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Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman ... see more see more... , Carlin Glynn , Addison Powell , Mike Kane , Walter McGinn , Tina Chen , John P. Connell , Ed Crowley , Jay Devlin , Dorothi Fox , Arthur French , Hank Garrett , Carol Gustafson , Ernest Harden Jr. , John Randolph Jones , James Keane , Don McHenry , Dino Narizzano , Myron Natwick , Jess Osuna , Robert Phalen , Michael Prince , Hansford Rowe , Ed Setrakian , Helen Stenborg , Marian Swan , Patrick Gorman , Lee Steele , Norman Bush , Robert Dahdah , Michael B. Miller , David Allen , Michael Kane

"His code name is Condor. In the next 24 hours, everyone he trusts will try to kill him." As the ads ominously announced, a low-level spook confronts the unfathomable in Sydney Pollack's 1975 politica... read more read more...l thriller, adapted from the James Grady novel Six Days of the Condor. CIA researcher Joe Turner (Robert Redford) returns from lunch to find the entire staff of his small New York office assassinated. When he meets his boss (Cliff Robertson) at another location to tell him what happened, someone tries to shoot Turner as well. On the run from the cops and his agency, a desperate Turner resorts to holing up with innocent civilian Kathy (Faye Dunaway), who becomes his only ally. Joe decides to save himself the only way possible -- by going to The New York Times. But will it work? One of a cycle of conspiracy films from the 1970s that also included The Parallax View (1974) and Redford's All the President's Men (1976), Three Days of the Condor pits a working everyman (albeit a CIA everyman) against a far-reaching conspiracy, as it also criticizes the CIA during a period of increasing publicity about federal wrongdoing, from the Pentagon Papers through Watergate and other congressional investigations. The challenge of negotiating New York City, shot on location, becomes one more sign of the forces that Joe must face. With its timely subject matter, taut suspense, and sympathetic Redford hero, Three Days of the Condor became a substantial hit. Balancing the conspiracy cycle's pessimism with a margin of attenuated hope, Three Days of the Condor suggests that one man can still discover the truth, but whether it helps him remains to be seen. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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82% liked it

10,246 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

37 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Release Date: January 1, 1975

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DVD Release Date: August 17, 1999

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Stats: 727 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (727)

  • spielberg00
    November 13, 2011
    spielberg00
    Thrilling but campy spy film based on the 1974 spy novel Six Days of the Condor is full of action and suspense, but it's no James Bond. It stars Robert Redford as Joe Turner, codename "Condor", a CIA researcher who returns from lunch to the building in which he works, onl... read morey to find that every one of his co-workers has been assassinated. Greatly appalled, Turner goes about on a one-man mission to track down the assassin, before the assassin finds him.

    I found the plot from THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR to be quite intriguing. Admittedly, it is one of those classic examples of a "before it's too late" plot, but this film cuts it well.

    Besides the opening twenty minutes or so, the film is just a typical spy film. A man is on the run, undercover, trying to catch the man who killed his friends. We've seen it all before, but it's still fun, and probably worth more than just spy fans seeing.
  • ajv2688
    January 2, 2011
    ajv2688
    A great cast, and a pretty good story, but it could have been a lot better with some more excitement added in.
  • rubystevens
    January 2, 2011
    rubystevens
    hate the poster, cheesy jazz and the horrible romantic interlude. everything else is terrific. one of the great conspiracy thrillers of the 70's. almost...
  • fb619846742
    September 4, 2010
    fb619846742
    A well-constructed, competently acted thriller concerning a reader for the CIA (Robert Redford) having to come to grips with the danger of his position once his colleagues are murdered coldly one morning - which forces him to find out who is after him. The movie is perfectly time... read mored in the sense that it was released right after the "Watergate Scandal", and it is a very well thought-up story concerning a corrupt sector of the government who view the lives of their employees as disposable if necessary to protect classified secrets. Redford plays his character with conviction and restraint, he's no James Bond, but a fast-thinking, well equipped individual who won't give up without a fight. Max von Sydow is also noticeably creepy as the main assassin after him. While it's no masterpiece like some claim (tends to slow down every once in a while), it's still a must-see for any love of political thrillers.
  • pier007
    May 27, 2010
    pier007
    The romantic subplot has not the impact it should, it's trite, non transcendental, and the score is terribly dated.
    On the other hand, the performances are believable, the shifting and twists keep you entertained, and Pollack's direction is top notch.
  • DrZeek
    August 27, 2009
    DrZeek
    Joubert: Condor is an amateur. He's lost, unpredictable, perhaps even sentimental. He could fool a professional. Not deliberately, but precisely because he is lost, doesn't know what to do. Unlike Wicks, who has always been entirely predictable.

    A solid conspiracy thriller about... read more an analyst on the run. Well made, with solid performances from the whole cast. A good amount of tension fills a number of scenes, while some action and a small love story also manage to work their way into this film. Good entertainment.

    Robert Redford stars as Joe Turner, an analyst for the CIA, who's job is to read everything and write reports. On one particular day, while Turner is out to lunch, an assassination squad murders everyone in his New York office. Turner manages to avoid the same fate and heads on the run. He attempts to contact a higher up, namely Higgins, played by Cliff Robertson, only to be setup for an ambush. Luckily, Turner manages to get out of another sticky situation, but is forced to go rogue.

    Kathy: I don't think you'll live much longer.
    Joe Turner: I may surprise you.

    At this point, Turner kidnaps a stranger, Kathy, played by Faye Dunaway, whom he forces to help him stay hidden as Turner attempts to figure out what has gone wrong. So now, while a bit of Stockholm Syndrome may take place for Kathy, Turner is still being sought after by an icy cool assassin played by Max von Sydow.

    Its a 70s conspiracy thriller, directed by Sydney Pollack, so I wasn't exactly worried about if I'd like this movie. Its a lot of fun and replaces the possible action climaxes in many scenes that would be seen if this movie were to be made today (like the Bourne series, even though that series is rock solid) with a more appropriate release that may be some claustrophobic fight scenes or some simple cunning by one of the characters.

    Redford is really good here. He's comfortable on screen portraying a scared individual working like an analyst to try and understand what has gone wrong. Dunaway has to do a number of things to make her character to stick, including making one night with a possible fugitive (who happens to look like Robert Redford) turn into a love affair, and she does a good job. Von Sydow was just awesome throughout. And I liked the development of Robertson's character as well.

    The film slows down a bit towards the end, but it doesn't push the conspiracy angle into realms that are unnecessarily complicated, which kept the film working for me as a quality thriller.

    Joe Turner: Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?
  • mjgildea
    November 23, 2006
    mjgildea
    I liked it but I didn't love it. Great supporting cast.
  • binky013
    November 21, 2006
    binky013
    This and The Parallax View are two of the best of the '70s' conspiracy-paranoia films. One of my favorite Redford performances. Cliff Robertson and Max von Sydow are excellent. All English majors should see this so they can be made aware of jobs they can pursue with the... read moreir degrees : )
  • ashleymh007
    May 24, 2009
    ashleymh007
    Good, but too slow.
  • jonnycrumley
    October 4, 2011
    jonnycrumley
    Good conspiracy thriller starring Robert Redford. When a CIA researcher Joe Turner (Redford) returns from lunch to find the entire staff of his small New York office assassinated, he finds himself in the a battle of wits against the people who are hunting him and the people he wo... read morerks for. The performances were all great, and the plot was always spontaneous and edgy. Recommended.

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Critic Reviews

March 1, 2007
Variety

Basically a B, it has been elevated in form -- but not in substance -- via four bigger names, location shooting and more production values. Sometimes the trick works, but not here. Full Review

Dave Kehr
March 1, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Basically, the film is a throwback to the 60s anti-Bond spy thriller (a la The Ipcress File), except here the genre's annihilating irony has been replaced by Pollack's liberal piousness. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Three Days of the Condor is a well-made thriller, tense and involving, and the scary thing, in these months after Watergate, is that it's all too believable. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

At its best moments, Three Days of the Condor creates without effort or editorializing that sense of isolation -- that far remove from reality -- within which super-government agencies can operate wit... Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
April 19, 2010
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

A careful work of adjustment and prophecy Full Review

John A. Nesbit
March 4, 2010
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

remains entertaining and continues to hold up over the years Full Review

Kevin Carr
January 9, 2010
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

If the story had stuck to its guns as a political thriller, it would have been fantastic. However, the sideline story of a codependent lover made things screech to a halt. Full Review

Brian Webster
June 1, 2009
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide

Makes you wish the makers - and especially the funders - of today's overblown big budget thrillers could be made to learn from some of the finer thrillers of the 1970s. Full Review

Chris Cabin
June 1, 2009
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

for complete nonsense, it's really quite entertaining Full Review

Peter Canavese
May 24, 2009
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

Pollack excels by establishing an interesting situation, sustaining it, and--in keeping with the paranoid-thriller genre--resolving it on a pleasingly ambiguous note. [Blu-ray] Full Review

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