It's a polished and exciting thriller, mercifully unburdened with heavy political/philosophical digressions.
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 19
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 23 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: This suspense thriller about a daring plot to murder Charles De Gaulle is based on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller. The movie's suspenseful pace is tied to the incredibly careful and intricate planning the man code-named "the Jackal"... This suspense thriller about a daring plot to murder Charles De Gaulle is based on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller. The movie's suspenseful pace is tied to the incredibly careful and intricate planning the man code-named "the Jackal" does in preparation for the hit. This classic was watered down and remade in 1997 as The Jackal. [More]
Starring: Edward Fox, Alan Badel, Terrence Alexander, Cyril Cusack
Starring: Edward Fox, Alan Badel, Terrence Alexander, Cyril Cusack, Michel Auclair, Tony Britton, Maurice Denham, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jacques Francois, Olga Georges-Picot, Barry Ingham, Derek Jacobi, Michael Lonsdale, Jean Martin, Ronald Pickup, Eric Porter, Anton Rodgers, Delphine Seyrig, Donald Sinden, Timothy West
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Producer: John Woolf, David Deutsch
Story: Frederick Forsyth
Screenwriter: Kenneth Ross
Composer: Georges Delerue
Producer: Julien Derode
Get This Movie
Reviews for The Day of the Jackal
The major asset of the film is that it succeeds in maintaining interest and suspense despite obvious viewer foreknowledge of the outcome.
Like all Zinnemann's work, this meticulously crafted political thriller is involving but not exciting due to his detached perspective and the fact that we know the outcome, that De Gaulle wasn't assassinated, but it's cast with Europe's best actors.
Low on documentary conviction and political context, but an intriguing exercise in concealing the obvious.
I wasn't prepared for how good it really is: it's not just a suspense classic, but a beautifully executed example of filmmaking.
A taut, suspenseful thriller that is as exciting as the first time you saw it. Fox is wonderful as the assassin; a great cat-and-mouse feature.
Delightfully intelligent and often irreverant, it's a good yarn and a good thriller to boot.
Zinnemann's tale of an extremist faction's plot to kill the celebrated French leader and the authorities' efforts to capture the mercenary assassin hired for the job achieves a dignified tone and compelling pace seldom seen in latter-day thrillers.
Related Forums for The Day of the Jackal

by: econmists 10/5
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| Iron Man | |
| Forgetting Sarah Marshall | |
| Sex and the City - The… | |
| Leatherheads | |
| Made of Honor |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| You Don't Mess with the Zohan | |
| The Happening | |
| Paranoid Park | |
| The Visitor | |
| Stuck |
What’s Hot On RT
Around The Network
- The Day of the Jackal at Rotten Tomatoes

Top Critic


