Three Days of the Condor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Three Days of the Condor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 11, 2016

Sydney Pollack's "Three Days of the Condor" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall; and the archival featurette "The Directors: Sydney Pollack". The release also arrives with a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Michael Brooke, and extensive interview with Sydney Pollack, and archival images. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-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).

Three Days of the Condor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

This release is sourced from a dated master, but this is not the same master StudioCanal used when they released the film on Blu-ray in multiple European markets in 2009. (You can see our review of the French Blu-ray release here). There are areas of the film that appear brighter and boast marginally improved clarity (compare screencapture #3 and screencapture #6 from our review of the French release). Elsewhere, however, some segments look darker; some even reveal light crushing (compare screencapture #5 and screencapture #% from our review of the French release). Again, there are visible density fluctuations. There are no traces of recent degraining corrections, but the grain isn't as solid and beautifully resolved as it should be. The majority of the primary colors are stable, but it isn't difficult to see that various nuances are missing. This is also an issue on the StudioCanal release, whose color scheme favors a different range of primary colors and nuances. Overall image stability is good. There are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, debris, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

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

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 (Stereo) 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 LPCM 2.0 track. Clarity and depth are good. Dave Grusin's score easily breathes and further enhances the dramatic atmosphere. Separation is good, but I think that if the audio is fully remastered there will be some noticeable improvements. Also, there is some very light hiss and hum that can be eliminated.

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

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

• The Directors: Sydney Pollack - this archival featurette takes a closer look at the career and legacy of director Stanley Pollack. Included in it are clips from archival interviews with Stanley Pollack, Cliff Robertson, Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Julia Ormond, and Sally Field, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (60 min).

• Sheldon Hall - in this new video piece, film historian Sheldon Hall discusses the production history of Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor, the identities of the main protagonists and the evolution of their relationships, Sydney Pollack's directing style, etc. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Booklet - 32-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Michael Brooke, and extensive interview with Sydney Pollack, and archival images.

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

Sydney Pollack's classic thriller 3 Days of the Condor arrives rather late on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom, but I assume that had it not been for Eureka Entertainment most likely it would not have been released at all. StudioCanal released the film in multiple European territories in 2009 and on their release there is a better selection of supplemental features. There is also an American release from Paramount Pictures but the only supplemental feature on it is a theatrical trailer. The film looks rather good in high-definition, but with so many smaller films being restored and remastered it is a bit disappointing to see that no one has been willing to invest in a fresh 4K remaster for it. RECOMMENDED.