MovieChat Forums > The Day of the Jackal (1973) Discussion > Doesn't hold up as well to the younger g...

Doesn't hold up as well to the younger generation.

posted 10 years ago by raythorne2005
12 replies | jump to latest

I'm 21 and just watched this movie on TV. I don't understand why it is rated so highly, reading this review gobsmacked me:

The movie is based on the novel written by Frederick Forsyth ("The Dogs of War", "The Fourth Protocol") and the adaption made by Kenneth Ross is remarkably accurate and retains mostly of the mind-numbing suspense.

Well-known director Fred Zinnenmen (the original "High Noon" and "From Here to Eternity") handles the film like a picture frame, keeping it clean and avoiding any of the typical Hollywood methods, especially the climax. If there another movie that could ever match or get close to the same level of ferocious intensity of this movie has. Wolfgang Peterson's "In The Line of Fire" with Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich seems to be the best exception and after that, I don't anyone has matched this movie.

The only thing I can think of is people who haven't watched any other modern day thrillers, or those who watched The Day of the Jackal when it first came out, which, I'm sure it was the best thriller ever when it first came out, and is now watching in through nostalgia glasses.

I've seen plenty of thrillers and this movie didn't come close to being thrilling.

Heck, Jurassic Park was more thrilling than this movie imo.

The only thing I appreciated as unique in this movie was the attention to details, such as The Jackal adjusting the scope on his weapon, or making his passport. You don't see that much in modern day spy / assassination movies and wish to see more of it. The problem I had was the plot was not at all original by today's standards, it was entirely predictable. Even what was supposed to be the twist at the end I suppose, I called while watching it with my dad. "Why are they not showing the photo? Yeah...it's not him."

Before someone says I just don't like old movies, that's not true. I can handle the slow pace of old movies as long as the story is good. I just watched Fail-Safe and I absolutely loved it, I'd rate it a 9/10 even if it came out today, and it was in black and white. I like black and white movies more than my dad who grew up with them.

I'm sure The Day of the Jackal paved the way for the movies like it that followed after, but it's probably been copied so much, it lost the originality it probably once had.

It could be God, the Devil, Buddha, an Alien...or it could be a kid playing a video game. - onn1320

[–] Hancock_the_Superb 10 years ago

Hmm, I'm only five years your senior yet this is one of my favorite movies.

You make a decent point: Jackal isn't really "thrilling" from moment to moment. It's more of a slow-burn suspense; "thriller" is a misnomer. If you're expecting something like James Bond or the Bourne movies I can imagine being disappointed.

I won't argue taste: if you don't like Jackal, then fair enough. I am curious though, what thrillers are you comparing it to?

I'm afraid that you underestimate the number of subjects in which I take an interest!

[–] raythorne2005 10 years ago

I didn't think it was thrilling or suspenseful. But I think tricksoftrade accurate described what I thought it was:

a fairly accurate account on the mechanisms of government. The chess match between the government/security forces and a very smart assassin was the hook for the audience.

I think the lack of an accompanying score reflects that choice by the makers of the film.

It was less of a film with a plot and more like watching a documentary of a real assassin and the police work involved in catching him.

What other movies like this movie do you like? Little on plot and high in realism. Even something like Zero Dark Thirty or The Hurt Locker had drama.

The only drama in this movie I think was when he missed his shot, when they arrived the the hotel and he wasn't there, and maybe when he killed the lady, because you didn't know what was going to happen, but those things have been done to death. I think that's what drama is, and just like a documentary has little drama, so was this movie.

I can say this movie was interesting to watch, but not fun to watch, like a documentary.

It could be God, the Devil, Buddha, an Alien...or it could be a kid playing a video game. - onn1320

[–] Hancock_the_Superb 10 years ago

Similar films? All the President's Men comes to mind. Maybe Z, though that film is more like JFK in being politically charged and investigating an assassination after it happens (so not quite the same thing).

Can't think of too many recent films that come close, though Zero Dark Thirty isn't a bad comparison. Maybe Zodiac, though Fincher's direction is much flashier than Zinnemann's in Jackal. The Baader-Meinhoff Complex?

I'm not sure about how you're defining drama here. Three act structure, classical narrative? Or drama in the sense of surprise, or not knowing what's going to happen? This is a movie that's more about how things happen than what will happen.

I'm afraid that you underestimate the number of subjects in which I take an interest!

[–] turtletommy 10 years ago

I see the film is somehow labeled a thriller, along with crime and drama by IMDb- don't see it fitting the thriller genre, that seems wildly inaccurate- not the movie's fault. Of course there's drama involved- as Hancock pointed out. Well whatever it is it's done damn well in my considered opinion! (-:

[–] raythorne2005 10 years ago

Or drama in the sense of surprise, or not knowing what's going to happen?

This one.

This is a movie that's more about how things happen than what will happen.

Yeah, that was exactly what I was saying. I haven't seen many movies like that.

Thanks for the recommendations. Zodiac is a good comparison. That was very slow too and was more about how things happen. But I didn't know who it was so at least there was some mystery to it.

It could be God, the Devil, Buddha, an Alien...or it could be a kid playing a video game. - onn1320

[–] tricksoftrade01 10 years ago

As you progress in age, you will find that elaborate plot twist in the story become less important, and you will appreciate other aspects of this film.

This movie was not meant to try and fool the audience. 'The Day of the Jackal' portrayed a fairly accurate account on the mechanisms of government. The chess match between the government/security forces and a very smart assassin was the hook for the audience.

If you like plot twists check out these if you have not seen them already

'No Way Out'

'The Usual Suspects'

'The Sting'

[–] raythorne2005 10 years ago

'The Day of the Jackal' portrayed a fairly accurate account on the mechanisms of government. The chess match between the government/security forces and a very smart assassin was the hook for the audience.

I think this is very accurate! Thanks a lot for explaining. It's like an interesting documentary. I just don't understand why this movie would be edge of your seat thrilling, or on people's top movie lists.

Thanks for the recommendations, I actually just tapped No Way Out yesterday!! I will watch it soon.

It could be God, the Devil, Buddha, an Alien...or it could be a kid playing a video game. - onn1320

[–] mattjoes 9 years ago

In its own nonchalant way of showing how the events unfold, the film manages to generate considerable suspense by the time we get to the climactic scene. That it achieves that in such a different way from most commercial films is certainly interesting. There might be more suspenseful films, but this is a very gripping one.

The other aspect I appreciate is that the whole film is about the unreliability, fleetingness and obscureness of information. This is better exemplified in that great progress in the investigation is made thanks to the Calthrop lead, and yet it is eventually revealed to have been a red herring. In a similar note, most everything the French government learns about the Jackal after finding out he exists proves to be of little use in stopping him. Security would've been increased for the Liberation Day ceremony simply because De Gaulle was to make a public appearance and there was an assassin at large. Lebel finds out where the Jackal is just by snooping around during the ceremony, not by relying on any previously gathered information.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mattjoes 9 years ago

The emphasis on realism, coupled with the technological limitations of the time period in which the film is set, makes for some fascinating moments: men with rolled up sleeves spending days searching for a date discrepancy in piles of gigantic books; the tedious process by which the hotel cards are retrieved; the slow transit of information from St. Clair to Denise, to Valmy and finally to the Jackal, who finds out about things long after they've happened.

[–] stevekaczynski 9 years ago

The more hi-tech and updated The Jackal is, I suspect most though not all would agree, an inferior film. It has a big gun, big explosions etc. but I doubt whether even most younger viewers would say it was better.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

[–] PsychoLyst 9 years ago

The younger generation doesn't hold up as well as classic films.