Some of the most entertaining films are directed around a conspiracy. Three Days of the Condor is one of the best, for several reasons. The opening is so ordinary, so well paced; normal people going about their business. Into this scene assassins descend to murder the entire staff. It is quick & efficient. Robert Redford, breaks protocol & uses a rear exit to fetch lunch and survives the slaughter. The film follows his horror, his girl friend is one of the victims; his confusion; why has this happened? We discover he works for an obscure section of the CIA and the film moves into a new gear as Condor (Redford) tries to survive in a world where life is cheap & a contract assassin (Max von Sydow - at his grim best) is hired to eliminate him. Redford's evasive action - he kidnaps Faye Dunaway - is clever & believable. She is brilliant - conveying the fear & vulnerability of a woman confronted by a gun & brutally tied up in her own apartment. The use of her bleak photography is a brilliant counterpoint in the development of her character and Redford's reaction to them is telling. I have never seen Redford act as well. It is not a glamorous part. He is cruel in his treatment of Dunaway and her fear and sense of being abused is conveyed in a simple understated way. This is acting of a very high quality and the use of the various technical skills in tracing the telephone connections - properly signalled by an earlier overview by his superiors - is gripping in its authenticity. John Houseman provides a stunning cameo role as Mr. Wabash, the CIA professional. When he says of The Great War, that there was a clarity then, we can understand that open warfare was a different scenario to the games being played between the CIA and their perceived enemies. This is, in many ways, the raison d'etre of this story. The Games played to gain advantage. In this film, the game is Oil. We are made aware that some time, in the future, it could be water.
Some of the other commentators found this a dated story, lacking weight & credibility. I found it scary. In the very ordinariness of the people, the conflicts, just getting on with their lives - and the spooks - also ordinary, in their suits, creating artificial mayhem.
Three Days of the Condor ranks with North By Northwest; The Spy Who Came in from The Cold; All the President's Men.
it is one of the best and I rate it 10 out of ten.
Some of the other commentators found this a dated story, lacking weight & credibility. I found it scary. In the very ordinariness of the people, the conflicts, just getting on with their lives - and the spooks - also ordinary, in their suits, creating artificial mayhem.
Three Days of the Condor ranks with North By Northwest; The Spy Who Came in from The Cold; All the President's Men.
it is one of the best and I rate it 10 out of ten.