Duke Says: Watch Sydney Pollack’s
3 Days Of The Condor

Duke here.

So I was walking to work from Grand Central the other day, American Spirit in my mouth, trying to avoid the hordes of stupid tourists preventing me from getting to my destination on time.

I think a baseball bat should be a standard issue for commuters.

Like the umbrella stands when it’s raining, a guy hawking them.

“Commuter? Here’s a bat  … clear the way!”

As I was swinging away in my mind…I saw something that pulled me out of my own demented thoughts, a woman wearing a pair of 70’s style bellbottom jeans.

Tight bellbottom jeans. In my opinion it is very hard for a woman, who’s at least reasonably fit,  to look bad in a pair of jeans.

Then came the familiar stirring, once again…long dormant neurons fired up and reminded me of a gem of a film.

I can admit it … I am a 70’s movie slut.

I loved the era.

I mean c’mon …

 

Serpico

Taxi Driver

Seven Ups

The Exorcist

All The President’s Men

Klute

Heaven Can Wait

…the list goes on.

More on that on my next post.

When watching these movies it’s like going back in time to a different mindset on the way movies were made and thought of. Back before CORPORATE got involved, the word “blockbuster” was coined and a good movie didn’t depend on how many explosions it has.

Back when they mattered and were thought out.

Make sure you have dental floss my dear readers because when you bite down on a 70’s movie you’ll need it to get the grit out of your teeth.

But I digress.

Those bellbottoms made me think of a movie, the movie that provided the spark ……

It’s called…

3 Days Of The Condor

The movie stars Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max (“I want Flash Gordon’s head!”) Von Sydow as the European assassin and in a special performance, John Houseman.

Robert Redford is in prime form, we’re talking “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid” prime and it shines though here. He plays a CIA analyst named Joseph Turner working in an obscure department of the CIA in NYC using a literary society as a front.  He goes out from work one day to pick up lunch and when he comes back he finds everyone in the building dead.

Now he’s on the run.

The movie is all about him trying to find out why everyone was killed, eluding the people responsible, looking for answers to questions he doesn’t know. Along the way he grabs Faye as a safety net and uses her as a place for a safe haven.  She is great as always. The subplot with Redford and Dunaway melts like butter. Let me give you a tip…always look at a mailman’s shoes.  Cliff plays his Section Chief. An oily slick, no nonsense, by the book government man. In short you don’t trust him or his hidden agenda. And as always his combover gets second billing!  Houseman is his boss.

Max…as always…gives a fine performance. He’s a phenomenal actor, always was and is. The word that comes to mind in his portrayal in this film is stoic. He’s an assassin who is methodical, calculating and precise.

If you’ve seen this movie, watch it again, if you haven’t seen this movie …. find it!

If you know where it is and don’t have it…then steal it!

From the tone, the music, to the way it was shot and edited, everything about this movie is great classic 70’s film making. The ending alone, when you find out why all this was done, is going to leave you saying:

“WTF!!”

It’s more relevant today than it was when it was made 40 years ago. That should tell you something.

Duke out.