Three Days of the Condor

 

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

NEUTRAL
Various
Movie Reviews88%
NR
1975, Mystery & thriller, 1h 57m
RT Critics’ Score: 88% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 4 nominations total

 

Critics Consensus

This post-Watergate thriller captures the paranoid tenor of the times, thanks to Syndey Pollack’s taut direction and excellent performances from Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway
 

Audience Consensus

Three Days of the Condor is a classic thriller that has stood the test of time. While some critics may find fault with its pacing or political messaging, the film delivers on its promise of suspense and intrigue. Plus, who doesn’t love a good cat-and-mouse chase between two professionals? It’s like watching a game of chess, but with higher stakes and more bullets. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and enjoy the ride. Just don’t forget to look over your shoulder every once in a while… you never know who might be watching.
 
Movie Trailer

Movie Info

Storyline

A mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. “Condor” must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures, Video Classics
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1975
 

Technical Specs
  • Color:
    Color
  • Sound mix:
    Mono Dolby Digital
  • Aspect ratio:
    2.39 : 1
  • Runtime:
    1h 57m
  • Language(s):
    English, French
  • Country of origin:
    United States
  • Release date:
    Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 1975 Original
    Release Date (Streaming): May 19, 2009

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman, Addison Powell, directed by Sydney Pollack, written by Lorenzo Semple Jr., David Rayfiel, Mystery & thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Jay Cocks, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Chris Petit, Roger Ebert, Eddie Harrison, Norman Wilner, Mike Massie, Jacoba Atlas, David Parkinson, MPAA rating R, CIA, codebreaker, Watergate, paranoid, hit man, assassination, government conspiracy, suspense, action, thriller, neo-Hitchcock, 1970s, feminism, sexism, politics, technology, survival, betrayal, trust, betrayal, coworkers, murder, tragedy, agency, death, danger, investigation, mystery, tension, chase, cat-and-mouse, professional relationship, location shooting, production values, excellent performances, prophetic, eerie, resonant
 

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $27,476,252
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $165,327,249
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 794
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 18,029,144
 
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
 
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $120,341,922
Production budget ranking: 308
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $64,804,125
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$19,818,798
ROI to date (est.): -11%
ROI ranking: 1,454

 
Movie Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew

Robert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonMax von SydowJohn Houseman
Robert Redford
Faye Dunaway
Cliff Robertson
Max von Sydow
John Houseman
Joseph Turner
Kathy Hale
J. Higgins
G. Joubert
Mr. Wabash
Robert Redford – Joseph Turner, The Condor
Faye Dunaway – Kathy Hale
Cliff Robertson – J. Higgins
Max von Sydow – G. Joubert
John Houseman – Mr. Wabash
Addison Powell – Leonard Atwood

 

Sydney PollackLorenzo Semple Jr.Stanley Schneider
Sydney Pollack
Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Stanley Schneider
Director
Writer
Producer
Producer
Producer

Director(s)
Sydney Pollack
 
Writer(s)
Lorenzo Semple Jr., David Rayfiel
 
Producer(s)
Stanley Schneider

 
Movie Reviews & Awards
Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 4 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews
Kevin MaherJay CocksVariety StaffDave KehrChris Petit
Kevin Maher
Jay Cocks
Variety Staff
Dave Kehr
Chris Petit
Times
TIME Magazine
Variety
Chicago Reader
Time Out
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
 All Critics (48) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (6)
 This peerless Sydney Pollack thriller hasn’t just aged well, it’s become positively prophetic, or at least eerily resonant.
 
 May 8, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Kevin Maher
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 A piece of dotty, slightly paranoid intrigue. Three Days of the Condor promises little and keeps its word. It is hard to get indignant about it, or enthusiastic either.
 
 August 9, 2016
 
 Jay Cocks
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 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.
 
 March 1, 2007
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 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.
 
 March 1, 2007
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 The action rarely falters, and at its best the film offers an intriguing slice of neo-Hitchcock.
 
 February 9, 2006
 
 Chris Petit
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 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.
 
 October 23, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Roger Ebert
 Chicago Sun-Times
 TOP CRITIC
 …there’s plenty of underlying excitement about the way that the murky events unfold here…
 
 November 6, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Eddie Harrison
 film-authority.com
 …it narrows its focus entirely to the cat-and-mouse chase at its core, boiling its post-Watergate theme of governmental indifference to human life down to the relationship between two professionals…
 
 November 10, 2020
 
 Norman Wilner
 NOW Toronto
 As all the pieces begin coming together, the resolution slows, flawing the pacing that had started so smartly.
 
 August 31, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 What we are given is more than worth seeing.
 
 November 22, 2019
 
 Jacoba Atlas
 Los Angeles Free Press
 The excellent cast makes up for Pollack’s occasional lapses in pacing.
 
 August 9, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Parkinson
 Radio Times
 While its thriller elements deliver, the film is undermined by a subplot that was surely over-egged even when it was made and which has only been further diminished by the passage of time.
 
 August 7, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
 Amber Wilkinson
 Eye for Film…

 
Movie Plot & More
Plot
A mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. “Condor” must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Three Days of the Condor.
 
Movie Links Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes

Links
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

 
Where to Watch

Where to Watch

 
Move the ScoreSydney-Pollack.jpg

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