Three Days of the Condor (1975)

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR is one of those classic '70s thrillers that's all about paranoia and the mistrust of government entities. It has the same low key and gritty approach as other '70s greats as MARATHON MAN and SERPICO, and yet as a film it's quite unique, depicting the events in a mature, deeply political way that ignores stock action sequences in favour of surprising character twists and the like. Robert Redford is very well cast as a somewhat ignorant CIA agent who survives the brutal opening massacre sequence (an astonishing sequence) only to go on the wrong as assassins and corrupt agents close in. I could have done without the sub-plot involving Faye Dunaway's extraneous character, but I understand the value of its presence in humanising the main characters. The rest is an solid exercise in film-making, subdued and involving, surprising and engaging. Watch out for Max Von Sydow in one of his best roles.

"Three Days of the Condor" is everything that "All the President's Men" isn't. The above film is actually gripping, exciting and well made in all areas. The character of Robert Redford in this film is more vulnerable due to the fact that he isn't a trained operative for the C.I.A but an ordinary book keeper for them instead. You wouldn't expect him to last five minutes against particularly dangerous opponents from the Agency. However, Redford manages to find his courage and determination by remaining barely one step ahead of the enemy. It is a tale of a conspiracy from within. The suspense is maintained very effectively by Sydney Pollack. Max Von Sydow makes for a brilliant assassin who coolly seeks Robert Redford at every turn. The running time races by as the film keeps a good pace. The dialogue is well above average. Don't miss this one.

Dear Sydney Pollack, Three Days of Condor was thrilling for the most part. The plot reminded me of the Tony Scott film The Enemy of the State. I am sure that film was inspired to a great extent by Three Days of the Condor. A bookish CIA employee (Robert Redford) working for a unit that reads novels (to find out if someone is using CIA missions as plots for novels and also to mine ideas from novels for actual missions) goes on the run after everyone in his office is murdered. Really interesting idea. I liked the way the film was edited with various phone conversations synced to images of New York and often overlapping into other scenes. The first thirty minutes were pretty exciting. The scene at the cafe with Redford ribbing the sandwich maker and the working glass guy had some very good writing. The love making scene between Redford and Dunaway was also very well edited with those photographs interwoven with the semi-nude scenes. Dunaway's needy and lonely character was interesting. The action scene inside the closed space of Dunaway's apartment must be one of the best short hands on action scenes. But the film sort of fell apart in the second half when Redford begins to turn the tables around. It was pretty hard to believe. I guess commercial considerations forced you to make Redford's character suddenly turn into a master at spying. Though to be fair to you, it was revealed earlier that he was quite experienced. But the plot developments and resolutions after a certain point were completely uninspired. Like when Redford used Dunaway's character as a decoy to kidnap the CIA chief. Wtf? Redford sort of sleepwalks through his role, I guess he was like a less intense Tom Cruise of the 70s. Dunaway looked very beautiful and beguiling. Max Von Syndow as the cold CIA enforcer looked very creepy and menacing. I'm sure the film would look pretty good on Blu-Ray. Best Regards, Pimpin. (6/10)

Joseph Turner (Robert Redford) reads books within a covert department of the CIA. Turner leaves the building to get lunch for his colleagues and upon his return he finds that they have all been assassinated. Turner initially turns to the CIA and goes into hiding, but when he learns that someone in the CIA may be involved in the hit on his team he sets about trying to find out who killed his colleagues and why....I remember watching All The President's Men earlier this year and thoroughly enjoying it. Therefore I was really interested in seeing this Robert Redford based conspiracy thriller and thankfully it's every bit as good as All The President's Men....Like a lot of conspiracy thrillers Three Days Of The Condor does have a complex narrative and therefore it isn't a film you can watch casually (you do need to pay attention in order to understand it properly). Some conspiracy thrillers have overcomplicated narratives that tie themselves in knots through over-plotting, but Three Days Of The Condor gets the balance right by keeping you thinking throughout without showing off with a series of mind-boggling twists. Redford is good here and I liked the fact that his character has a certain vulnerability about him - yes he works for the CIA, but he's a book reader and therefore he's practically a civilian. He isn't a tough-as-nails kick ass guy - he's a normal guy who basically has to put a lot of theory into practice and this makes us fear for him. Pollack also works well with Redford getting a terrific performance from him that easily enables us to get swept up in his paranoia. Dunaway is Redford's initially unwilling assistant and the two do work very well together (Dunaway gives a very intense performance which makes a lot of the dramatic scenes exceptionally good). My only criticism with her character is that it felt as though she was only really there to move things along and the writers didn't give her much of a character to work with. Dunaway does give a great performance though so this isn't a major issue.As well as all of the above the story itself is engaging and has enough suspense and intrigue to guarantee audience involvement. The performances are excellent, Pollack's directing is superb - very atmospheric and tense throughout.A film like Three Days Of The Condor probably won't feel that special to a lot of people today (with all of the CIA related conspiracy thrillers that have followed), but as an early example of the genre it's probably fair to say that it has proved influential on projects that have followed. Not only that but in its own right it's a solid film that is suspenseful, atmospheric, and very enjoyable.