The Day of the Jackal (1973)
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A professional assassin is hired to carry out a high-stakes assassination of the French president.
The story
The film follows a professional assassin known as the 'Jackal' who is hired by the far-right Organisation armée secrète to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in 1963. The Jackal, an apolitical mercenary, demands a high fee and begins a meticulous preparation process involving the acquisition of a custom rifle and forged identities. Meanwhile, French intelligence and security forces begin to uncover the plot after a failed initial attempt by the radicals. As the Jackal moves through various locations to prepare for the hit, the police launch a tense investigation to identify and stop him before he can reach the president during a public ceremony.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The far-right Organisation armée secrète (OAS) hires a professional assassin, the 'Jackal,' to kill French president Charles de Gaulle. The Jackal accepts the mission for $500,000, and the OAS uses bank robberies to fund him. During his preparations, the Jackal acquires a custom rifle in Genoa and forged papers, while French intelligence begins to piece together the plot after a failed initial attempt by the OAS. The Jackal moves through various locations, including a hotel in Nice where he narrowly evades the police. He eventually assumes the identity of a Danish teacher to reach Paris. On Liberation Day, he disguises himself as an elderly veteran and hides a rifle in crutches. He manages to get close to de Gaulle during a ceremony, but the president's movement causes the Jackal to miss his shot. As he attempts to reload, he is confronted and fatally shot by the police. The film ends by revealing the real identity of the man who hired the Jackal, while the assassin's true identity remains a mystery.
- First release year
- 1973
- Runtime (minutes)
- 142
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Fred Zinnemann
- Writers
- Kenneth Ross · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Edward Fox · the Jackal; Michael Lonsdale; Derek Jacobi; Alan Badel; Tony Britton; Cyril Cusack; Eric Porter; Delphine Seyrig
- Genres
- political thriller; thriller
- Themes
- assassination; espionage; identity
- Tone and mood
- tense; meticulous
- Premise and plot tags
- political thriller; procedural; manhunt
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1971 novel by Frederick Forsyth
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was praised for its meticulous construction and detailed suspense. It was also recognized by critics as a high-quality adaptation of the source novel.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · review count: 35; Metacritic · score: 80 · scale: 100 · review count: 8
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA Award · Best Editing · win; BAFTA Award · Best Film · nomination; BAFTA Award · Best Direction · nomination; Golden Globe Award · nomination · nomination; Oscar · nomination · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was originally part of a two-picture deal with the studio.; The production was filmed in locations often denied to filmmakers, such as the Ministry of the Interior.; The opening sequence was filmed at the Hôtel de Soubise rather than the Élysée Palace.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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