I would have cut an overlong section at the end around the parades but otherwise a top class film. Suspense maintained brilliantly and a hard hitting ending
I watch this more than two decades ago, at the time I was to immature of taste to appreciated its pacing but I did like the movie quite a bit. Many years later I watched the remake of this film, and found it to be quite garish.
Yes. There are no big chases or wild shootouts along the way. This assassin is more cunning and subtle than that - hide the gun inside the car so nothing to find in the bags, car IDed, no carjacking just a some stolen plates and paint job (What planning this guy shows), need a safe place, chat up a duchess (I think), need another, find a male friend this time right in the enemy's camp. And finally, switch again to completely unknown persona of an old crippled soldier. But always, the police detective is on your tail....such tension between the two unseen foes.
From an age where movies were made to feel like a good book: an evening before the tele with a cup of strong tea and a nice sponge cake, sitting on the couch wrapped in warm blankets long after the kids have gone to bed.
I didn't know Wilson had played in anything other than Castaway. His work in this is brilliant. It appears he did his own stunt work at the start of his career.
@@andrewgreenberg5068 He'd never work again, the gunsmith wasn't a fool, and was recommended from reliable underworld sources. Kill a protected asset, and you have to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.
Not sure if true . But i was told that at the time of the books release people copied the Jackals method of second passport attainment , and were still able to get away with it . ( Don't bother trying now).
The exchange earlier between Cyril Cusack and Jamex Fox, when Fox was placing the gun's order. Cusack asking the relevent questions, Will the gentleman be sitting or standing? Head shot? Chance of a second shot? Distance? A brilliant cinematic scene and the matter of fact coldness when you think of what they are discussing.
The question always remained for me did he kill the gunsmith? Or did he spare him? In the book he doesn't kill him but I think in the movie it implies that he does
@@TheBlaert in the book there is a thorough discussion of the precautions the gunsmith has made to protect himself from this obvious threat. Details of the purchaser lodged with a 3rd party which would be released after a certain date etc
He does kill the guy who provides the false passports and other items to build his disguise, this was after he indicated he would expose the gunman and demands more money for his silence.
@@TheBlaert Because I read the book first, then saw the movie, it never even occurred to me he'd kill the gunsmith in the movie. I just took it for granted: two professionals respecting each other.
@@TheBrakpan It's a vintage .25 Long Stevens R.F. (movie prop), using the basic components of a single-shot bolt action (without the bolt handle), either an Eatonia or a Cooey Model Canuck was used. The .25 Long Stevens Rim Fire is an obsolete chambering and practically untraceable since 1945, when the last batch of this ammo was manufactured and sold to the public, never to be seen again in quantity or quality.
It was truly meticulously researched. The British passport loophole was in fact a real loophole which Forsyth learned about when researching credible ways in which the Jackal might obtain a false identity that would be good enough for international travel. He even tried to warn the authorities before publishing but they would not listen. It became a subject of controversy after the book became a best seller and the loophole was finally closed... in 2007.
My all time favourite. I was (and still am) so impressed with this movie...costumes, lighting, acting, and every other detail... this is a milestone in movie making.👍
Frederick Forsyth’s great book along with Edward Fox’ great acting makes for a perfect movie. The other real star is Michael Lonsdale who is absolutely brilliant as the police inspector who chases the Jackal.
@@cephalotus59 Absolutely. I was routing for him all the way until he killed the 2 women (the baroness and the old lady at the end of the movie). But still I wanted him to miss hitting President DeGaulle, and then somehow for him to escape. But I also wanted the police inspector to succeed as he was so resourceful, intelligent, competent and professional. I have watched and analyzed this movie since it came out first in 1973 (when I was in my early teens) at least 15 times as I enjoyed the locales and just how stylish and believable it was that it could have actually happened. Jackal was so thorough, methodical and detail oriented. It really was a Battle between two extremely professional and smart men.
The weapon test in the remake with Bruce Willis is also the most (& perhaps the only) interesting scene in the whole movie. The difference is that it needed a guy firing at Jack Black using a remotely controlled high calibre machine gun to be interesting. This movie only needed a guy shooting at a watermelon with a rifle that looks like a crutch to be 10x more captivating.
It must go down as the worst remake in history. Turning a classic into ... well to be perfectly honest , I struggle to find words to describe the garbage that presented as the modern day remake of DOJ. Willis was crap... Die hard is a great movie, but horses for courses... DOJ is way above his acting ability.
The Danish identity is that of a pastor, not a schoolteacher, and his penultimate identity, that of an American student called Marty, is not in the film at all. He also disappears in Paris by going to a gay bar rather than a Turkish bath.
Two absolute pros in quiet admiration. Contrast the Gunsmith with the Forger in terms of bravado and professionalism - wow. Small wonder one was paid and the other "send packing".
Whole movie is a true gem! And this clip... Just how the gunsmith wipes out and straighten the cloth in the case. Or the rope knot around tree - it looks like he's really done it 1000x in his life/career. Great acting, atmosphere and attention to details.
I saw a directors cut once where the gunsmith says some part was a little more expensive and turns his back on Fox who says, "oh, how much" and makes as if to karate chop his neck and kill him, and the gunsmith says "oh, twenty dollars" and Fox decides he's for real and decides not to kill him.
There is a photo floating around on the internet of a Canadian sniper using a Pattern 14 with a Warner-Swasey scope in Italy in 1943. You’d wonder if it was Edward Fox.
Absolutely. The original version was based on facts. The OAS did make an attempt on De Gaulle. It took many years for the FFL to redeem themselves for their mutiny and attempt at a violent coup.
Classic movie ...I remember going to the theatre and almost all tickets were gone just 2 in the front row which normally is a headache ...but the movie was so rivetting that this was completely forgotten ...the best thriller I ever watched
I love this film; no back ground music, very little action but great acting and excellent story line. The actors make the film the star, and not the other way round. You know he can't possibly succeed but it still keeps you in suspense until the end.I never saw the re-make as I never know why they try to remake successful movies. Why not remake a film that wasn't too successful?
The answer to why they remake great films is because mainstream cinema, mostly in Hollywood, is bereft good, original ideas. The hacks' in charge sole motivation is greed. Since most American movie goers are too stupid to notice or care, the studios get away with producing repetitive, moronic garbage. On a rare occasions, an original, creative and interesting idea slips through and we get a good film.
As you say the film is the star. Edward Fox was an experienced actor but a relative unknown especially to international audiences. This was deliberate because Zinnemann wanted an actor to reflect the character ie. anonymous! Robert Redford was also considered but Zinnemann was adamant that it had to be a less well known actor. The other great casting was the recently departed Michael Lonsdale who played the detective, Lebel. He came across exactly as Forsythe had written in the book. I had the great privilege of also meeting two or three years ago, the excellent actor Ronald Pickup who played the forger.
@@kevbrown2532The publisher said that the ‘hero’ is the baddie. We never know his name - even at the end. We also know that De Gaul wasn’t killed. That said, he couldn’t put the manuscript down until he finished it! Brilliant book and film.
Love the gunsmith when getting a compliment. Just bending the head slightly in acknowledgment as if to say "yeah, I know its good work. But thanks for saying it anyway."
Modern directors would condense this four + minute scene into a 30 second blip, to suit today's typical ADHD viewer. This shows the assassin carefully adjusting the gun, taking a practice shot, doing another adjustment, until he gets it just right. Then inserts the explosive bullet for the final shot, to show its devastating effect. And all with no music or cheesy dialogue. Just the sounds of outdoor nature in the background. It emphasizes the truly deadly intent of what this guy is going to do.
Good point. It's also true that the character would be saddled with a female side kick who naturally knew more about guns than he did since she had served covertly with the SAS and/or MI6. Modern stuff is unwatchable propaganda
@@alanrogs3990 "The American" COULD have been a great movie if the stories theme was not so predictable, on top of the "American" not putting two and two together the THIRD time his cover was blown. !!
@@stinkyham9050 happy birthday for last weekend, it’s a gripping scene ! The whole film is a masterpiece ! As quoted by World cinema critics (not me) the OAS really did exist. Oh well can’t please everyone 🤷♂️
It's great to see the unspoken "conversation" the guys are having. Notice how the gunsmith frowns at 0:06 (it feels like he's asking "how do you like it?") and then how the Jackal gives a sign of admiration/approval at 0:10
That’s Cyril Cusack , a legendary Irish actor now deceased and whose actress daughter ( starring in a prime time crime drama series only weeks ago ) is married to Jeremy Irons
There is a scene in 'Johnny English' where Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is called back into active service. At MI-6 he enters a large room in which 3 gentlemen are waiting, smoking, reading the paper One of them is Edward Fox. The other two are actors who at one time or another played spies in movies like this one. Unfortunately, their names escape me at the moment. Nothing is said, it's a total throw-away scene. But it is such a lovely homage to all the spy thrillers Johnny English is a parody of.
My dad didn't go to many movies but I remember him talking me to a double feature of this and one of the 'Airport' movies at a small theater near our house. I was very impressed by the melon scene!
Fred Zinnemann is an overlooked film director. HIGH NOON, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, OKLAHOMA, THE NUN'S STORY and my favorite, JULIA with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.
When he goes to the makeshift test range - I missed those details when i saw the film as a kid - how he moves with resolution, how precisely and decisively he performs any action. Even as he wraps rope around tree, makes knot, check the tension ...
Jackal was the perfect professional he knew what he needed to get the job done and he would have been successful except for a one in a million move by DeGaulle it was a brilliant ending.
It's one of my absolute favourite movies and the following is a comment more than a criticism but when the Jackal has zeroed his rifle and gets out the explosive tipped round, he pulls back the bolt but the spent round is not ejected. It's not a semi automatic weapon so the shell should still be in the rifle. Also as I understand shooting, once a rifle is taken apart the zero is stuffed up so he should have to zero again before he attempts the shot on De Gaulle. A I incorrect? As I say just a comment and I know about suspension of disbelief and that it's not a documentary.
the scope should be secure enough to the barrel. It is made as Barrel and breech in one unit, I didn't see him with a removable barrel. The silencer goes on the end of barrel, it usually doesn't touch the bullet at all.
@@sharpgage6512 He doesn't kill him in the book, and it's never proven in the film if he kills him or not. There are people who claim to have seen a deleted scene where he kills the gunsmith, but there never was such a scene. I personally think he does kill him in the movie with the bullet like you said, but it can't be proven either way
Kind of hope the gunsmith wasn't killed. A professional. Highly skilled, discrete, "honest" (in that he didn't try to extort extra money from the jackal). And that he was able to retire to some Caribbean isle.
Imagine this scene in a modern day remake - Jackal: I asked for aluminium. Gunmaker: Naah! Steel shud do yer shit just fine. Jackal: Where can I try a few shots? Gunmaker: There's the forest, buddy. All my customers go there. [Produces the bullets, says] Gunmaker: Explosive tips. Blow away the fucker's head, yeah? Jackal: (Smirking) You bet your ass! [In the forest] [First practice shot] Jackal: Got to sight this baby right. [Second shot, melon explodes to the sound of dramatic music] Jackal: Adios, motherfucker! [Grins widely] ------------------------------------------------------ Too much of attitude, swagger and one-liners these days. Makes the business-like acting of the older movies look like absolute classics, which they anyway are.
One of the best movies. First saw it when I was 9 or 10. Always a huge fan of Edward Fox and this is one of his finest. A million miles away from the crass, noisy and brash remake with Bruce Willis. A film with the one saving grace of offing Jack Black with some degree of style.
This scene always reminded me of that episode of The Untouchables, where the assassin Pittsburg Phil meets underworld armorer. Two professionals that admire each other.
Think the film came out in India more than 5 years after its initial release when I watched it around 1977/78. Great film adaptation of a gripping book. Hard to tell which was better!!
My favorite spy thriller. So much better than Robert Ludlum. Ive read every one of Forsythe's books including his autobiography. He has been rumored to have been more than just a journalist as he seem to have deep contacts in the SAS who gave him so much technical detail. I had read them in high school and two things stuck in my mind. I must have a Browning High Power pistol and a Remington 870 pump 12 gauge shotgun as they were issued to thr SAS and prominently desecibed in Forsythe's books. Years later I got my Browning and the 870. I'm 61 pushing 62 and still have both.
Love how calculate distance then sets the scope as any shooter knows Hollywood always puts pinpoint scope shots in reality an acceptable give is always a given, I always set my scope with sandbag or weight then free hand usually works best. This attention to detail makes this movie work !
