The Day of the Jackal

The Day of the Jackal is a thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin who, contracted by the OAS, a French terrorist group of the early 1960s, attempts to kill Charles de Gaulle.

Related Topics:
Thriller - Novel - Frederick Forsyth - OAS - French - Terrorist - 1960s - Charles de Gaulle

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The novel is widely regarded as one of the best "spy thrillers" ever written, widely praised for its convincing portrayal of France in 1962, and carefully thought-out plot. The book was filmed in 1973 by Fred Zinnemann starring Edward Fox in the title role. Like the novel, the film was praised for its depiction of 1962 France.

Related Topics:
1962 - 1973 - Fred Zinnemann - Edward Fox

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While the OAS did exist as described in the novel and the film opens with a remarkably accurate re-enactment of the Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry-led attempt on de Gaulle's life, most of the remaining plot is fictional. The storyline follows the efforts of an extremely professional hired assasin (hired by an exiled OAS) in his preparations to assasinate de Gaulle, the efforts of an equally professional but rather hard-pressed French detective assigned to identify and stop him along with elements of intrigue and bureaucratic maneuvering at the highest levels of the French government.

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• Real-life terrorist Carlos was nicknamed "the Jackal" by the press in reference to the novel.
• A very loose, action-oriented adaptation was made in 1997 starring Bruce Willis as the assassin and Richard Gere as a former IRA sharpshooter recruited by the CIA to stop him. Zinneman was so concerned about what this production might do to the reputation of his own film that he successfully pressured the producers to change the name to The Jackal. That adaptation (which was widely panned by critics) bore little resemblance. The Jackal's target was kept secret until the climax and depicted him as an icy psychopath dependent on cutting edge weapons technology as opposed to Fox's layered portrayal of a sophisticated, rational and consummate professional.
 
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