3 Days of the Condor

3 Days of the Condor is a classic 70’s film that had somehow escaped my attention until now. Although I’m not a big fan of Robert Redford, he is adequate in this part. Faye Dunaway is fine. The real star of the film is ramshackle, messy, exciting mid-seventies New York City. The film reeks of post-Watergate paranoia. Redford plays Joseph Turner, codename “Condor”, who works in an obscure branch of the CIA reading books and media from around the world looking for hidden or suspicious elements. On the first of the “three days” he returns to work and finds everyone in his office has been executed. Realizing that his life is in danger, he embarks on a journey to find the truth behind the murders. Along the way, he kidnaps the Dunaway character and hides in her Brooklyn Heights apartment. This kidnapping and their subsequent relationship was the only part of the plot that I found less than plausible. This is a thoughtfully created, satisfying thriller. At the end of the film, you’ll realize that some things have changed very little in the thirty-five years since it was released.