Review of Three Days of the Condor (1975) by John T — 02 Jul 2015

Fast paced conspiracy thriller starring Robert Redford as a CIA analyst targeted by assassination when he unknowingly stumbles upon a CIA plot to overthrow a Middle Eastern government. Sidney Pollack directed an intelligent thriller stressing character development, plausible plot progression, and deft exposition over paper thin protagonists and over the top action scenes and pyrotechnics.

Max von Sydow is excellent in his supporting role of the icy assassin hired to kill Redford. The scene in the elevator where he confronts Redford is tension filled, although the end result of that scene is still a mystery to me. The rest of the lead supporting cast - Cliff Robertson, John Houseman, and Faye Dunaway are uniformly good although I thought that adding Dunaway's part as the romantic angle to the story was implausible and unnecessary. .

The streets of early 1970s New York City have a starring role in this movie. There are great exterior locations, particlularly inside and around the World Trade Center towers, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge, Upper East Side brownstones, and the Manhattan waterfront. Also we see street telephone booths where people could have actual private conversations and plenty of old style Checker yellow taxis cruising the streets.

Three Days Of The Condor" has plenty of thrilling action, a lean plot, great characterization, and 1970s era anti-government paranoia. This is an exciting, though slightly flawed film that still has some terrific acting. They more than made up for some of the holes and unresolved plot twists.