Subtitles:
English (SDH), English, French, Spanish, none
Extras:
• Theatrical Trailer in HD
Comment:
Alongside all of the incarnations of King Kong,
3 Days of the Condor is one of the more
fascinating explorations of what has come to be known as the
“Stockholm Syndrome." In the facile hands of screenwriter
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (the TV Batman, Papillon,
The Parallax View, the 1976 King Kong,
Flash Gordon), Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway may have
pulled off the impossible: that we should come to accept
that a randomly kidnapped woman should come to identify with
the objectives of her kidnapper – a man whose defense of his
actions to her admittedly reeks of paranoia. In any case, to
watch these two pros dance their way from, through and into
a political thriller is a joy to behold.
1975 was a banner year for cinema, and Condor may
have gotten a little lost alongside the likes of One Flew
Over the Cukoo's Nest, Shampoo, Dog Day
Afternoon, Toute une vie, Barry Lyndon,
Amarcord, Nashville, Jaws, L'histoire
d'Adele H., and The Man Who Would Be King. Yet
today I think the movie holds up quite well. The spy
thriller machinations of the story do not embarrass; Owen
Roizman's cinematography is state of the art in the truest
sense and never brings attention to itself as was common in
the early seventies (what with the love affair with the
zoooom lens in bloom); there are no out of place
Oscar-reaching songs; Sydney Pollack's direction of Robert
Redford (this would be their 4th of 7 films
together) and Faye Dunaway make the impossible: plausible.
OK, let's be honest and thorough here: Cliff Robertson's
hair is idiotic. Max Von Sydow as the soft-spoken
professional assassin, Joubert, is a marked contrast to the
Malkovich-types we’ve seen in more recent times. And then
there are the multiple appearances of the World Trade Towers
that loom over New York City like a ghostly special effect:
their fate from our perspective only enhances the war games
theme of the story.
Lorenzo Semple Jr's adaptation of James Grady's novel is
just as smart, sharp and sassy as it was 30-odd years ago. I
was stunned to review the Oscar list and discover its
absence in this category.
Kathy: You're not entitled to personal questions! That
gun gives you the right to rough me up; it doesn't give you
the right to ask me...
Turner: Rough you up? Have I roughed you up?
Kathy: Yes! What are you doing in my house?
Turner: Have I? Have I?
Kathy: Going through all my stuff? Force...
Turner: Have I raped you?
Kathy: The night is young.
The Score Card
The Movie : 8
Image: 7/8
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
While the image may not have the kind of resolution or
breadth of contrast we find in a Bourne Ultimatum or
Goldfinger, it is nonetheless sharp and fairly
immaculate. I found no obtrusive manipulations or
enhancements. On the contrary, the image is every bit as
grainy as it must have been 30-odd years ago. It can tend to
look thick but the texture is consistent and benefits the
presentation. Colors seem true with acceptable flesh tones
but there isn't a lot of dimensionality to the visuals. It
has no gloss and the image is clean of dirt and speckles.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music : 7/8
Condor
is a relatively subtle and subdues thriller by today’s
standards. The few times that there is gunfire it is a
surprise even though we see it coming. The uncompressed
Dolby TrueHD mix helps put this over. The attack on the
Historical Library is an excellent case in point, as we are
carefully suspended in the midst of computer and printer
noises between bursts of automatic weapons fire, followed by
the falling down a stair or over a desk. There is a bizarre
and very dark humor to these moments that the audio mix does
its part to bring off.
Operations : 6
There's very little to the unanimated menu page, though
what's there is a piece of cake to navigate.
Extras : 0
Zip - aside from an HD trailer.
Recommendation: 7
Too bad about the lack of extras. I guess Paramount doesn’t
think as highly of this movie as I do, since there are no
interviews with Dunaway, Redford or Robertson, or a
commentary by a film historian. Nevertheless 3 Days of
the Condor is a classic of the genre with a special
resonance for our times. The image and audio recover more
than I had hoped. Recommended.
Leonard Norwitz
May 14th, 2009
