Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor is a classic paranoia fuelled political spy thriller. The films all round writing and direction is solidly crafted. Leading to very little in the way of negative criticism. Whilst the over-all mystery and bleak narrative isn't as potent as a film like Marathon Man, it manages to stay relevant with its effective prophetic narrative. The film tells the story of a CIA researcher Joseph Turner played by Robert Redford, as he stumbles across a secret coding system which leads to his entire team being murdered. He's left with no choice to go on the run and outwit and hopefully expose the criminals that are trying to kill him.
On his journey, Joseph comes across a random stranger Kathy Hale played by Faye Dunaway. After initially holding her hostage and both not trusting each other, they team up to fight back against their would be assassins. This leads me to my one small complaint, I like both Redford and Dunaway as actors, and I also liked their characters in the film. However the typically rushed romance subplot felt a little bit out of place. Further into the film it started to feel natural, but at start it clashed with the tone of the film.
Both Redford and Dunaway give terrific performances as does the rest of the cast. In particular Max Von Sydow as the company man that's on their tail, he gives an ice cool, calculated performance. Three Days of the Condor is film well worth seeking out. It's a finely paced thriller with moments of good action and a talented cast that give excellent performances, it's one of the best paranoid thrillers to have come out of the 1970's
On his journey, Joseph comes across a random stranger Kathy Hale played by Faye Dunaway. After initially holding her hostage and both not trusting each other, they team up to fight back against their would be assassins. This leads me to my one small complaint, I like both Redford and Dunaway as actors, and I also liked their characters in the film. However the typically rushed romance subplot felt a little bit out of place. Further into the film it started to feel natural, but at start it clashed with the tone of the film.
Both Redford and Dunaway give terrific performances as does the rest of the cast. In particular Max Von Sydow as the company man that's on their tail, he gives an ice cool, calculated performance. Three Days of the Condor is film well worth seeking out. It's a finely paced thriller with moments of good action and a talented cast that give excellent performances, it's one of the best paranoid thrillers to have come out of the 1970's