Three Days of the Condor

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Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack continued their longtime collaboration (the actor and director have worked together on Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Electric Horseman, and Out of Africa, among other films) with this taut spy drama. Redford plays a reader for U.S. intelligence who becomes a hunted man after he is not among the victims of a mass murder of his colleagues. Faye Dunaway does solid work as the frightened and mystified woman whom he forces to conceal him, and Max von Sydow is appropriately cool as a professional assassin. That same, sustained tone of danger and expectation that made Pollack's The Firm so much fun can be found in this 1975 thriller, albeit with an appropriate dose of post-Watergate paranoia. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Conspiracy Fest?.......2007-09-16

In my humble opinion Sydney Pollack's brilliant 'cat & mouse' thriller, "Three Days of the Condor" surpasses many a modern effort in this genre without the aid of any CGI or sfx-jiggery pokery. The film delivers a superbly simple plot but with expertly orchestrated twists & turns. This is no 'film buff only' movie, there are great performances, action, tension, sexual & otherwise, enough to rivet any discerning viewer. Watch this and Alan J Pakula's 1974, 'Parallax View' for a rainy Sunday afternoon 'Conspiracy Fest'. What movie would you add to the list?
The Parallax View

great spy tale of a CIA analyst forced to fight an unknown enemy.......2007-07-31

This is a wonderful film, perhaps Pollack's best. From the moment it begins, with Redford as a sensitive and bookish CIA desk employee, the story carries you along with mystery, fear, and fascination. Redford is not an expert assassin or spy, but a reluctant amateur, who is thrown into a situation completely frightening to him. He must figure out how to fend for himself, and he does so effectively and even brilliantly, first hiding and then figuring out what is happening and who is responsible. He is wonderfully believable, even when he becomes deadly. Faye Dunaway is brilliantly convincing as the beautiful lost soul who eventually helps him, a lonely artist he meets in a chance encounter. But the resolution is also a jarring surprise, which I shuld not reveal here. Although this film reflects the cynicism of post-Watergate America, compared to the complacent twits we hve in DC now, it looks tame.

Warmly recommended. It is not dated, but still feels current. The actors are wonderful and you can view it multiple times in search of subtleties.

A CIA Thriller Worth Owning.......2007-07-10

This exciting, action packed film takes you into the world of a CIA Operative. The plot, dialogue, and acting team up to give you a supurb movie you'll watch again and again over the years.

Three Days of the Condor.......2007-07-06

Pollack's tense spy thriller ranks as one of the best conspiratorial dramas of the '70s, a time when government mistrust was at an all-time high. Redford is in his prime as baffled, low-level spook Turner, and the sparks fly with co-star Dunaway, whose initial terror and eventual thawing happen with finesse and subtlety. With excellent supporting turns by Max Von Sydow and Cliff Robertson, "Condor" delivers gripping suspense all the way.

A Classic.......2007-03-31

A time worn phrase but very appropriate for this movie. I searched a long time to find a copy of this film and I am extremely pleased to have found it. Yes, it is dated from the 70's but the quality surpasses many of the current movies in theaters today. Enjoy!

Charlie Rose with Robert Redford (November 28, 2002)

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Charlie Rose with Robert Redford (November 28, 2002)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HBL3VM
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Description

A conversation with actor and filmmaker Robert Redford about his life and career. He discusses why acting was a life-saving choice for him, his work for the environment and his effort to give something back to the movie industry which he sees manifested in the Sundance Film Festival.

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More Timely Than When it Was Made
Pollack And Redford Deal With Paranoia And Murder, With Great Support From Max von Sydow
Run Condor run

Three Days of the Condor [Region 2]
Starring: Robert Redford , Faye Dunaway , Cliff Robertson , Max von Sydow , and John Houseman
Director: Sydney Pollack
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Three Days of the Condor

ASIN: B000056HSH

Customer Reviews:

More Timely Than When it Was Made.......2007-02-14

The spy adventure film "Three Days of the Condor" was released in 1975. This was a period when the American government and the commercial sector were in a panic over our access to oil. This was when President Gerald Ford, mindful of the power of the Oil Producing Export Countries, announced that in the future we might actually consider taking oil by force if it should be denied to America.

On the subject of Ford, we know that he followed Nixon, and that it was just one year before "Condor" was released that Ford's predecessor resigned in disgrace. What did him in? The Watergate Scandal. What was that? A series of clandestine activities, which once again lead back to the central point that this was a timely film.

Why is "Three Days of the Condor" even more timely today? Because of all that we have been through and what we know about the CIA and its clandestine activities that we did not know then. We have experienced 9/11 and skepticism increases over its causes and who put the plan into effect, much like those same questions being asked about the assassination of President Kennedy.

The reason why this film is even timelier today and can be better understood in a context better than three decades after its initial release is that we are much better informed about a major point discovered by Robert Redford, a book reader for the CIA who goes by the code name of Condor, is that there is an official CIA and another CIA. Often the latter will superimpose itself on the former. John Le Carre made the same point relative to MI5 in British intelligence.

Redford, working out of a New York office purporting to be an historical society, leaves one afternoon to order and bring back lunch for himself and the rest of the crew. After a little chitchat at the restaurant he returns to discover that everyone in the office has been fatally shot.

Just where does he go from here? Redford explains on the phone to headquarters that he is no agent, and is just a research man who reads books and makes recommendations. He hopes to be brought in before he meets with the same fate as his office colleagues.

A smooth and suave Cliff Robertson is his contact operating out of the CIA's main headquarters in Langley, Virginia. When it is arranged for a station chief to come to New York to "bring him in," more trouble ensues. Redford has every reason to wonder if he has any allies left in "The Company" as he runs away from tragedy once more.

In an effort to secure at least temporary safety Redford kidnaps Faye Dunaway after she leaves a store where he has gone to temporarily hide from pursuers. A professional photographer who lives in Brooklyn, Dunaway at first resists Redford, but ultimately becomes an ally when she realizes that he is telling the truth and his life is in danger.

At one point Dunaway tells Redford that she is afraid to get to know him since he is not going to live very long. He disagrees, telling her that sense of danger is a driving interest force within her toward him. Ultimately they became romantically involved and she is willing to accompany him to Langley so he can confront Robertson.

The film was released not long after Daniel Ellsberg became famous for leaking what came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. In a fascinating twist at the end of the film, Redford uses the New York Times as a type of insurance policy.

Some of the film's most dramatic scenes involve Redford and Robertson, with the former speaking for the best of America as he states the case for decency and accountability in government while the latter states the proposition for secrecy and an "end justifies the means" mentality.

Sydney Pollack in his director's role keeps the pacing fast as befitting a spy mystery involving pursuers and pursued. The camera work was magnificent. Some of the long shots are particularly fascinating in displaying New York City and Washington D.C. as large cities in the midst of winter amid the ongoing tension of Redford's tense battle to survive.

Two prominent character actors render solid performances; John Houseman as a veteran CIA officer and colleague of Robertson's and Max Von Sydow as a contract assassin who performs his tasks with consummate professional detachment.

Pollack And Redford Deal With Paranoia And Murder, With Great Support From Max von Sydow .......2006-11-24

The first 15 minutes of this movie is one of the great film set-ups about murderous, paranoid governmental machinations. Joe Turner (Robert Redford) is a bookish researcher for a CIA front called The American Literary Historical Society It's a rainy New York day. We see Joe, a good guy, maybe a little naive, chat about his job of reading all sorts of material and having it fed into CIA computers to look for code opportunities. We meet the elderly, acerbic but good-natured woman at the front desk and the middle-aged guard in the hall. We see the obvious affection between Joe and the young woman who works on the second floor with the computers. Since it's raining, Joe volunteers to get lunch. He takes their orders, runs out the back way in the rain and through a couple of alleys to a lunch diner. When he comes back 20 minutes later, everyone has been gunned down. We see it happen. We see a tall, middle-aged man with an umbrella pause in the rain by a car. We see a postman carrying a large mail bag walking down the street. We see a fellow wearing a rain-slicked poncho turn a corner. We see Joe's associates methodically and quickly killed. "Would you move from the window, please?" asks the tall man when he enters the computer room. The young woman is puzzled for a moment but then sees the gun the second man is pointing at her. "I won't scream," she says. "I know," he tells her, with just a little sadness. He turns away while she's shot.

Joe Turner, distraught and afraid, calls CIA headquarters to report what happened and to ask for help. Now code-named Condor, he quickly finds himself being hunted. He realizes that it may be the CIA itself that wants him dead, or it might be some sort of rogue operation within the CIA. Either way, it appears more people want him out of the way than alive and safe. He kidnaps a young woman (Faye Dunaway) who eventually agrees to help him. He finds out who the assassin is, a man called Joubert (Max von Sydow). He learns not to trust the CIA manager, Higgins (Cliff Robertson), who supposedly is trying to help him. Joe Turner realizes that even the so-called good guys aren't to be believed. "Boy, what is it with you people?" he says to Higgins. "You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?"

Before long, Joe Turner has had to change from a bookish academic to a resourceful action figure. Eventually Joe Turner figures out most of what has happened. When he encounters Joubert face-to-face in the elegant home of a senior CIA executive, he figures out the rest. Joe Turner was right to be paranoid. The conclusion is hopeful but not assured.

I think the movie works so well for two reasons. The first is the sheer Hollywood professionalism of the film. Director Sydney Pollack knows his way about a movie; he knows how to keep things moving, how to build character; how to develop tension and atmosphere...in other words, how to hook us and keep us hooked. Robert Redford is one of the quintessential Hollywood star actors. He's good at acting, and he carries real star power. Through some magic of personality and charisma, his transition from smart, easy-going researcher to resourceful action lead is believable, in part because even as an action lead Redford's Joe Turner doesn't pretend to be anything other than still puzzled. Faye Dunaway is another star performer who, in this role, punches above her character's weight. The only times the movie slows down is during the scenes between Redford and Dunaway. Her part is really little more than a contrivance. It's a credit to both that we can get past this without too much impatience.

The second reason the movie works so well is, I think, because of Max von Sydow. He plays Joubert, the assassin for hire, with a surprising amount of near nobility. Joubert is a completely practical killer, but one who thinks and, occasionally, permits himself a bit of introspection and empathy for some of his victims. "Well, the fact is," he says at one point to Joe, "what I do is not a bad occupation. Someone is always willing to pay." "I would find it... tiring," Turner says. "Oh, no...it's quite restful," Joubert tells him. "It's almost peaceful. No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause. There's only yourself. The belief is in your own precision." Von Sydow is so subtle and accomplished an actor that he can convey a range of emotion with just a slight inflection of voice or the slightest change in expression. In a way, von Sydow's Joubert has come to respect Joe Turner, and even gives him some sincere advice. At the end of the movie he offers a ride to Turner. "I'd like to go back to New York," Turner says. "You have not much future there," Joubert tells him. He pauses for a moment, thinking about what he is about to say. "It will happen this way. You may be walking. Maybe the first sunny day of the spring. And a car will slow beside you, and a door will open, and someone you know, maybe even trust, will get out of the car. And he will smile, a becoming smile. But he will leave open the door of the car and offer to give you a lift." Pollack and Redford give Three Days of the Condor a great deal of energy and interest. I think von Sydow gives it a surprising amount of depth and quality.

Run Condor run.......2006-11-18

Condor is the code name for an employee of the CIA. His mission is to read, read everything he can to see if there are any subversive codes being posted in innocuous looking literature.

In the book he discovers that the number of packages shipped to his location do not match the bill of lading. He brings this to the attention of his superiors.

One day he leaves by an un-recorded unauthorized back door for lunch. On returning he finds everyone dead.

Who did this and who can he trust? To survive he must use his wits and what he has learned from his reading.

The movie "Three days of the Condor" is based on this book, which is really first in a series of books, sort of like the James Bond series. Naturally being film media the story needed cutting down to size, hence three days instead of six.

Robert Redford has to squeeze James Grady's "Six Days of the Condor" into the Redford mold. The book plot of drugs and Viet Nam are out. Redford's substitute plot of oil and Arabs is in. Bad guys differ.

Great acting, great actors and a few faux pas, such as if they knew there was a back door to the location, don't you think it would be watched?

Tina Chen (Janice) can be seen again in the movie "Paper Man" (1971) where her computer prints out "DEATH DEATH DEATH"

Three Days of the Condor [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]

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Three Days of the Condor [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]
Director: Sydney Pollack
Manufacturer: Kinowelt
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: German (Mono), Spanish (Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Subtitles), German (Subtitles), Portuguese (Subtitles), Spanish (Subtitles), Turkish (Subtitles), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SYNOPSIS: A man named Turner works for the CIA reading books and postulating possible scenarios that could be applied to inteliigence work. He goes out to get lunch but when he returns everyone at the center has been killed. He calls his superior and asks for someone to bring him in, he tells him that his section chief will get him but when he arrives, the man tries to shoot him, he manages to shoot back and escape. In an act of desparation, the abducts a woman and forces her to shelter him until he can figure out what is going on. When someone goes to the woman's house and tries to kill him, he kills the man and discovers that he has a connection to the CIA, which means that someone in the CIA is behind the attempt on him. SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Interactive Menu, Commentary,

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Run Condor run

Three Days of the Condor [Region 2]
Starring: Robert Redford , Faye Dunaway , Cliff Robertson , Max von Sydow , and John Houseman
Director: Sydney Pollack
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VY9S

Customer Reviews:

Run Condor run.......2006-12-02

Three Days Of The Condor (Los Tres Dias Del Condor) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

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Three Days Of The Condor (Los Tres Dias Del Condor) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Sidney Pollack
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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