Friday, 21 May 2021

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973)

“The Day of the Jackal” is a crime drama, screenplay by Kenneth Ross, based on the Novel by Frederick Forsyth and Directed by Fred Zinnemann.

The story is set in France during the early 1960s and centres around a professional assassin codenamed “Jackal” (Edward Fox) who is contracted by the OAS to assassinate General De Gaulle and follows his meticulous preparation including target practice, false identity, forged documents and weapons purchase.
But the authorities become aware of the target and the Minister of the Interior (Alan Badel) assigns the mission to locate the Jackal to his best investigator, named Lebel (Michael Lonsdale) and he is assisted by Caron (Derek Jacobi) as they
attempt to pick up his trail.


The film is a brilliant thriller lavishly produced by John Woolf, full of action, tension, and intrigue which holds your attention from beginning to the end.

Apart from the principles there is an all star supporting cast: Michel Auclair, Cryil Cusack, Maurice Denham, Eric Porter, Timothy West, Ronald Pickup, Donald Sinden, Edward Hardwicke, Andrea Ferreol, Feodor Atkine, Howard Vernon, Olga Georges-Picot and Delphyne Seyrig.

The film is beautifully photographed by expert cameraman Jean Tourneir, with a suspenseful and atmospheric musical score by George Delerue.

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