The Day of the Jackal, starring British actor Edward Fox as The Jackal, a hired assassin, was directed masterfully by Fred Zinnemann, who also directed A Man For All Seasons.  In the 1950s and through the very early 1960s, France was experiencing terrorism as a result of Algeria's quest for independence.  President Charles De Gaulle favored its independence but there was a conservative military group within France, the OAS,  that did not want this. This fictional account describes in great detail the efforts of the group to kill De Gaulle.  They hired a very lethal individual, known as The Jackal, to plot and succeed in eliminating De Gaulle.  Most of the movie concerns the Jackal's careful, painstaking, plan to accomplish the task.  Unknown to him, a very smart, mild-mannered, unassuming French inspector, Lebel, is investigating the case on intelligence that an attempt would be made on De Gaulle.  The Jackal is an extraordinarily cunning individual who is capable of very convincing disguises.  He is almost impossible to detect.  Yet, humble Lebel is not a fool.  He's not inspector Clouseau and he pursues the case relentlessly and with understated courage until the Jackal is identified as he comes very close to accomplishing his objective.  In the end, the Jackal meets his date with an unmarked grave.  No one ever knew his actual identity.

The cinematography in this film is almost stunning.  The European locations, especially Paris, are beautifully filmed and the color is gorgeous but also realistic.  This is an interesting and suspenseful movie with an excellent script.  Althought it was released in 1973 at a time in which crude language was becoming increasingly prevalent in filmdom, there is no use of it here, which is refreshing compared to today's idea of what acceptable script writing requires.
The Day of the Jackal, starring British actor Edward Fox as The Jackal, a hired assassin, was directed masterfully by Fred Zinnemann, who also directed A Man For All Seasons. In the 1950s and through the very early 1960s, France was experiencing terrorism as a result of Algeria's quest for independence. President Charles De Gaulle favored its independence but there was a conservative military group within France, the OAS,  that did not want this. This fictional account describes in great detail the efforts of the group to kill De Gaulle. They hired a very lethal individual, known as The Jackal, to plot and succeed in eliminating De Gaulle. Most of the movie concerns the Jackal's careful, painstaking, plan to accomplish the task. Unknown to him, a very smart, mild-mannered, unassuming French inspector, Lebel, is investigating the case on intelligence that an attempt would be made on De Gaulle. The Jackal is an extraordinarily cunning individual who is capable of very convincing disguises. He is almost impossible to detect. Yet, humble Lebel is not a fool. He's not inspector Clouseau and he pursues the case relentlessly and with understated courage until the Jackal is identified as he comes very close to accomplishing his objective. In the end, the Jackal meets his date with an unmarked grave. No one ever knew his actual identity. The cinematography in this film is almost stunning. The European locations, especially Paris, are beautifully filmed and the color is gorgeous but also realistic. This is an interesting and suspenseful movie with an excellent script. Althought it was released in 1973 at a time in which crude language was becoming increasingly prevalent in filmdom, there is no use of it here, which is refreshing compared to today's idea of what acceptable script writing requires.