3 Days not 6?
Robert Redford stars as "Condor", a C.I.A. book reader. He reads mysteries and spy stories for the C.I.A. Not too bad a job, eh? But when his entire office is murdered he becomes a man on the run. What starts as a simple spy story becomes a detailed and sophisticated mystery. Who is after Condor? Why were a bunch of people who read books killed? How can he escape his pursuers? Condor is constantly underestimated. He reads books, he is not a field agent. Perhaps he has turned to the other side? Today’s film is a solid and intelligent suspense yarn that you might have missed!
Director Sydney Pollack does a fine job of building suspense while keeping a detailed story moving forward. Pollack is one of the finest directors of the last 30 years. Scorsese, Coppola and Spielberg get the attention, but Pollack belongs in that conversation. He shows his skills here. The film features excellent pace, strong characters and twists that are surprises, but believable ones. This is one of seven times that Redford and Pollack would team. A first-rate script was written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel. Based on the novel ‘Six Days of the Condor’ by James Grady. Why the movie is only 3 days while the book is 6 days is a mystery for the ages.
Robert Redford won an Oscar for directing ‘Ordinary People’, but he has never won for acting. His one and only on-screen nomination came for ‘The Sting’. With many amazing performances in top-notch films he deserves more credit for his on-screen talents, chemistry and charisma. All of those are on display here. He is asked to be on the screen for almost the entire picture. He does so with his usual aplomb. Co-star Faye Dunaway gives an attention-grabbing performance opposite Redford. Solid performances from John Houseman, Max Von Sydow and Cliff Robertson help, but it is Redford & Dunaway that carry this fine thriller.
‘Three Days of The Condor’ is suspenseful, intelligent and entertaining. Plus Redford and Dunaway. What more could you want from a movie?
Side notes: Fans of John Grisham know of ‘Three Days of The Condor’ from the references in ‘The Pelican Brief’. The assassin in that novel studied the film before coming to America. Also, while working on ‘Condor’ Redford was busy studying for his next film, ‘All The President’s Men’. It is also a political thriller and a fantastic film. You can read my article about it here: