3 Days of the Condor - The Condor is Redford!

Three Days of the Condor

Director: Sydney Pollack

I work for the CIA but I’m not a spy. I read books. –Joseph Turner

I wish I knew more…  about you… yesterday… today. –Kathy Hale

He's in the suspicion business; he can't trust anybody. –Joseph Turner

Maybe there's another CIA… inside the CIA. –Joseph Turner

No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause; there's only yourself. The belief is in your own precision. –G. Joubert

They'll print it. –Joseph Turner

The Amazon.com instant view (my viewing method of choice for this one) description of the movie:

A mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. "Condor" must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.

This is one of my dad’s favorite movies, and until this project, I had not only never seen it, I'd also never known what it was about. Did you know the title refers to the three days when Robert Redford's character (code name: Condor) was hiding out from the world while simultaneously trying to get to the bottom of the heinous murder that took place in his office? I didn't, but it's true!

Once I was able to get over the "technology" in this movie (they called those things computers?!) and remind myself that it was made in 1975, I could see why my dad likes the flick so much! It’s got the espionage and government conspiracy of a good Grisham and the witty one-liners of well-written and well-acted feature comedy. And there's a bit of a love story.

It also made me realize that I can never work in the CIA (all other reasons – like skill – aside) because I'm far too trusting. If I returned to my super-secret office to find all of my co-workers – including my lover – bullet-riddled and dead as dead can be, I would trust the first cop I ran into to not only NOT blame me but to figure out who did it. If I called my CIA higher-ups, I'd tell them everything and trust every word they say. If I met a handler in an alley, I'd… well, the alley meeting is a bit suspicious. But you get the point.

The fact that the Condor was able to survive three days pitted against the CIA, while digging into the murder motive and find love, is a testament to his intelligence, methodic approach and suspicious nature, all of which were likely characteristics that made him attractive to the CIA in the first place. Imagine what Joseph Turner (the Condor) could have done if he'd had access to the internet, a cell phone and computers that showed more colors than green and black!

My takeaway: Follow your gut and question authority when your gut disagrees with the people in charge. And never let a mailman enter your home unless you know him personally!