Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Day of the Jackal Blu-ray Movie Review

The night of the hunter.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 10, 2017

The sixties were a time of massive social and political upheaval, with one side development being the almost regular assassinations (or at least assassination attempts) of powerful figures. November 22, 1963 is, like Pearl Harbor’s December 7, a date which will live in infamy for anyone who was alive when President Kennedy succumbed to a killer’s bullet(s) in Dallas, and the United States saw a tragic unfolding of several murders or attempted murders in 1968 alone, with the killings of both President Kennedy’s younger brother Bobby and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But Americans were not the only nationalities experiencing this phenomenon, and kind of ironically some of the other countries suffering from assassination attempts did so under the auspices of the United States’ government, which famously (or infamously, depending on your viewpoint) tried to “excise” folks like Fidel Castro. The dedicated folks of the Central Intelligence Agency were somewhat more “successful” with regard to South Vietnam’s Ngô Đình Diệm, who was deposed in a CIA backed coup just a couple of weeks before President Kennedy’s assassination, in a CIA backed operation which quickly led to the killing of Diệm, along with his brother, when the erstwhile leaders refused to surrender peacefully. Buried (no pun intended) in all of this history is a now little remembered attempt on the life of French President Charles de Gaulle, which took place in August of 1962 under the direction of a far right reactionary group of mercenaries who banded together and called themselves the Organisation armée secrète (OAS), a group that arose in the wake of the similarly little remembered (outside of France, anyway) Algerian War which France waged from 1954 until 1962. De Gaulle’s granting of Algerian independence evidently raised the hackles of members of the OAS, and they staged a rather spectacular assassination attempt that saw de Gaulle’s motorcade assaulted with a barrage of machine gun fire, all to no avail. The conspirators were quickly rounded up, with the leader meeting his fate at the hands of a firing squad. All of this OAS activity is documented in brief and appealing concise fashion in the opening moments of Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 film version of Frederick Forsyth’s global best seller The Day of the Jackal, a tome which took this historical backdrop and then developed a rather intense political thriller out of a “what if” scenario that posited the OAS continuing to work for the death of de Gaulle.

The Day of the Jackal’s very conceit would seem to defy the “logic of suspense”, since anyone who has paid attention in basic 20th century history class is going to know going into this enterprise that Charles de Gaulle was not in fact assassinated — ever. But as anyone who has read Forsyth’s original novel or seen this adaptatation (which has an excellent screenplay by Kenneth Ross) knows, the plot mechanics are so intricately woven that there is in fact incredible tension constructed out of watching the "mere" logistics being arranged by the assassin the OAS hires to complete its nefarious plan, a guy who insists he be known only by the code name The Jackal (Edward Fox).

One of the things that helps to establish a baseline of anxiety which almost runs rampant through the film is the character of The Jackal himself. This is one “smooth operator”, a seemingly inherently suave sort who is nonetheless almost appallingly vicious at times. In fact one of the story’s repeatedly disturbing aspects is just how unperturbed The Jackal is when he’s confronted by “little” obstacles like people who may know too much for their own good. Let’s just say that aside and apart from any attempted murder of Charles de Gaulle, there’s an accruing body count in this film as The Jackal goes about his appointed rounds attempting to arrange a supposedly foolproof way to off the French President.

There’s a cat and mouse game that starts ensuing once some intelligence services and police officials get wind of the plot, but even here the film would seem to defy expectations since it’s a given that The Jackal is not going to ultimately succeed in his plan. Forsyth’s baroque plotting stays away from easy conceits, not making the investigators either buffoons or masterminds, but clearly showing how thoroughly The Jackal has worked out the intricacies of his scheme. That said, a couple of the most visceral moments in the film are when The Jackal is suddenly confronted by something unexpected, which is when his feral tendencies show themselves.

Zinnemann orchestrates the pieces of this puzzle extremely well, building to an adrenaline pumping climax (again, a remarkable accomplishment, given the presumption that The Jackal is going to fail). The film makes extensive use of some fantastic Parisian locations, something that adds a real dash of authenticity to the proceedings. Zinnemann states in one of the brief archival pieces included on this Blu-ray as a supplement that he cast Fox in the role of The Jackal because he wanted someone unknown who wouldn’t have audience expectations “built in” to his performance. Fox makes for an extremely charismatic if often unsettling Jackal, and the irony here is it was this performance that helped elevate his status, though his versatility in playing both heroes and villains has made him one of those actors who regularly defy audience expectations.

The Day of the Jackal Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Day of the Jackal is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

The Day of the Jackal is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono sound. A 35mm interpositive was sourced for the picture and a 35mm duplicate optical sound negative master was sourced for the audio. The film was remastered by NBC Universal.

Additional picture restoration work was performed at R3store Studios.

Taken as a whole, this is a largely very pleasing looking transfer, one with a very nice accounting of an often quite lush palette, as well as some excellent fine detail levels in things like the ribbed inside of the briefcase holding The Jackal's rifle, or even the fine downy hair on Fox's cheeks. The presentation is often quite grainy looking, as befits its source, but the one place where some videophiles may have some issues with this presentation is with regard to the rather wide variability of the grain field. It's nicely organic looking on the whole, but it swarms unexpectedly at times, for no really discernable reason (i.e., nothing like an optical is involved), something that can lead to a loss of clarity, especially in some of the darker scenes. While there are no really horrible compression anomalies on display, the thickness of the grain field and lighting conditions can occasionally present hurdles such as the one seen in screenshot 19. There's no damage of any import to report in terms of dirt, scratches or other issues.

The Day of the Jackal Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Day of the Jackal features an LPCM mono track which capably supports the film's dialogue, score and effects. As an aside (and not directly pertaining to the actual sound of this track), I have to say some of the scoring choices by Georges Delerue (I assume made in tandem with Zinnemann) are on the odd side. Note (no pun intended) for example the opening sequence, where Delerue provides a really effectively spooky use of what sounds like an autoharp or maybe a hammered duclimer, along with tremolo strings. It automatically leads the viewer (and/or listener, as the case may be) to anticipate something horrible about to happen. Except — it doesn't, really. The music just stops, and then the sequence proceeds until the actual assassination attempt is made. It's just kind of a peculiar example of "spotting" (deciding where underscore should be placed). All of this said, fidelity is fine throughout, and there are no issues with distortion or dropouts.

The Day of the Jackal Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• In the Marksman's Eye (HD; 36:00) features author Neil Sinyard discussing The Day of the Jackal and director Fred Zinnemann. This comes with a spoiler warning.


• Location Report (HD; 2:37) is some rare archival footage from 1972 showing the film being shot. In French with English subtitles.


• Fred Zinnemann Interview (HD; 2:52) is more archival video from 1972. In French with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:04)

As they tend to do, Arrow has also supplied a nicely appointed insert booklet with writing and stills.

The Day of the Jackal Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's frankly kind of amazing how much suspense Zinnemann is able to wring out of a tale where the conclusion is foregone. This film bristles with a rare kind of intensity, despite that fact of the audience at least subliminally knowing that the story's anti-hero is going to fail in his mission. Performances are top notch, and the location photography is superb. Arrow's release sports solid technical merits and some excellent supplements. Recommended.