The Movie
More James Lipton than James Bond, Three Days of the Condor stars Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway, supported by the likes of John Houseman and Max Von Sydow, in a deliberately paced spy thriller. Apparently half of James Grady's book Six Days of the Condor was cut out by ace screenwriters Lorenzo Semple, Jr. and David Rayfiel, but their eye-level view of the inner workings of day-to-day intelligence operations was probably accurate, and surely a revelation to most moviegoers at the time. Punctuated by quick snippets of action, the result is a gripping snapshot of Watergate/oil crisis-era paranoia, as analyst Joe Turner (Redford, codenamed "The Condor") has to survive on his own for 72 hours after his entire team is assassinated. Using his smarts and a borrowed .45, he seeks to uncover the sorry truth behind the killings, but will that be enough to save him?
The Picture
Overall, this movie looks remarkably clean, particularly the many daytime shots of New York City, despite rare instances of film damage. The slight softness in the 2.35:1 image is due to out-of-focus photography in the film itself. Minor compression artifcacts can be detected in the backgrounds, while darker scenes are grainier/twitchier than I would like. Blacks could be more realistic at times, but colors are strong. Man, Max Von Sydow's eyes are blue!
I noted excellent fidelity to Dave Grusin's music in the Dolby TrueHD presentation, although the rears here are reserved primarily for modest atmospheric fill: the clicking of old-fashioned computers, the constant noise of the city, rainfall. Occasionally we're given an interesting effect like ambitious thunder or a helicopter approaching from behind. The strafing of machine gun bullets is unspectacular but convincing. All in all, this is a fine remix/remaster of a 1975 track.
The Extras
Sadly, the surviving talent did not proffer any new interviews or bonus material for this disc, but some kudos to Paramount for delivering the theatrical trailer in high-definition, and it's the better for it. Vintage trailers like this are fun, too, for their utter lack of resemblance to today's slick fare. That's it, everything else must have been deemed top secret.
Final Thoughts
Director Sydney Pollack did a terrific job straddling drama and thriller, and this glimpse of a bygone age--in filmmaking and national security--is all the more enjoyable on Blu-ray. While it deserved more extensive supplements, if your curiosity doesn't subside within three days, don't call a doctor, just watch it again.
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