmed on location throughout Europe this suspenseful movie maintains suspense right up to the last moment. 70s London, Paris, Italy and costal south of France never looked better.
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Summary: This original version blows away the remake
Review: With Hollywood producing a lot of ho-hum thrillers these days, turn to this refreshing entry for the same "holywood does anybody know this film rocks?" feeling as when you first discovered The French Connection, Three Days of Condor and The Ipcress File. The story construction moves along at a logical, rapid pace. Action, Reaction, Action, Reaction...ending with a splendid climax where the Hitman meets his demise. One cool way to watch the original back to back with the Richard Gere/Bruce Willis/Sidney Poitier flop. The modern flop leaves you with kind of a "Huh, what the heck was that?" reaction. For example, the scene where Willis blows away Jack Black's arm requires the same creativity as scraping ... matter from a shoe. The bottom line: the original version blows away the remake.
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Summary: Absorbing, authentic, classic
Review: This screen adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's novel is true to the novel but more importantly, a completely authentic, text-book account of stalking, terrorist and assasination tactics. Edward Fox's portrayal of the Jackal is completely believable. The Bruce Willis newly released version of this film is a but pale comparison that does not come close to matching the Edward Fox film's absolute suspense and authenticity. Despite it's age, the film's authenticity is so compelling that it is used today in certain government training programs focused on counter-terrorism tactics.
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Summary: DOCUMENTARY-STYLE THRILLER & ONE OF THE BEST!
Review: 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.
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Summary: A suspense thriller for all seasons
Review: This is the ultimate thinking person's thriller. Edward Fox plays "The Jackal," a mercenary hired by an ultra-right wing group that wants to assassinate President Charles deGaulle, who allegedly betrayed France by giving Algeria its independence. Edward Fox is perfect for the role. He is charming, cunning, very dangerous, and a master of disguises, continuously slipping in and out of other peoples' identities to achieve his ends. The French government's efforts to unmask and catch the Jackal, while he is constantly eluding them, is truly nail biting. By the conclusion of this very exciting film one cannot be certain whether the Jackal was really an Englishman, as was believed by the organization that hired him.
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Summary: A first rate thriller about a plot to assassinate de Gaulle
Review: Think of the problem here in terms of suspense: "The Day of the Jackal" is the story of meticulous hitman (Edward Fox) who is hired by disgruntled French generals to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle. But we all know that de Gaulle was NOT assassinated, so how does this film achieve suspense? The answer is: extremely well. This is a superior thriller from the novel by Frederick Forsyth and directed by Fred Zinnemann ("High Noon"), who gives equal weight to the professional preparations of the assassin and the dogged efforts of the French detectives to run down the "Jackal." The audience is placed in the position of actually rooting for both sides as the story develops. The excellent cast includes Michel Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig, Alan Badel, Cyril Cusack and Derek Jacobi. "The Day of the Jackal" offers an unforgettable conclusion in which you come to the moment you thought was impossible, as the Jackal finally gets de Gaulle in his sights.
Rating:
Summary: Just Excellent
Review: I simply love this film. What makes it great is that we follow the Jackal as he goes through every aspect of his planning to murder De Gaulle. And somehow, one finds themself wanting him to succeed. That is simply great writing to make the audience root for the bad guy. Highly recommended.
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