Day of the Jackal (The)

Genre: crime drama  

With: Edward Fox (the Jackal), Michael Lonsdale (Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel), Terence Alexander (Lloyd), Michel Auclair (Colonel Rolland), Alan Badel (the Minister), Tony Britton (Superintendent Brian Thomas), Cyril Cusack (Gozzi the Gunsmith), Maurice Denham (General Colbert), Timothy West (Berthier), Olga Georges-Picot (Denise), Derek Jacobi (Caron), Barrie Ingham (St. Clair), Delphine Seyrig (Colette), Donald Sinden (Mallinson), Eric Porter (Col. Marc Rodin), David Swift (Montclair), Denis Carey (Casson), Jean Martin (Viktor Wolenski)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Screenplay: Kenneth Ross (based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel)

Release: 1973

Studio: John Woolf Productions, Warwick Film Productions, Universal Productions France

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

‟Crisis?... What crisis?” 

 

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Story-line: after France lost its Algerian colony in the early 1960s (as we have seen in Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterly THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS), some French nationals felt betrayed by President de Gaulle who had once uttered the words ‟Long live French Algeria”. Their resentment reached such a crescendo that threats were made against de Gaulle’s life. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL recounts one devilish plot engineered in 1963 by the OAS, a group made up mostly of French army veterans, with the help of a hired assassin codenamed ‟Jackal”.

Pluses: note-perfect performances by Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale and a strong cast, very tight and efficient direction that keeps you on alert from the first frame to the last, a chilling screenplay rich in important characters and intelligent dialogues, high-quality cinematography and editing, convincing production values and a nerve-racking finale.

Minuses: this movie was on my list for years before I had a chance to see it… but it was well worth the wait. One curious fact: Jean Martin, an OAS operative here, played a French officer in THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS.

Comments: even though history tells us that de Gaulle survived the attempts made against his life, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL remains a mind-boggling thriller that works much like a jigsaw puzzle, methodically describing the Jackal’s preparations and modus operandi. Get ready for a fierce and twist-filled manhunt. ‟Your contact is Valmy. Telephone number Molitor 5019.” 

 

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