Rarely is the hero the reader, that user of mind not body. The routine of the reader is antithetical to that of the hero. The devourer of words is seen as passive, a spectator, an observer of others actions. All of which is unjust, for not only is knowledge power but words too have a power, a potency; words wield strengths wholly their own. A stream of torturous words does have the potential to be considerably more effecting and destructive than the momentary pain of a punch. Underestimate the power of the reader at your own peril.
It is with those thoughts that I began to write about a 1975 spy thriller starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway.
Directed by Sydney Pollack, Three Days of the Condor stars a popular cast of the time–Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow. The story starts with a bang, as a mysterious man named Joubert (Max von Sydow), along with a few other suspicious hit men, shoots up an undercover CIA office. They manage to kill everyone in sight as they are looking for vital secret information. Luckily for Joe Turner (Robert Redford), it’s his turn to pick up lunch for the office. He returns to find all his colleagues dead. Confused as to why anyone would go out of their way to kill everyone in a low-key CIA office known as “book readers,” he finds himself on the run.
Joe quickly seeks assistance from headquarters and is assured by Deputy Chief Higgins (Cliff Robertson) that help is on the way. However, it quickly becomes clear that Higgins can’t be trusted. Every time he connects to someone who will supposedly help him, Joe finds he is a target for elimination but he has no idea why. Of course, this is the setup for what is supposed to be an enthralling suspense drama, where the whys don’t reveal themselves until the very end.
In need of a place to hide, Joe randomly kidnaps a gorgeous photographer named Kathy Hale (Faye Dunaway). As he’s lying low in her apartment and plotting his next move, what he begins to think of as “another CIA, inside the CIA,” is hot on his trail. Kathy doesn’t believe his story at first and is obviously reluctant to play along. However, after a violent encounter in her apartment with an armed mail carrier, she warms up to the fact that the current situation is all too real. Of course, it’s not long before the gorgeous photographer falls for her good-looking kidnapper and we can queue the steamy ’70’s love scene.
The doppelganger agency quickly dispatches Joubert to finish the job he started at Turner’s office. Meanwhile, the “real” CIA assigns Director Higgins (Cliff Robertson) to rein Turner back in. Yet unbeknownst to everyone, there is another figure, the mysterious Leonard Atwood (Addison Powell), who is orchestrating further internal affairs, with an ambiguous agenda.
Three Days of the Condor is full of hot button political themes, which is the films strongest asset. It’s amazing how many things remain relevant, more than three decades after the film’s release. The justification that the intelligence community in the film uses for its actions — national security — is the same invoked today when it comes to the refusal of due process for non-citizens and the stripping of basic civil rights. Such parallels to today’s political landscape initially makes Condor worth watching, even as the action begins to lag.
Unfortunately, Condor does suffer from a lack of concrete character development, which occasionally leaves a hole in the plot or makes you wonder why a character was even there in the first place. You might think you have a particular character figured out but then a plot twist comes along that blows all your theories to bits.
Despite these issues, if you’re a fan of conspiracy thrillers or Redford and or Dunaway, Three Days of the Condor is still well worth seeing. It’s a film that remains surprisingly relevant even thirty years after its release. I’d like to alert viewers, if you have difficulties watching any film with the Twin Towers, then be prepared to see them a substantial amount of time throughout the picture. In fact, there are a few scenes directly inside one of the towers.
Three Days of the Condor comes to Blu-ray with a solid 1080p 235:1 transfer. For a film that is thirty-four years old, the image is remarkably clean. While I did notice some dirt on a couple of occasions, flesh tones are solid and colors are fairly vibrant. Max Von Sydow’s eyes are blue! The outside scenes of New York City are clear and really give you a feel for how things were in the ’70’s. The occasional softness of the picture is likely due to out-of-focus photography in the film itself. Minor compression artifacts can be detected in the backgrounds, while darker scenes are grainier than I would like. Blacks are somewhat dull but not distracting. While definitely not a reference disk, Paramount has given Three Days of the Condor a solid rendering on Blu-ray.
There is excellent fidelity to Dave Grusin’s music in the Dolby TrueHD presentation, although the rears here are reserved primarily for modest atmospheric fill: the clicking of old-fashioned computers, the constant noise of the city, rainfall. Occasionally we’re given an interesting effect like ambitious thunder or a helicopter approaching from behind. The strafing of machine gun bullets is unspectacular but convincing. All in all, this is a fine remaster of a 1975 track. English subtitles are available for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Unfortunately, Paramount hasn’t provided much in the way of special features:
• The original Theatrical Trailer in HD.
