Review of Three Days of the Condor (1975) by Aaron N — 26 Aug 2009

Joubert: Condor is an amateur. He's lost, unpredictable, perhaps even sentimental. He could fool a professional. Not deliberately, but precisely because he is lost, doesn't know what to do. Unlike Wicks, who has always been entirely predictable.

A solid conspiracy thriller about an analyst on the run. Well made, with solid performances from the whole cast. A good amount of tension fills a number of scenes, while some action and a small love story also manage to work their way into this film. Good entertainment.

Robert Redford stars as Joe Turner, an analyst for the CIA, who's job is to read everything and write reports. On one particular day, while Turner is out to lunch, an assassination squad murders everyone in his New York office. Turner manages to avoid the same fate and heads on the run. He attempts to contact a higher up, namely Higgins, played by Cliff Robertson, only to be setup for an ambush. Luckily, Turner manages to get out of another sticky situation, but is forced to go rogue.

Kathy: I don't think you'll live much longer.

Joe Turner: I may surprise you.

At this point, Turner kidnaps a stranger, Kathy, played by Faye Dunaway, whom he forces to help him stay hidden as Turner attempts to figure out what has gone wrong. So now, while a bit of Stockholm Syndrome may take place for Kathy, Turner is still being sought after by an icy cool assassin played by Max von Sydow.

Its a 70s conspiracy thriller, directed by Sydney Pollack, so I wasn't exactly worried about if I'd like this movie. Its a lot of fun and replaces the possible action climaxes in many scenes that would be seen if this movie were to be made today (like the Bourne series, even though that series is rock solid) with a more appropriate release that may be some claustrophobic fight scenes or some simple cunning by one of the characters.

Redford is really good here. He's comfortable on screen portraying a scared individual working like an analyst to try and understand what has gone wrong. Dunaway has to do a number of things to make her character to stick, including making one night with a possible fugitive (who happens to look like Robert Redford) turn into a love affair, and she does a good job. Von Sydow was just awesome throughout. And I liked the development of Robertson's character as well.

The film slows down a bit towards the end, but it doesn't push the conspiracy angle into realms that are unnecessarily complicated, which kept the film working for me as a quality thriller.

Joe Turner: Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?