Alex-352
A timeless and nearly perfect, trenchantly suspenseful gem. Shy of a masterpiece only due to points subtracted for minor period-associated chintz, as well as a slightly ambiguous, minimally confusing story line.Although it is a certifiable CIA spy thriller, complete with uniquely choreographed and unforgettable action sequences, the film is seasoned-- thankfully with just the right amount-- of a smartly interwoven romance between Redford and Dunaway.The pair are an inexplicably perfect match not only for each other, but also for the manner in which they romantically connect, and in so doing define and tastefully season via their elegantly directed partnership.They share a rare and magical cinematic chemistry, and are able to evoke an intensely personal and poignant connection, with The City of New York as if a character in its own right, as Owen Roizman's dreamlike cinematography provides an ethereal backdrop to Sydney Pollack's well-suited, complementary directing.
lasttimeisaw
Sydney Pollock's venture into conspiracy thriller after Watergate scandal, in NYC, an erudite CIA analyser Joe Turner (Redford), codename condor, by sheer luck, escapes from a slaughter when he sneaks out to buy lunch for his colleagues, all six, being cold-bloodedly shot dead by armed men in an efficient raid in their office, including his Asian girlfriend Janice (Chen).In the handsomely structured opening gambit, Pollock proficiently alternates his shots between a leisurely atmosphere in Turner's office, it is just another working day, and the impending danger outside in the raining, where a sullen-looking stranger, later discovered as a freelance assassin Mr. Jounert (von Sydow) and his sidekicks, minutely observe the situations and single out the names on the roster in order not to leave out any target in the ensuing action. That's also why it rings hollow when they fail to notice Turner's absence. But soon, Turner will announce his miraculous survival through his call to the CIA headquarter, which certainly will alert both his allies and enemies inside the system. He gets through another assassination while the number of casualties keeps rising.Yes, Faye Dunaway is second-billed here and is nominated for a Golden Globe in LEADING ACTRESS, DRAMA, presumably her character Kathy Hale would have played a more substantial role in the plot, but, the truth is, it is a glamorised supporting role, Kathy is a random hostage Turner picks after his bad day - witnessing a bloodletting crime scene and narrowly surviving a gunfire in close range. They stay together in her apartment, a stock sink for incubating Stockholm syndrome, there is no way a picture has two sexiest film stars in their prime, would not sex them up, no matter how implausible or inconvenient the context is. So, the duly romance sparks (their sex scenes are crosscut with the wintry and bleak pictures Kathy take, suggest that they are kindred spirits who can profoundly understand each other), but unfortunately undercuts the suspenseful tempo which has been slowly but consistently building thus far, including a crack elevator face-off between Turner and Journet.A paralleled subplot unfolds in front of viewers, Mr. Higgins (Robertson), the deputy director of CIA's New York Division, comes on board to deal with the condor incident, routinely meets up with higher dignitaries who are by default, candidates for viewers to conjecture, which one is the culprit behind the heinous crime and an even bigger question mark, why? This is where the story goes a tad convoluted, evasive, idealised for its own sake, inevitably, it doesn't cohere engagingly as a thriller, maybe more in line with Alan J. Pakula's ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976) as a political drama.Outsmarts yet another professional assassin in the next morning, Turner proves that he is not only saved by a stroke of luck, he has true grits for fieldwork too, and by that time an empathetic Kathy has been completely under his spell, and agrees to help him to set up a meeting with Higgins. In the following steps, the pace tellingly sags and the suspense barely registers, both Turner and Higgins will respectively approach closer and closer to the truth through the lead of Jounert, but can they end up in friendly terms despite of their radical chasm about a country perturbed by paranoia and skepticism?THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, condensed from a six-day span in its source novel to a tauter three days, only comes to fruition as a moderate commodity influenced by the fad of its era, a confluence of individual heroism and disenchantment of government. The cast is sumptuous but solid, the under-appreciated Mr. von Sydow gracefully steals the show with his continental mystique and generates palpable chemistry with a committed yet greenhorn Redford. Finally, on a fun note, ostensibly its conspiracy theory has been retouched and served in Russo brothers' CAPTAIN America: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), where Redford also stars, only this time, he is on the other side of the team.
jadavix
Political thrillers were hot in the '70s, I guess because the nation was recovering from Watergate in '72 and wondering what else the government might be keeping from them. This one is even eerily prescient and not a mere time capsule in that the conspiracy it entails involves a plan - floated as a possibility in 1975 - to invade Arabic states on the pretense of warfare when really seeking oil. One day, the mastermind explains, oil shortages will cause a crisis for the American economy.One day...The movie is also a classic thriller. The tension is tangible in many places, Redford is ideally cast as the bookish but resourceful CIA office worker and Max Von Sydow is terrifying.The only misstep is Dunaway, who just doesn't look that comfortable in her role. She doesn't look like a lonely photographer: she looks like a movie star playing a lonely photographer.For more classic thrillers of this time period, see the also underrated Parallax View, and of course the jewel in the crown, All the President's Men, which also starred Robert Redford.
