Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

3 Days of the Condor 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 10, 2023

Sydney Pollack's "3 Days of the Condor" (1975) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson; archival program with the director; archival audio commentary by the director; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the m feature. Region-Free.

Joe Turner (Robert Redford, The Horse Whisperer) gets paid to read foreign books and enter their plots into a giant supercomputer for the American Literary Historical Society, something of a think tank founded and controlled by the CIA. Joe is tall, slim, blond, smart, and single.

One day, Joe walks out of his office to get a bite to eat. When he returns, he discovers that all of his colleagues have been murdered. He immediately calls his boss and asks for protection, but the CIA sends someone to kill him.

While trying to figure out why his colleagues were murdered, and why the CIA wants him dead, Joe kidnaps Kathy (Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde) - because he needs her car and her place to gather his thoughts - who almost immediately falls for him. Before they make love, Joe reveals to her that he is a CIA agent. Though he does not look like one, Kathy agrees to help him with whatever it is that he needs help with.

And so Joe and Kathy enter a world populated with various shady characters, corrupt secret agents, and deadly assassins. Naturally, very soon they are forced to run for their lives. Eventually, they unmask a terrible conspiracy involving prominent CIA figures.

Loosely based on James Grady’s popular novel Six Days of the Condor, Sydney Pollack’s 3 Days of the Condor is an old-fashioned spy thriller that was partially inspired by the paranoia that followed up the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. As the political climate in the United States began to change, various film directors started experimenting with subjects that were directly linked to contemporary American politics.

Pollack’s 3 Days of the Condor is by no means a radical political film but, similar to James Bridges’ The China Syndrome, produced some fascinating speculations about government irresponsibility and the influence of big business on American politics. Sadly, and rather ironically, in the years to come practically all of these speculations were proven right.

The film is formally divided into two contrasting halves. In the first, Redford’s character is a man consumed by fear and suspicion. He looks weak, helpless, and occasionally even paranoid. In the second, he is strong-minded and willing to take risks. He is also a man with impressive technical and tactical skills.

Redford’s opponents are mostly kept in the dark. Only the foreign assassin, played by the legendary Swedish actor Max von Sydow, is given ample time in front of the camera. He is also a great tactician. Unlike Redford’s character, however, he has understood how the system works and learned to manipulate it. The scene at the end where he talks about it is the best one in the entire film.

Dunaway has a small role but makes the most of it. She looks incredibly sexy but is never a distraction. Halfway through the film, she has a couple of absolutely hilarious lines that have appeared on several late-night comedy shows during the years.

*In 1976, 3 Days of the Condor earned an Oscar nomination for Best Film Editing (Fredric Steinkamp and Don Guidice).

3 Days of the Condor 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of 3 Days of the Condor is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-28 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #31-39 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

I have two other releases of this film in my library. The first is this French release which StudioCanal produced in 2009. The second is this British release which Eureka Entertainment produced in 2016. These releases are sourced from older masters. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master. The film can be viewed in native 4K and 1080p. The native 4K presentation comes with HDR and Dolby Vision grades.

I viewed the entire film in native 4K with Dolby Vision and then tested various areas of the 1080p presentation. I did quite a few comparisons with the older releases as well.

The new 4K makeover is very healthy and has strong organic qualities. On my system, the difference in quality between the new 4K makeover and the previous 1080p presentations was quite striking. I think that on a very large screen the discrepancy becomes even more impressive. Also, there are improvements in delineation, clarity, and depth that emerge in well-lit, darker, indoor, and outdoor footage, so there is an instantly recognizable uptick in quality that makes the entire film look better. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Grain is exposed and resolved very well. Image stability is excellent. Color balance is convincing. My one minor complaint pertains to the retention of primary blues. While there are good ranges of blues, in a few areas the new makeover slightly pushes a few toward turquoise. You can see examples in screencaptures #3 and 17. Also, there are a few darker areas where blacks become a tad too strong and flatten some nuances. See examples here, here, and here. Dolby Vision further darkens some of these areas, though the impact on darker nuances is insignificant. All in all, I think that the new 4K makeover offers a solid upgrade in quality over previous presentations of the film.

3 Days of the Condor 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. I think that it is healthier than the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio 2.0 track from the StudioCanal release that I have in my library. If I turn the volume a bit more than usual, I do not hear any background hiss. In some areas, there is still some unevenness, but they do not have an impact on the overall quality of the audio. I did quickly test a few areas with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and they sounded fine to me.

3 Days of the Condor 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - a fascinating audio commentary recorded by director Sydney Pollack in which he discusses the production history of 3 Days of the Condor, how various scenes were shot, the main characters and their dilemmas, how his film "predicted" a lot that happened in the Middle East during the late '70s and '80s, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - a fascinating audio commentary recorded by director Sydney Pollack in which he discusses the production history of 3 Days of the Condor, how various scenes were shot, the main characters and their dilemmas, how his film "predicted" a lot that happened in the Middle East during the late '70s and '80s, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson.

• Something About Sydney Pollack - in this archival documentary, Sidney Pollack discusses his career and relationship with various actors, directors, and producers. A large portion of the documentary examines Pollack and Robert Redford's friendship as well as the various films they did together during the years. In English, not subtitled. (60 min).

• More About the Condor - Robert Redford discusses his involvement with 3 Days of the Condor, his interest in politics, how cinema has changed since the '70s, etc. Additionally, director Sidney Pollack recalls how 3 Days of the Condor came to exist. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for 3 Days of the Condor. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

3 Days of the Condor 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is easy to argue that plenty of the dangerous game depicted in 3 Days of the Condor looks dated now. However, it is only because in the present the game is played by shadow figures utilizing far more sophisticated surveillance equipment and executioners killing on their behalf with superior weapons. The current game can produce a lot more intense paranoia that spreads faster as well. 3 Days of the Condor is a classic thriller, and the novel by James Grady that inspired it is a minor masterpiece. Kino Lorber's combo release introduces a solid new 4K restoration of the film with several very good archival and new bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.