The1970s were a transformative decade in American cinemathat saw Hollywood turning to young, enthusiastic filmmakers as a source of inspiration. The real-world anxiety over historical events like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal led many of these filmmakers to craft political thrillers that latched on to the fears that many citizens felt.Sydney Pollack’s groundbreaking 1975 hitThree Days of the Condorserved as a perfect representation ofexistential anxietiesabout government overreach and political conspiracies, and had an outsized effect on the development of the political thriller genre. Although it’s now considered a classic,Three Days of the Condorwas edited by overseas television distributors, invoking a lawsuit from Pollack.
Three Days Of The Condor
A bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
How Did ‘Three Days of the Condor’ Change Political Thrillers?
Three Days of the Condorwas based on a novel byJames Gradythat was originally published in 1974; like the novel, Pollack’s film was clearly inspired by brewing concerns over the CIA’s enigmatic activities.Three Days of the Condorproved that “political art” could also be entertaining, as its overarching allusions to recent headlines did not detract from its entertainment value. The film follows the shy CIA employee Joe Turner (Robert Redford), who works to analyze critical literature at a government facility at the American Literary Historical Society in New York City. Turner returns from his lunch break to find his entire team murdered and must fight to clear his name when he is blamed for the crime.Three Days of the Condorreceived an Academy Award nomination for Best Editing and continued to inspireespionage films likeCaptain America: The Winter Soldier.
Three Days of the Condorwas also notable as akey film within the working relationship between Redford and Pollack.Although the pair had previously worked together on the revisionist westernJeremiah Johnsonand the romantic dramaThe Way We Were, his endearing performance as Turner wasone of Redford’s best roles. The performance epitomized the charisma, earnestness, and integrity that Redford was often associated with. Following their success together, Redford and Pollack would team up again on the western dramedyThe Electric Horseman, the Best Picture winnerOut of Africa, and the epic dramaHavana.
‘Three Days of the Condor’ Was Edited for Television Distribution
Given its critical acclaim andimportance within the “New Hollywood” movement,Three Days of the Condorbecame popular once more when it was redistributed on television and made widely available once more. Unfortunately,a Danish television network’s broadcast of the film severely edited the film’s visible picture size, leading to a radically distorted image. Theedited version reduced over half of the original frames, denying the audience key context clues regarding the conspiracy and Turner’s profession. While television broadcasts rarely captured the same magic of the big screen,Three Days of the Condorhad been transformed beyond recognition. The result was a nearly incomprehensible edit that left out many of the visual nuances that had been so essential to the film’s success.
In response to the uncharacteristically flawed distribution format,Pollack sued Danish state television for significantly damaging his professional reputation.Even though Pollack had already won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director forOut of Africa, the low quality of theThree Days of the Condortelevision edit stood as a potential barrier to his ability to gain future work. Pollack claimed that the pan-scanning technique had broken the parameters of his contract, and brought forward a lawsuit of $15,600. Although Danish the courts agreed that Pollack’s rights had been infringed upon, he lost the lawsuit on the technicality that the broadcasters, not the distributors, were responsible for the formatting shifts.
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Although the case was never appealed,Pollack’s lawsuit set a precedent for an artist’s ability to protect their work in the aftermath of its release.Today, some directors can participate in their films’ home video and streaming releases, as it is important to ensure that the original intent is preserved. In the case ofThree Days of the Condor, the imagery removed from the edges of the frame had been purposefully inserted by Pollack to create a heightened sense of paranoia. Given how oftenfilms are banned overseas for content reasons, it’s noteworthy that Pollack took legal action to protect the visual cues he considered essential to the film’s success. Regardless of the court’s decision, Pollack succeeded in raising awareness about the irrevocable damages that pan-scanning could have on a film’s longevity.
Why Sydney Pollack’s Artistic Reputation Was Worth Protecting
While taking legal action was an extreme way to show his dedication,Pollack’s determination to protectThree Days of the Condorsignifies why he is one of cinema’s greatest directors. While some filmmakers tend to hit a peak in quality early on in their careers, Pollack continued to make engaging, thought-provoking films throughout his career.Three Days of the Condoris representative of Pollack’s unique ability to create challenging films within the studio system. Although generally this level of artistic ambition was only seen in independent features, Pollack was able to use the studio system to his advantage, with films like his 1969 masterpieceThey Shoot Horses, Don’t They?became major award-season playersand commercial hits. Pollack’s work teamed him up with such acclaimed actors asAl Pacino, Harrison Ford, Sydney Poitier, Burt Lancaster,andRobert Mitchum.
While he would often innovate within other styles,Pollack is one of the “fathers” of themodern political thriller genre. Pollack worked with Redford’s frequent co-star,Paul Newman, on the 1981 courtroom dramaAbsence of Malice, and would later giveTom Cruiseone of his best roles in the 1993 legal thrillerThe Firm. Fittingly, Pollack’s final film was the 2005 political thrillerThe Interpreter, which analyzed modern issues involving the United States’ involvement in foreign power disputes.The Interpreterwas evocative of modern anxieties in the same way thatThree Days of the Condorwas for an older era; it signified that Pollack had never lost his touch, and had a firm grasp of the issues pertinent within his viewers’ minds.
Three Days of the Condoris streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
