U.V.RAY

I am quite certain this film must surely have been mentioned before.

I know Fred Zinnemann was born in Vienna but he settled in Britain in 1967 and lived here until his death in 1997. This is a British film.

And what a magnificent film it is. I fished it out and watched it again the other day. It is quite simply an excellently plotted, wonderfully paced and intelligently made thriller. And in calling it a thriller I am not only referring to the genre - it really is a thriller!

My version is the widescreen presentation DVD on Columbia Tristar. Not much in the way of extras (only the trailer and production notes) but with a film as good as this who cares.

Edward Fox is absolutely spiffing as the calculating, sophisticated assassin.

DB7

One of those films I've probably seen too many times. I think the almost documentary feel to Fox's ruthless preperations adds greatly to the film; so much so that you're almost rooting for the assasin.

God knows what those behind the remake were on. It's almost a Naked Gun satire. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img]

theuofc

Total agreement, U.U.RAY. "The Day of the Jackal" has a permanent place on my Favourite Films list. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img] Those titles are the ones I can watch over and over. If I had to lose all my other films, I would want these DVDs.

The suspense plot is tightly woven, and every thread of the web is intricate and ingenious. At the same time, it is a fascinating story that has me on the edge of my seat always savouring the superb crafting and the dialogue in each scene yet anxious for the next one. As you say, Edward Fox was perfect in the role: charming, detached Evil focused on the deed. The whole cast was excellent, e.g. Michael Lonsdale as the Inspector and Cyril Cusak, the gunsmith. Moreover, the film had wonderful bits of wit.

Love this film. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Barbara

U.V.RAY

I had absolutely no idea there has been a re-make!

It's definitely one of those films that simply does not need one. I don't see how it could be bettered and that is the acid test when it comes to re-makes. Like the film Alien. You simply could not better it.

I would watch the re-make now just out of curiosity. Bit only if I stumble across it on TV sometime - I wouldn't go out of my way to get it.

Glad you also enjoyed this one.

mysteriesofedgarwallace

I've long been a huge fan of this film.
Forsyth's exceptional writing talent and knowledge, coupled with Fox's astounding portrayal really make this film.
Always in my top10.
I know I've said it before; the book is even better.
It's really only Le Carre and Forsyth who have the skills for this type of genre. I'm a huge Deighton fan, but he isn't really up there with them.
And I won't even comment on the re-make!

U.V.RAY

Yep. There is good. There is even great. And then there is elite.

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Steve Crook

The people that made The Jackal (1997) kept on saying that is wasn't a remake of The Day of the Jackal (1973). But giving it a working title of The Day of the Jackal was a bit of a give away.

It's only loosely based on the same story, in that there's an assassin trying to kill someone famous and the authorities bring in another killer to kill the killer before he can kill the intended victim.

The assassin is played by Bruce Willis giving the one dimensional (if that) performance he usually gives in action films.

The man brought in to stop him is IRA sniper (as if they had need for them) Declan Joseph Mulqueen who has been released from prison with a promise of freedom if he stops Willis. Shades of The Dirty Dozen and similar films creeping in there. Mulqueen is played by Richard Gere who puts on an amazing Paddy O'Leprechaun accent to remind everyone that he's meant to be Irish.

As you can imagine, it wasn't a great film. FBI Deputy Director Sidney Poitier looks positively embarrassed to be involved in it, even peripherally.

Stick to the original The Day of the Jackal (1973) and you won't go far wrong.
That's a great film.

Steve

Marky B

I am a big fan of Frederick Forsythe,having read most of his books. He re-invented the thriller. The film does a lot of justice to the book and it is one of those I put in the label "Can watch over and over again". The cast is faultless - my partcular favourite is Michael Lonsdale as the put upon detective - the pace,the plotting all immaculate,making up for the lack of action (no complaint - no action was needed).
Jackal,the remake,was not that bad - but it would have been better if it Day of the Jackal had not been written and the subsequent film being made. However,then again,without the mind of Forsythe,perhaps that would never have reached the screen.
The Odessa File was another faithful version of a Forsythe book;The Fourth Protocol needed to be heavily abridged to make a film (then again it would have made an excellent tv series),but my least favourite of Forysthe's was The Dogs Of War,so I won't comment on the film.
I would have liked to seen a film version of The Devil's Alternative,but now the Cold War is over (or is it),it would lack the impact it made at the time.
Ta Ta
Marky B [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

DB7

It wasn't a working title but the actual intended release title. Zinnermann and Forsyth threatened legal action if the title wasn't altered.

Like The Italian Job remake, Hollywood had a similar storyline and attempted to tack on a classic film title to push the film commercially.

jacobean

Brilliant movie and full of well known faces
The first 10 minutes sets it up for me - I have always been a fan of Citroen DS's and the sight of all those lovely cars picking up their ministers in regimented fashion almost makes me a Francophile!

Marky B

It must take some doing,writing a story in which the reader knows the ending (ie we all know De Gaulle died of natural causes and not by an assassin's bullet),yet still keep a tense edge to it. Ron Howard pulled it off with the excellent Apollo 13,that when you knew the astronauts were safe,you gave a sigh of relief and maybe a tear (well that is speaking for me,anyway).
Ta Ta
Marky B [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

ChristineCB

I liked Willis' THE JACKAL, but I think its filmmakers understood from Day One they needed to throw in a kitchen sink's worth of distractions, as if any of those would distract the audience enough to tolerate it.

So, they threw in more star-names for that distraction value. And gadgets (poison aerosols, peel away car paints). And explosions (I love cars that always produce mushroom clouds when shot). Pre-Star Jack Black. Sidney Poitier. Tess Harper. Richard MR ACCENT Gere.

Too bad they couldn't gimmick-up his accent.

(Why can a gangster like John Travolta be hidden away in Europe for years in a pre-PULP FICTION scenario, but JACKAL's filmmakers can only imagine an IRA killer tucked into an American prison as the only human on earth to have ever seen this "jackal"? Oh wait - "imagination"! Ah yes... obviously it was a bit too precious in THE JACKAL, try as they might.)

THE JACKAL has some worthy scenes to it, but all of these seem bludgeoned together (and onto the audience's skulls), not crafted, like DAY OF THE JACKAL draws us in.

Stephen W

Another bit of the film worth mentioning is Tony Britton's contribution as the Brummie Special Branch officer. The scene in Donald Sinden's office when the Prime Minister rings up is beautifully acted.

Cheeky Bob

William Goldman discusses this in his book 'Adventures in the Screen Trade' - specifically concerning All the President's Men, where he was faced with the challenge of writing up a story that not only everyone knew, but which was then very very recent history (I think he started work when the Watergate saga was less than two years old).

His solution was to dig up loads of surprising peripheral facts that most people probably didn't know, and toss them in at regular intervals to keep the surprises coming (for instance, an initial Watergate burglary attempt failed because they had the wrong keys) - which helped hold audience interest even though they technically "knew the ending".

(Mind you, that's no guarantee - though I suspect I may be the only person who saw When We Were Kings who was so utterly ignorant of boxing history that I didn't actually know who won the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in advance...)