The Day of the Jackal
Frederick Forsyth ’s taut novel makes for an equally tense movie. The simple premise – how to find and stop a skilful anonymous assassin from killing President de Gaulle – translates into a deadly game of hide-and-seek on the big screen.
Edward Fox , a then unknown, underplays the mysterious Jackal beautifully, his calm and calculating nature underlined by the scarcity of his lines, in contrast with the hectic actions of those seeking him.
The film though cerebral in its conceit is also a violent one, even if some of the violence – the murders of the aristocratic Frenchwoman and Parisian man seduced by the killer for cover – is off-screen. While the nail-biting ending of the film is little different from many others of the type and era (it was released in 1973), it does early on shock the audience with the torturing to death by the French secret service of a kidnapped terrorist, an episode once seen never forgotten.
Tension is maintained throughout thanks to a cast of excellent character actors including Cyril Cusack, Ronald Pickup , Anton Rogers, Derek Jacobi and Timothy West , and of course Fred Zinnemann’s faultless direction, supported by the editing of Ralph Kemplen who won a BAFTA for his work on the film.
vote now
Current top 10
1: Oliver!
2: Zulu
3: The Railway Children
4: The Italian Job
5: Life of Brian
6: Trainspotting
7: The Third Man
8: The 39 Steps
9: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
10: Local Hero
Brit Quote: |
|
On this day: |