The Day of the Jackal

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The Day of the Jackal

PG

Released Jul 30, 1973

2h 21m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

An underground French paramilitary group is intent on eliminating President Charles de Gaulle (Adrien Cayla-Legrand), but when numerous attempts on his life fail, they resort to hiring the infamous hit man known as "The Jackal" (Edward Fox). As the enigmatic assassin prepares to shoot de Gaulle, he takes out any problematic people along the way. Meanwhile, Lebel (Michel Lonsdale), a savvy Parisian police detective, begins to solve the mystery of the killer's identity.

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Critics Consensus

The Day of the Jackal is a meticulously constructed thriller with surprising irreverence and taut direction.

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Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

It is the sustained gentleness of Fred Zinnemann’s professional temperament that makes the picture a clockwork amusement to watch.

Mar 4, 2024

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Keith Uhlich

(All (Parentheses)) (Substack)

Possesses a tonal coldness that aligns viewers with the assassin’s reptilian machinations. —Guest post by Michael Joshua Rowin

Dec 20, 2022

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William B. Collins

Philadelphia Inquirer

As the tension rises, you feel terribly helpless. You just have to sit there and let it happen.

Jun 14, 2022

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Michael Calleri

Niagara Gazette

It may be fiction, but Fred Zinnemann’s “The Day Of The Jackal” feels like a great documentary. The masterful movie proceeds with the precision of a Swiss watch. There is a terrific cinematic beauty to the film’s foundational realism.

Jul 21, 2025

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

...Fox gives us a fleshed-out performance of an intelligent killer who will stop at nothing to take out his target, carefully plotting the assassination but relying on his wits to evade Claude Lebel (Lonsdale) at every twist and turn.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 6, 2025

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a great movie because of the detail…the Jackal is the logical extension of the triumph of money over the human spirit, an remorseless killer with zero inner life, existing only to thwart the will of the people for his own personal gain...

Rated: 5/5

Nov 15, 2024

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D P

This was an excellent movie. I did not expect this quality of story crafting from a movie in the 70s. I was fully invested in the outcome of this plot.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

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Dominik N

A movie filled with retro masculinity and driven characters. It feels like James Bond, but less invincible and if he was a villain. While the plot is intriguing, some scenes drag on and others feel unnecessary. Overall a really solid movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

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John J

One of the greatest classics ever made. Similar to James Bond, with great suspense and dialogue. Good lord I remember the melon shooting scene after 40 plus years. Dude was a stone cold psychopath This movie is underrated

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/25

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Johnathon W

First rate thriller that keeps you on the edge of you seat throughout, despite already knowing how its going to end. The cast is superb, with Edward Fox smoothly playing the Jackal, a professional killer who while truly an evil man, is so good at what he does you find yourself rooting for him. He is matched by Michael Lonsdale as the detective tasked with catching him, and despite looking like a befuddled fool, is just as dogged and professional as the Jackal. Behind the camera, director Fred Zinnerman expertly adapts Frederick Forsyth's classic book, using a documentary style to keep action grounded while meticulously following the Jackal's plan to assassinate Charles De Gaulle. The brilliance of the movie is that you know the ending (De Gaulle obviously wasn't assassinated) but you still want to see how far the Jackal gets. All in all, the standard for political thrillers.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

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MG_Claymore C

I love Fox as the Jackal. Could any remake be as good as this.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/25

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Raymond S

Husker den traff meg godt i tenåra, men full av logiske brister ved nytt gjensyn etter ca 35 år.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/19/24

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Fred Zinnemann

Director

Edward Fox

The Jackal

Michaël Lonsdale

Lebel

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Synopsis

An underground French paramilitary group is intent on eliminating President Charles de Gaulle (Adrien Cayla-Legrand), but when numerous attempts on his life fail, they resort to hiring the infamous hit man known as "The Jackal" (Edward Fox). As the enigmatic assassin prepares to shoot de Gaulle, he takes out any problematic people along the way. Meanwhile, Lebel (Michel Lonsdale), a savvy Parisian police detective, begins to solve the mystery of the killer's identity.

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Producer: John Woolf, David Deutsch, Julian Derode
Screenwriter: Frederick Forsyth, Kenneth Ross
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 1973, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 2h 21m

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