Chacal

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.

There's always something fascinating about a film that takes a well-known historical event and twists a fictional story around it. Not only does it effectively add a true sense of realism, thus increasing the suspense and visceral intensity of the plot, but there's also that inkling of a feeling that perhaps the story isn't fictional, after all. It goes against all our logic, but the sentiment still sits at the back of our minds; as far as we know, maybe there was an assassination attempt on Charles de Gaulle on August 25, 1963 that was promptly covered up by authorities. Of course, Fred Zinnemann's 'The Day of the Jackal (1973),' based upon the acclaimed 1971 thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, never purports to be telling a true story, but it remains a exciting consideration. The film follows a cunning, ruthless assassin – codenamed the Jackal – as he plots to sniper the French President, as well as the frantic attempts of authorities to capture the anonymous man before he can carry out his plans.

Unlike most thrillers concerned with capturing a killer before he can strike, 'The Day of the Jackal' spends most of its time with the assassin himself, where we watch him intelligently and artfully drawing his meticulous plans and putting them into execution. The Jackal (Edward Fox) is a man of few words; a silent and scrupulous professional who never allows emotion to affect his work. We come to recognise his sly brilliance in everything he does, and yet the film never celebrates his cleverness, and admiration is not an emotion with which we are willing to respond to him. On the opposite side of the moral scale is Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel (Michael Lonsdale), a shy and softly-spoken detective who reveals himself to be a surprisingly cunning and resourceful investigator. The means by which he and his colleagues break-down the Jackal's impenetrable scheme is genuinely captivating and intriguing.

Given the story's historical grounding, it is inevitable that the assassination attempt be unsuccessful, though Zinnemann manages to infuse the story with a continuing air of suspense, which slowly escalates as the fateful day – Liberation Day in Paris – approaches. 'The Day of the Jackal' joins the ranks of such films as 'All the President's Men (1976)' and 'Zodiac (2007),' which somehow manage to maintain the tension despite their conclusions never being in any doubt {though, admittedly, those two had the added burden of a completely factual story}. Despite the phenomenal success of Forsyth's novel, the film adaptation was a box office failure, which Zinnemann later blamed upon having an unknown in the title role. Nevertheless, 'The Day of the Jackal' is now considered a classic thriller, which also spawned an average 1997 remake, 'The Jackal,' starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.

This is a good rendition of Frederick Forsyth's best seller based on real events, it deals about an intelligent English assassin (Edward Fox) who is assigned by OAS to assassinate General De Gaulle. OAS was a terrorist group formed by French vets of the War of Argelia and committing terrorist acts preferentially after its independence (Evian,1962). The Minister (Alan Badel) assigns the mission to locate Jackal , being appointed his best investigator named Lebel( Michael Lonsdale) and assisted by his helper (Derek Jacobi). The film develops the preparation of the assassination including identity forge, weapons purchase, among others.

This is an interesting thriller lavishly produced by John Woolf who after that he made ¨Odessa file¨ also by Frederick Forsyth. It's full of action, tense, high intrigue and is very entertaining. From the beginning to the end the tension and suspense is continued . In spite of the fact that the runtime is overlong, is neither tiring , nor dull , but thrilling . Cool performance by Edward Fox as elegant and cunning murderer. All star cast formed by prestigious secondary actors as French : Michael Lonsdale, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel, and British : Cryil Cusack, Maurice Denham, Eric Porter, Timothy West,Ronald Pickup, Donald Sinden and others uncredited, almost extras: Edward Hardwicke , Andrea Ferreol, Feodor Atkine and Howard Vernon. And marvelous secondary actresses as Olga Georges-Picot and Delphyne Seyrig and including some of nudism. Beautifully photographed by expert cameraman Jean Tourneir. Suspenseful and atmospheric musical score by George Delerue.

The motion picture is stunningly directed by Fred Zinnemann who had a lot of experience from his formers classic films as ¨High Noon, From here to eternity, Man for all seasons ¨, among them. Rating : Very Good , better than average. It was such fine movie that had a great success at the box office. It's remade in 1997 by Michael Caton-Jones with Richard Gere and Bruce Willis as Jackal but is inferior version and bears only slight resemblance to the original movie.

Much like the novel from which it was based on, The Day of the Jackal is a detailed, compelling and cold thriller. Frederick Forsyth has never been an author who imbues his characters with much humanity or depth; he is much more adept with presenting technical and political aspects in fine detail. This served him very well in the case of The Day of the Jackal, a novel that not only was detailed in these ways, but also was primarily about a cold calculated professional killer, whose lack of depth or real identity was actually a positive for the story. In other words this story was perfectly suited to Forsyth's style.

For those who don't know, the film is set in 1963 and is about a French right-wing political group who want president Chares de Gaulle assassinated because of his decision to grant Algeria independence. They hire a professional killer with no ties to them to carry out the difficult task.

Edward Fox plays the titular character with the requisite cold efficiency required. He is very much an anti-hero, as while he does murder some innocent people he is also the only figure in the film to really get behind. The French authorities are shown to not be slow to use brutal methods on their enemies themselves, while the two policemen assigned to the case are so lacking in charisma that it's just very hard to get behind them in their pursuit of the villain. If there is a fault with the film it must surely be that we as viewers are drawn to the Jackal and his against-all-odds mission - I think most people want him to succeed – and I'm not entirely sure this is what the film-makers actually intended.

The period detail and French locations are lovely, so cinematically this is a very attractive looking film. It's well-paced and direct with no wastage. We never get into the Jackal character's head ourselves as viewers, there is a definite distance and we don't always immediately know why he does certain things. This only adds to the compelling voyeurism of watching him on his deadly mission. Despite the genre, there is a definite restraint shown in the depictions of violence. It's often implied or shown just off-screen. The focus of the film is very much on the way in which the assassin navigates through his mission via different methods of subterfuge. The film could not be further away in style from the laughable 90's remake The Jackal, a film that seems to do everything in an opposite way.

The Day of the Jackal is overall an excellent political thriller that combines intelligence with a gripping narrative. It shows how this kind of material should be presented on screen, where less can absolutely be more. The way that it always stays within the realm of the plausible is one of its strongest suits too. All this combined with its enigmatic central villain make it a superlative film.

... How am I supposed to review a thriller I liked a lot ? It's much easier to write comments on a thriller I disliked , a good example being that really crap movie with Bruce Willis hired by the Russian mafia and IRA man Richard Gere trying to stop him . I think you know the movie I'm talking about

Frederick Forsyth writes thrillers that not only entertain you but educate you too and Kenneth Ross has written a screenplay that reflects this type of writing . The characters aren't cyphers created just to push the plot along , you can really believe these policemen have been solving cases for years ( notice how the policemen are either dowdy or gruff or both . Very realistic ) while you just know " The Jackal " is the world's most effective hit-man . Director Fred Zimmerman films the movie the best way possible - As a docudrama . Okay it might be a little slow and European to some tastes thirty years after it was filmed but compare it to the aforementioned remake and tell me what ones more nailbiting and compelling ? No contest is it