Day Of The Jackal [1973] | ![Day Of The Jackal [1973]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ugJwrOjYL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Fred Zinnemann
Actors: Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel, Tony Britton
Studio: Uca
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £2.62
You Save: £13.37 (84%)
New (19) Used (1) from £2.62
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 3116
Format: Dubbed, Pal, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Italian (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), Turkish (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), Czech (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Bulgarian (Subtitled), German (Dubbed)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 137 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050582001891
ASIN: B00005225B
Theatrical Release Date: July 30, 1973
Release Date: August 11, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk Review
With its high-intensity plot about an attempt to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, the bestselling novel by Frederick Forsyth was a prime candidate for screen adaptation. Director Fred Zinnemann brought his veteran skills to bear on what has become a timeless classic of screen suspense. Not to be confused with the later remake The Jackal starring Bruce Willis (which shamelessly embraced all the bombast that Zinnemann so wisely avoided), this 1973 thriller opts for lethal elegance and low-key tenacity in the form of the Jackal, the suave assassin played with consummate British coolness by Edward Fox. He's a killer of the highest order, a master of disguise and international elusiveness, and this riveting film follows his path to de Gaulle with an intense, straightforward documentary style. Perhaps one of the last great films from a bygone age of pure, down-to-basics suspense (and a kind of debonair European alternative to the American grittiness of The French Connection), The Day of the Jackal is a cat-and-mouse thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until its brilliantly executed final scene (pardon the pun), by which time Fox has achieved cinematic immortality as one of the screen's most memorable killers. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
Day of the Jackal December 13, 2008
Bianca White (Gosport, Hampshire, UK)
Wow. They don't make 'em like this any more. DOTJ is one of the best movies ever made, helped in no small part by the first class Frederick Forsyth story.
The Jackal is the infamous English assassin, a cold unsympathetic man who can feign charm to help him on his journey to killing Charles de Gaulle.This isn't a Whodunnit, of course. It's a thrill-of-the-chase yarn as the French police race to find their suspect and protect a President who refuses to change his schedule in the face of the threat.
This may sound like an oxymoron, but there is a simple glamour to the settings: the scenic drive around the Cote D'azur, the huddled streets in Rome and the elegance of Paris are never overstated and exist in the story as mere flashes of scenery to remind the viewer of the Jackal's progress. There are many familiar faces among the cast but of course the best role is played by Edward Fox, aka Charles Calthorpe aka Paul Duggan aka The Jackal.
Easily a 6 star flick, 1 star deducted for the slightly less than good quality of film, making it 5 stars.
Be in no doubt ... December 21, 2007
Cartwright (London)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
At my English prep school in the mid-80s the Day of the Jackal was approved viewing for the boys, despite its adult themes, because it offered up a role model of how an English gentleman should behave. Edward Fox is perfect in the lead role: impossibly dapper and handsome, emotionally cold, well organised, hates the French and travels in style. The Day of the Jackal is a beautifully shot film, full of glossy mid-70s Europe, summer, good clothes, cigarettes and hotels. It tells of a cat and mouse game between an assassin and the French security services out to get that assassin, but with little information to go on. I have found this to be one of few films that reward repeated viewing. Enjoy.
GO MAN GO! October 11, 2007
M. Webb
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A brilliant film which had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. If you are not willing on the killer with every ounce of your being by the end of the film you're not human in my opinion.
Simply Fantastic July 7, 2007
Richard the CRUX (Leicester, England)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Why oh why cant they make films like this anymore!
All this hollywood blockbuster rubbish is like watching the output from a sausage production line. Same stories, same direction, same characters, same ridiculously fast frame rates, same annoying background music, where has the film industry gone wrong? What has happened to individuality? Where has the creativity gone?
Any film producers out there please, please, please watch this film!
The characters are not one dimensional like most characters in todays films, they have depth and realism, the camera men do not have st.vitus dance, the film does not jump from one time zone to the other all the time and there is absolutely NO BACKGROUND MUSIC. Why do all modern films have to have distracting music throughout every second of the film. This film has no music in the background at all and this makes it captivating and gives it tension. Background music does not add anything to a film, it takes it away. All the good films have little or no background music.
This film is a masterpiece, every scene is relevant to the story and it never wanders off into aimless subplots or delves into pointless background psycho-babble on why the hard-working cops marriage is struggling because hes so overworked; piffle! How cares, this garbage is just to pad out the film. "The Day of the Jackal" uses none of these pathetic cliches, it is an individual, unique, non-American, brilliantly acted, believable and gripping thriller. The pace is relentless but not manic as with most lesser thrillers, it flows brilliantly and has a European atmosphere that is such a thrill to absorb and so refreshing after enduring the pitiful, wise-cracking, Yankie drivel that Holywood spews out! If there are any film makers out there watch this film and study it in detail. Please observe what you are doing wrong and get your act together. I am saddened to think that despite new technology, which seems to have destroyed modern film making, film producers are incapable of producing films like this. My motto has always been "Special effects maketh not the film" Notice that this film not only has no background music but no special effects either, am I the only one that can see this?
None of the rubbish that is in modern films is in this film at all and yet it's a classic, why? because most modern films are rubbish by comparison.
Super nova amongst films May 28, 2007
L. Hay (Scotland)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Forget the tacky Hollywood remakes, they simply cannot capture the magic of a film like this. The cast list reads like "Who's Who". James Fox shines as the perfect assassin, and Michael Lonsdale is wonderful as the senior detective who is relentless in his pursuit. The remainder of the cast are spectacular and are the cream of the acting profession.
Knowing that our hit-man will not acually succeed, does not dampen our enjoyment.
This is a film one does not tire of.
Brilliant.
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