3 Days of the Condor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

3 Days of the Condor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 28, 2010

Sydney Pollack's "3 Days of the Condor" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Studio Canal. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive audio commentary with director Sydney Pollack; documentary film produced by ARTE France and France 5; exclusive conversation with director Sydney Pollack; the film's original theatrical trailer; and more. The disc also arrives with an 18-page illustrated booklet. In English, with optional English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish, and Japanese subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

The Condor

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Sydney Pollack's 3 Days of the Condor arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Studio Canal.

This high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source. As a result, there are certain minor fluctuations - some of the darker scenes occasionally look soft, contrast levels are not always consistent, and various light color pulsations occasionally pop up here and there. Fine object detail, however, is pleasing; most of the close-ups and panoramic shots from New York City look good. Edge-enhancement is also not a serious issue of concern. Some random noise corrections have been performed, but for the most part the fine film grain has been retained. Furthermore, excluding the opening credits, which look a bit shaky, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. I also did not see any large cuts, damage marks, debris, or stains.

There are some obvious differences between the Studio Canal release and the Paramount Pictures Region-A release of 3 Days of the Condor. First, the Studio Canal release has marginally deeper blacks and better saturated blues. The reds, however, are stronger on the Paramount release (on facial close-ups in particular). Also, during the nighttime scenes, the Paramount release conveys stronger background noise. Finally, both releases have similar contrast fluctuations and random soft looking scenes. I prefer the Studio Canal release because of the better color balance and marginally smaller amount of background noise.

(Note: This Blu-ray disc is Region A and B "locked". Therefore, if you reside in a territory covered by one of these two regions you will be able to play it on your PS3s or SAs. Please note that there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu. For the record, the main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English (Australia), Danish, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, or Japanese).

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

There are five audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Studio Canal have provided optional English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish, and Japanese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very good. Its dynamic amplitude is rather limited - in fact, it is very similar to that of the English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track - but the dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Jazz legend Dave Grusin's score also gets a nice boost from the loseless treatment, though, again, do not expect serious dynamic depth and sound fluidity.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is not as convincing as the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Even though the dialog is still very easy to follow, a fairly good amount of background hiss is mixed with it. For the record, I did not detect any problematic pops or audio dropouts to report in this review.

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

Note: All of the supplemental features included on this disc are perfectly playable on North American PS3s and SAs.

• CIA: Secret Wars (1947-1977) - in this documentary, produced by ARTE France and France 5, various former CIA operatives discuss the history of the agency, some of its greatest blunders, its role during the Cold War, the various large corporations that have been able to manipulate key figures in it, etc. In French and English, with optional English subtitles. (54 min, 480/60i).

• Something About Sidney 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, 480/60i).

• Commentary - a fascinating audio commentary with director Sydney Pollack in which he discusses the production history of 3 Days of the Condor, how various scenes were shot, the main characters, how his film "predicted" a lot that happened in the Middle East during the late '70s and '80s, etc. This is indeed an outstanding commentary that offers a unique perspective on the events 3 Days of the Condor chronicles. In English, not subtitled.

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for 3 Days of the Condor. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• BD Live functionality -

• Booklet - an 18-page illustrated booklet containing an essay by Ryan Gilbey. In French.

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

I prefer this Blu-ray release of Sydney Pollack's 3 Days of the Condor over the one Paramount Pictures produced in North America. To me, it looks marginally better. It also has an exclusive audio commentary by Sydney Pollack, as well as two very good documentary films. The Blu-ray release is coded for Regions A and B, and is therefore perfectly playable in North America. RECOMMENDED.