If you like wooden dialogue and indistinguishable characters, this is the film for you. Day of the Jackal is an excellent cautionary tale for the aspiring screenwriter eager to learn what "techniques" to avoid.
This movie is a disaster but fun, if you watch it from that perspective and remove your brain from your head. I gave it one star but recommend it anyway, as long as you fast forward through tons of "important" dialogue, film can-loads of extraneous location shots, cheap sets, soap opera-lit interiors, and wildly bad acting. This is like a camp version of "The Man From UNCLE." Or "Get Smart." Except it goes on way past two hours. And these guys are serious. I thought the French cops couldn't solve a bungling caper and they know who the "Jackal" is? It IS a good movie to talk back to, make jokes along the way, supply your own dialogue, fill in the blanks, balance your checkbook, call your lover, throw junk at the TV. But don't watch it all or you'll go crazy or die of boredom. In the end you won't know or care what happened whatsoever. I kept expecting President De Gaulle and his detail to turn and start firing on the production crew.
The movie takes place in France, but it's one of those movies where just so you won't have to be bothered with actually reading subtitles, everyone miraculously speaks English. Some speak English with an English accent, some with a French accent. Just to confuse things a bit, the assassin the French rebels hire actually is English. Needless to say, this may confuse some viewers a little. The English are rude snobs as usual. As far as the actual content of the movie is concerned, there's not much to say. It was an uninteresting series of scenes strung together with no real passion or originality.
Dullest thriller ever? Well, it's a strong contender that's for sure. I actually was expecting a pretty decent film but it just helped confirm by belief that Zinnemann's film for the most part is distant and lifeless. Granted I really like A Man For All Season. This film revolves around an assassin in 1963 and the job he's been hired for by the OAS. The job is to kill the president of France. For such an exciting sounding premise the film is a bore. It's directed in a disconnected manner that makes every detail of the film static. It jumps around as the assassin prepares for the job which consists of very little yet takes 2 and a half hours of film time. Meanwhile the police know the OAS has hired an assassin to take somebody out and are scrambling to find out how he is. Thing is the police just seem to magically come across information regarding the assassin's identity and where abouts, they do very little investigating and info just seems to fall into their laps.
I found the movie dull, dull, dull. BUT, if you are a foreign film buff or a Political Drama fan, or gullible then this movie is possibly for you. I remember watching this as a kid and enjoying it. Also, the "fancy pants" English assassin character is just not believable. This film has not aged well.
This 2-plus hour film was not a return on the time investment. Very dated, perhaps it was exciting or groundbreaking when it was released but today it just doesn't hold up. Some scenes drag on and on, while others (such as the ending) stop so abruptly you'd think no one went back to check the final cut. The assassin in the film is so unbelievable as a ruthless mastermind specialist killer it's hilarious. This thrill-less thriller ranks right down there with the other 1970's over-hyped "thrillers". Again, in their own time and context, perhaps these films worked. But today, not a chance.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not big on car chases and exploding buildings and all that. But yes, I do want the story to MOVE ALONG. This story moves at a snail's pace... it PLODS along... I had high hopes for it, but about 2/3 the way through I snoozed, and was glad for the relief from this torturously slow movie. In case you didn't notice, the keyword is: SLOW. Worthless.
This movie is a disaster but fun, if you watch it from that perspective and remove your brain from your head. I gave it one star but recommend it anyway, as long as you fast forward through tons of "important" dialogue, film can-loads of extraneous location shots, cheap sets, soap opera-lit interiors, and wildly bad acting. This is like a camp version of "The Man From UNCLE." Or "Get Smart." Except it goes on way past two hours. And these guys are serious. I thought the French cops couldn't solve a bungling caper and they know who the "Jackal" is? It IS a good movie to talk back to, make jokes along the way, supply your own dialogue, fill in the blanks, balance your checkbook, call your lover, throw junk at the TV. But don't watch it all or you'll go crazy or die of boredom. In the end you won't know or care what happened whatsoever. I kept expecting President De Gaulle and his detail to turn and start firing on the production crew.
The movie takes place in France, but it's one of those movies where just so you won't have to be bothered with actually reading subtitles, everyone miraculously speaks English. Some speak English with an English accent, some with a French accent. Just to confuse things a bit, the assassin the French rebels hire actually is English. Needless to say, this may confuse some viewers a little. The English are rude snobs as usual. As far as the actual content of the movie is concerned, there's not much to say. It was an uninteresting series of scenes strung together with no real passion or originality.
Dullest thriller ever? Well, it's a strong contender that's for sure. I actually was expecting a pretty decent film but it just helped confirm by belief that Zinnemann's film for the most part is distant and lifeless. Granted I really like A Man For All Season. This film revolves around an assassin in 1963 and the job he's been hired for by the OAS. The job is to kill the president of France. For such an exciting sounding premise the film is a bore. It's directed in a disconnected manner that makes every detail of the film static. It jumps around as the assassin prepares for the job which consists of very little yet takes 2 and a half hours of film time. Meanwhile the police know the OAS has hired an assassin to take somebody out and are scrambling to find out how he is. Thing is the police just seem to magically come across information regarding the assassin's identity and where abouts, they do very little investigating and info just seems to fall into their laps.
I found the movie dull, dull, dull. BUT, if you are a foreign film buff or a Political Drama fan, or gullible then this movie is possibly for you. I remember watching this as a kid and enjoying it. Also, the "fancy pants" English assassin character is just not believable. This film has not aged well.
This 2-plus hour film was not a return on the time investment. Very dated, perhaps it was exciting or groundbreaking when it was released but today it just doesn't hold up. Some scenes drag on and on, while others (such as the ending) stop so abruptly you'd think no one went back to check the final cut. The assassin in the film is so unbelievable as a ruthless mastermind specialist killer it's hilarious. This thrill-less thriller ranks right down there with the other 1970's over-hyped "thrillers". Again, in their own time and context, perhaps these films worked. But today, not a chance.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not big on car chases and exploding buildings and all that. But yes, I do want the story to MOVE ALONG. This story moves at a snail's pace... it PLODS along... I had high hopes for it, but about 2/3 the way through I snoozed, and was glad for the relief from this torturously slow movie. In case you didn't notice, the keyword is: SLOW. Worthless.
