The Day of the Jackal is a fascinating entry in the assassination subgenre, most impressive for the careful and meticulous way that it examines the unfolding events – it’s more of a procedural than a cat-and-mouse thriller. Indeed, it’s almost an hour into the film before the two detectives chasing the eponymous hit man appear on screen. Fred Zinnemann’s movie has a two-and-a-half hour runtime, but doesn’t rely on a shifting or twisting narrative to fill it. Instead, it simply allots the characters and the world that they inhabit a bit more room to breathe, to the point where The Day of the Jackal seems a great deal more human and personal than most assassination thrillers, as we get a sense of the people tied up in a plot to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.
Tie a grey rope ’round the old… I’m not sure what type of tree that is…
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Africa, assassination, Business and Economy, Claude Lebel, Day of the Jackal, Edward Fox, Fox, france, Fred Zinnemann, Jackal, Jaejoong, japan, murder, Nigeria, Parallax View, Smoking Gun, Song Ji-hyo | Leave a comment »
