The Day of the Jackal

Universal wanted a well-known American actor in the lead. Fred Zinnemann resisted and had a clause written into the production agreement that only European actors would be cast. David McCallum, Ian Richardson and Michael York were considered before the part went to Edward Fox. The decision carries the film's whole logic: the assassin must not be recognisable, must look ordinary, must vanish into a crowd. Adapted from Frederick Forsyth's novel by Kenneth Ross, the story has former soldiers, embittered by Algerian independence, hiring a professional assassin codenamed the Jackal to kill Charles de Gaulle. The telling is close to documentary. For two and a half hours we watch the preparation in sequence: false identities, a custom rifle, reconnaissance of the route. On the other side, Commissaire Lebel, played by Michel Lonsdale, tracks him with matching patience. Knowing how history turned out reduces the tension not at all. Who it is for: viewers who like films about method, where technical detail is itself the suspense. Who it is not for: anyone expecting character depth. The Jackal's past and motive are deliberately left blank; the man is nothing but a procedure.