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The Day of the Jackal
The race is on to find ‘the Jackal’ before he undertakes a momentous political assassination, in this compelling adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s bestseller.
Police drama 1973 142 mins
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Overview
Edward Fox stars as the eponymous 'Jackal', a mysterious British hit-man hired to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, in this compelling adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s hit novel. Michel Lonsdale is the detective who knows a plot is imminent, but has no idea when, where or who will make the hit. What follows is a race against time as both protagonists zero in on their targets.
Despite being an Anglo-French production, Hollywood veteran Fred Zinnemann (Oklahoma!, High Noon) took directing duties for this meticulously mounted political thriller. Forsyth's story is one of the few whose titles has entered the cultural lexicon, with the 'Jackal' appendage applied to international assassins – most famously Carlos the Jackal (Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez).
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