The Day of the Jackal (1973)

• Year: 1973
• Released: 30 Jul 1973
• Country: United Kingdom, France
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 win & 11 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069947/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_of_the_jackal
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-day-of-the-jackal
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Italian, French
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
• Runtime: 143 min
• Writer: Frederick Forsyth, Kenneth Ross
• Director: Fred Zinnemann
• Cast: Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair
• Keywords: based on novel or book, police, paris, france, assassin, hitman,

	7.8/10
	80/100

The Day of the Jackal Storyline

When President De Gaulle decides to grant independence to French Algeria, several of the soldiers, who fought in that campaign, feel that De Gaulle is belittling the lives of the men who died there. So they form a group and make attempts at De Gaulle and fail. When several of their key members are killed or caught and eventually executed, the three top members decide to hire a professional assassin to take out De Gaulle. The man that they chose agrees to do it on the condition that he be alllowed complete autonomy. He also advises them to go into hiding until the job is done. And they do. When the French Security force learns that they have shut themselves off from the rest of world are curious what they are doing. So they abduct their errand boy, and once interrogated all he says is the assassin’s code name, “The Jackal”, they hypothesize that they have hired an assassin to go after DE Gaulle. Once De Gaulle is informed he refuses to alter his plans and will not allow extra security added. So his ministry decides that they should find the Jackal before he makes his move. They appoint the best detective in France, Claude Lebel to find him. Lebel plan is to contact every police department in the world and see if the Jackal comes from their country and if so to provide him with a description and/or a photo. Now Scotland Yard has a small lead but unfortunately they miss him but they have his passport so assuming that he is out of the country, they try and find the passport that he is using. Now when they think that they have him, he discards the identity that he is using and assumes another one. Can they find him before he gets De Gaulle?

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Superlative stuff

To put it simply, DAY OF THE JACKAL is THE thriller of the 1970s. With nary a car chase or shoot out in sight, it manages to cram as much excitement into its running time as the entire BOURNE trilogy thanks to the combined wonder of expert direction and a faultless script. Highly detailed and never less than compelling, this film follows the exploits of a professional assassin about to embark on his biggest job yet – and we follow him every painstaking step of the way.

Fox – entirely chilling and somehow commendable, despite his ultra ruthlessness – is a lead you almost (but not quite) want to win out come the end, purely because of his professionalism and his attention to detail. Michael Lonsdale works well as the detective cast opposite him, always human and likable, but the real winner is the script/directorial combo. Like SOUTHERN COMFORT, it’s a film to keep you guessing until the final nail-biting moments and dare I say it, there’s never a dull moment. An outstanding and exceptional piece of film-making.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a political killer in this country. It’s not our style, is it?

You watch the Bruce Willis version of the Jackal and you think that is so cool, but you don’t know cool until you see Edward Fox do it.

Fox is the epitome of cool. The guy even wears an ascot, for god’s sake! Most people today don’t even know what an ascot is. He carefully plots his moves and is methodical in his precision. He kills with cool detachment. If he had Willis’ assignment, he would have gotten it done.

But, he had to deal with the European versions of the CIA/FBI and they were not restrained in how they handled investigations. With just a thread, the French police inspector carefully puts together a case with as much precision as his prey. It was a game of cat and mouse that kept you on the edge of your seat for two and a half hours without noticing the time.

That is because of director Fred Zinnemann and the fact that he kept things moving along beautifully.

If you want to see how a thriller is done with craft and cunning and without special effects, then this is the film for you.

Brilliant, taut and suspenseful….and really, really well made.

“The Day of the Jackal” is one of the best films of the 1970s. However, oddly, it was only nominated for one Oscar–for film editing. Perhaps this film was one that just slipped under the radar or maybe the competition was just too stiff that year, all I know is that is one of the great suspense films.

The story is set amidst the tumult of the French losing Tunisia and Algeria. In the 1950s and 60s, nationalists in these two North African countries began fighting the French government for their independence. However, most Frenchmen thought of this land less as colonies and more as part of France itself–and these folks were determined to fight long and hard to keep these lands. As for the French government, they fought hard to keep this land but eventually realized it was an unwinnable war and looked to bring the troops back to the mainland. And, the extreme elements within France saw this as a betrayal. In fact, one group was so upset that they plotted to kill their leader, President Charles de Gaulle. This film is specifically about an assassin, known as ‘the Jackal’, in his plan to carry off the assassination. What makes this a great film is that the assassin is a cold, calculating and brutal man–played by a rather nondescript but very convincing Edward Fox. In fact, the portrayal is so riveting and convincing, you can’t help but getting sucked into this film so expertly directed by Fred Zinnemann. See this one.