Three Days of the Condor

Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Director: Syndey Pollack
Cast: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max Von Sydow
Memorable Line: "I don't think you'll live much longer."

* Underrated and Overlooked *
This is a genre movie in the "everyman gets caught in plot that's bigger than himself" vein (Think of "North by Northwest."). If you're a part of Generation Y and maybe the tail-end of Generation X you may never have heard of it, but this is one of most gripping and realistic espionage films you'll ever see. If you like movies with heroes that are really superheroes with fantastic martial arts fighting skills and the ability make miraculous shots with dueling handguns ablaze, then this isn't the film for you. But if you like a thinking man's hero, I recommend you check out this movie.

Redford stars a bookish researcher who arrives at work one day to find his whole division brutally wiped out in a nearly silent attack. Quickly realizing that he is the last man standing and knowing that his moments may be numbered, he goes undercover to find who killed his colleagues and how he can stay alive in the process. Faye Dunaway plays an isolated photographer who Redford's character ensnares and inspires to assist him in finding the truth. Max Von Sydow is chilling as a career assassin who coldly provides his skills to the highest bidder and Roberson is a higher up in the C.I.A. whose job it is to protect the agency at nearly all costs.

Probably the only dated element of the movie is the Dave Gruisin's score which is a bit too jazzy compared to traditional scores. While not edited with the frenetic pace of today's thrillers, the tempo of the plot is sufficient to keep the viewer engaged and interested.

And there's a fight scene between Redford's character and would-be assassin that I feel is one of most realistic fight scenes in cinema history. There's no fantastic martial arts stunts here. There's just two guys facing off with whatever brawn and brain they can muster with Redford outmatched in the strength, but with the cunning. It's worth the price of admission.