The Day of the Jackal from 1973 is the original film version of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel. It shouldn’t be confused with a couple of remakes — one in 1997 with Bruce Willis (just called The Jackal) and a TV version in 2024 with Eddie Redmayne.
It’s quite good, in an unique kind of way. There’s not a lot of action, because the entire film is essentially an asynchronous chase scene.
A terrorist group hires an assassin (”The Jackal”) to kill Charles DeGaulle (likely set in the mid 60s, since an early scene references an actual event). The entire film consists The Jackal preparing for the job and traveling across Europe to carry it out, culminating in the attempt itself.
This isn’t a mystery. You can see all sides at all times, but it’s a very tense game of missed opportunities and excruciatingly bad timing. It’s more of a “howcatchem” rather than a “whodunnit.”
The Jackal himself is weirdly affable. You’d expect him to be brooding or anti-social, but he seems like a really nice guy, which makes him even scarier.
Michael Lonsdale plays a French detective pitted against the villain. He’s credited under his real name of “Michel Lonsdale” here, as it was partially a French production. He would go on play Hugo Drax in Moonraker six years later.
It’s a weirdly quiet film. There’s not a lot of dialog and not much soundtrack or score.
There’s also an implied homosexuality plot point, which was likely pretty risque for the early 70s. I’m not sure if it was in Forsyth’s novel, but I remember the situation was recreated in the 1997 version and it was eventually re-shot because test audiences thought the victim was killed simply for being gay, when in the original, it’s clear he was killed because he discovered The Jackal’s identity.
Solid movie.