Exciting Condor Born Before Bourne Born
Three Days of the Condor
Cast: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max Von Sydow
Director: Sydney Pollack
Movie Help Web Popcorn Kernels:
Fashion, automobiles and images of objects no longer in use mark Three Days of the Condor as a dated film. With a 40 something Sidney Pollack directing fresh off of Streisand's The Way We Were and reunited with Redford, arguably the most popular actor of that time, Three Days of the Condor is a delightful mix of solid storytelling told by professionals at the top of their game.
What A Pedigreed Cast
Redford was coming off an Academy Award nominated performance in The Sting when he showed up as Joseph Turner, aka Condor, a CIA analyst who is thrust into a field agent's role. His co-star, Faye Dunaway, was one year from her Academy Award nominated performance in Chinatown. Pollack and Redford were familiar with each other having worked with Streisand on The Way We Were.
The supporting cast is also outstanding. Max Van Sydow as the gentle mercenary Joubert is superb. "I don't interest myself in "why". I think more often in terms of "when", sometimes "where"; always "how much," Joubert tells Redford's Turner, and the words are not harsh, but kindly, as a professor might lecture a student.
Future professors are also well represented in the cast with pre-Paper Chase John Houseman and Cliff Robertson playing CIA management who must figure out what has gone awry and why their Condor is flying. Viewers will not confuse Robertson's turn as the head of the CIA's New York office with his role as the nurturing Uncle Ben Parker in Spider-Man. Robinson brings the perfect mix of bureaucratic bumbling and jaded personality to the role.
The First Bourne
If you think you have seen this movie before, you may be thinking of Matt Damon and Franka Potente in 2002's The Bourne Identity.
There is no indication that Robert Ludlum's writing of The Bourne Identity, published in 1980, was influenced by the much-earlier novel by James Grady, but the similarities at the core of the story are identical. Ludlum's Bourne is a trained field agent, but his amnesia compromises his ability to work in the field. Grady's Turner is a bookworm analyst whose lack of field training compromises his ability to thrwart the bad guys. Think of the exercise as a grown-up Home Alone -- you know the main character knows what to do, but will he be able to do so properly and in time?
Redford's Turner darting between New York and Washington while attempting to stay a step ahead of the people who are trying to kill him is a significant part of the suspense this story creates. Like Bourne, Turner finds a resourceful and strong woman who he is initially forced to kidnap and who later turns out to be his greatest ally.
That may be the biggest quibble I have with both stories. Dunaway is too quick to relinquish her role as hostage and not only help Redford, but sleep with him. There is a muddy sub-plot about a liberated woman who is not confined to her demanding and patronizing boyfriend, but it gets lost in the excitement and shooting.
The thriller genre's plot of shadowy government officials and rogue intelligence officers is as old as the genre itself, but Pollack tells Grady's story in a satisfying manner that alternates between sympathy for the main character and edge of the seat excitement. What sets Three Days of the Condor apart, however, is the ending. There will be no spoilers here, but the audience leaves the film never knowing if Turner was successful. That ambiguity is a perfect ending to the suspense-packed film.
Think Of It As A Time Capsule
Although Pollack does a good job in keeping topical references like Watergate and Vietnam away from the story, one can't help but marvel at the changes in just thirty years. The clothing has changed, of course, as have the huge eyeglasses in vogue in the mid 1970s, but there are elements in this story that future viewers, say, a teenager might not understand.
Besides the dated cars (Redford and Dunaway have some great scenes in an ancient Ford Bronco), there are moments that may not make sense to some viewers, such as a clanging radiator startling the characters or the ancient computers that seem to have been resurrected from an old Star Trek set. There is even a scene where Turner steals a telephone serviceman's utility belt and crosses phone lines throughout New York to avoid a call being traced. There are even scenes with telephone booths.
And finally, there are many shots of the World Trade Center, New York's then-new skyscrapers that stood as a sign of progress and success.
The Bottom Line, Popcorn Kernels and All
Jazz genius Dave Grusin contributes a fantastic score to a solid movie that holds up well despite its many dated references. Redford, Dunaway and Pollack are all at the top of their respective games, and Grady's story travels well to film, especially in the context of viewers unsure of what secret actions a government will take to achieve its goals.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. Redford, Dunaway and Robertson are excellent.
2. Sidney Pollack does a fine job directing...
3. ...and James Grady's story holds up well on film.
4. Have fun with the dated clothing and items no longer commonly used.
5. A great movie to watch with The Bourne Identity on a video night.
