3 Days of the Condor
Robert Redford plays Joe Turner, CIA agent who goes out for lunch for his office of fellow analysts and comes back to find everyone dead.
Film making 23/25
Cinematography 22/25
Audio 23/25
Bonus Features 1/25
Total 69/100
Condor, Joe Turner is on the run from somebody he does not even know but is smart and always one step ahead of the bad guys. Robert Redford plays CIA agent Joe Turner, codename Condor, a CIA agent who is really only an analyst, not a field agent.
He works in a secret CIA office that is hit while he is getting lunch for his coworkers only to return and find everyone dead. One other analyst had called in sick so after calling headquarters Condor goes to his apartment to find him dead as well.
Two men are waiting inside his apartment so he continues to evade capture or being killed and calls back to headquarters to get taken in. When a meeting is arranged by a top CIA official with someone Joe knows the agent responsible for bringing Joe in tries to kill Condor and ends up only being able to kill Condors old friend.
Hiding in a clothing store he spots a woman, Kathy Hale played by Faye Dunaway, and forces her at gunpoint to her home. He uses her and her apartment as a safe hideaway while he rests and figures out his next move which is to find out why the agency is trying to kill him and not bring him in.
Condor evades the killer, Max Von Sydow playing G. Joubert while finding out why he is being hunted and framed for the execution of his coworkers. When he does find out he is shaken to the core as it is not who and what he expects, insiders and double agents abound.
Turner finds out that oil is what the CIA is after and a small group of agents led by the CIA director of Middle East Operations who is feeling out a plan to take over oil fields in the Middle East. Turners work at reading books and newspapers uncovered this plot and using the books with codes inside them the agents abroad were reporting to the agents back home. Turner’s group was executed when he discovered the code and reported a possible event occurring from the codes in the book.
Turner uncovers all this and decides he will not just run away and tells the main agent who is after him he has told the New York Times a story and then disappears in the crowded streets of New York City. The film is a classic thriller from 1975 that really holds its own even in today’s high tech world.
Robert Redford does an excellent job of the analyst book worm that suddenly gets thrown into the high stakes world of field agents and spies. Even though the film was made a long time ago it has a classic story that has been copied and refitted for more modern spy thrillers.
The film has that subtle and yet distinct agent spy feel where you don’t know who to trust and even in the end things are left murky about Turner’s future. 3 Days of the Condor shows that even though things may not be what they seem human nature is exactly what you expect it to be.
Robert Redford plays a very convincing role as the burned CIA agent and Faye Dunaway does a remarkable job as the helpful but at gunpoint damsel in distress. Her character may have been a little too quick to jump into bed with Redford but who can blame her.
The Blu-ray edition of 3 Days of the Condor is great with good high definition video and great audio in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround sound. The video is a bit dated and you can tell it is an older film but still looks very good with a great transfer to Blu-ray.
The audio is also very good with some great situational audio but again you can tell it is dated and older but still really good. Audio is a technology that has been easier to transfer and improve than video and this is one example that shows how the film was taken from film to digital.
The audio may be a bit better than video in the transfer but both are quite acceptable and well done for an overall good movie. The bonus content is nonexistent though with only a trailer for additional features which is pretty understandable.
The film was made back in 1975 so having any kind of additional features would require luck or creating some now from actors or crew that are still alive. The film is great and well worth the cost of the Blu-ray edition with its good quality video and audio but has no additional features at all.
3 Days of the Condor is a great film and well worth checking out on Blu-ray to see an original spy thriller from Sydney Pollock.