I have always loved a good puzzle to figure out. I mean who does not love piecing it together. A conspiracy movie is so tough. Many times, the ending feels tagged on with information that we did not see or makes some spurious connection. The ability to weave a proper story that unfolds on its on timetable presenting just enough to keep you interested but not give it all away is a challenging task to pull off. There was a time when this was all the craze in the movies. Let us take a walk back to the nineteen seventies and see if we can figure out why. Well, we had just come through the real-life conspiracy of Watergate, and everybody was very distrusting of government and its intentions. Let also not forget this is also the time of the Pentagon Papers which revealed the government had been less than honest with the country about our strategy in Viet Nam. The seventies also so the house select committee on assassinations. Meaning there were so many conspiracy theories about JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations that we had congressional hearings. A lot of distrust from the Populus to the government; there is no real surprise that this would be in the forefront of the media and movies. So, if you can keep a secret, I will let you in on five conspiracy movies that I really like.
Captain America Winter Soldier.
This first movie is the reason for this list actually. I was talking with a friend and said, “I’d put Winter Soldier, or any of the captain America movies, on the list with all those conspiracy movies from the seventies”. I honestly think that is part of the pervasive success of Marvel. They are not making superhero movies; they are making all sorts of genre films featuring superheroes. This one is no exception. We got a series of conspiracies wrapping with action sequences. Just when you think you have it all figured out you get another turn. the cast here is wonderful, I absolutely love the frank relationship between captain America and black widow. All the points seem to wrap up nicely, even if the outcome over all is a negative, and nothing feels forced or tacked.
We start off with a mission to rescue a shield ship that has wandered off course, taken over by pirates. Whichever all I know is we start off already suspicious of SHIELD and Fury, and cap makes this known. It does not affect how he does his job; I mean he is cap, but it does let the audience know cap has questions. Even more questions when he discovers there are multiple missions occurring. Cap is there to rescue hostage, black widow is there to steal information for Fury, and also try to find a date for cap. I love these two and their relationship. I enjoy the banter and how it is definitely front and center here, more than in other movies.
After the mission we learn Fury is not only keeping secrets within the mission but is also preparing to keep the world safe at all costs. We now stand looking at three heli-carriers that are designed to take out terrorists with the click of a button, even before they commit any crime or action. Very pos 911 vibe, which makes sense with this all being post New York. Cap does point out how wrong this idea is. Fury then finds he has been locked out of his own programs, by well himself. Once out of the Triskelion we see Fury attacked by a group looking to take him down. We know nothing of who this is other than we know it is not the local pd. Fury narrowly escapes and charges cap with holding the info from the ship in the beginning and gives him the advice of not trusting anyone, and then he is shot and killed. is there anything more crucial to the plot of a conspiracy theory movie than the dying declaration of not trusting anyone? You need it.
We are back at the Triskelion and now Cap is meeting with the head of the world security council, Alexander Pearce. A long-time friend of Fury, who knew he had friends? Pearce is aggressively pushing for info from Cap. Cap reveals that all Fury told him was Trust No one. to which Pearce asks, “you think he meant himself as well?”.no we got all kinds of confusion. Next up is the elevator scene. A fight sequence between Cap and about fifteen agents. The lead up is done so well as we notice cap noticing people sweating for no reason, hands on guns, looking sideways at him; you know all the hallmarks of something isn’t right. Great line of “before we do this, does anyone want to get out?” I would have loved to have seen some interns step off at the next floor and once the doors close then the fight starts, but it is great the way they do this. The very definition of what I mean when I say, “it’s very comic bookish”. A full fight in an elevator, a leap from the elevator to ground below, quite a way to go, and then he uses his shield and motorcycle to get out of the complex and attack a quin jet. It is huge action done very well, but so not believable or real and that is okay. It is based off of a comic book, it should be a little crazy.
This sets up our road trip with cap and black widow trying to figure out where the thumb drive came from since they can’t break the encryption. They discover it is actually intelligence, or artificial intelligence. What would I be called if your code was being continuously edited by a Nazi scientist who has had his consciousness downloaded to a computer? I am not sure but here we get another crucial element for a good conspiracy theory movie, the involvement of former Nazis or East Germans in some villainous way. We discover that Zola from the first captain America movie was recruited and worked for the US post WWII. The complex is bombed and now our heroes are definitely on their own, more so than before.
Black widow also reveals the existence of a specialized assassin from the Soviet Union may be who was hired to kill Fury and is now after them. We get yet another attack from the winter soldier, and his team, against our guys and they are all captured here.
so, let’s take a moment and count down all of the conspiracies we got so far. Plot one Fury’s runaway ship. Plot two government executing criminals before they can commit a crime. Captain America is being accused of being a spy and having killed Fury would be our third point. Now add in the German scientist who has written the algorithm for the precrime analysis for our fourth plot point. Then there is the big reveal that since World War two Hydra has been infiltrating shield and the American government at large for our final plot point. This is insane. Most of these movies you get one conspiracy. Hell, half the time I do not know who to trust when I am watching this one. I honestly think this is my favorite of ALL the marvel movies. I am not saying yours is no good. I am not saying there are Marvel movies I do not like; I am talking of degrees of good.
Let’s start with this cast. First up I have seen this movie a dozen times, easily, and this was the first time I connected these dots. I am sure this is the first time I have watched this one right next to the other conspiracy movies. Wow, that is a bit wordy. What I am saying is Robert Redford is here. You know him from one other movie on this list, no spoilers, but it is a good one. so, Winter Soldier has the street cred of having this conspiracy icon in this movie. I will say you also know him from the real-life conspiracy theory of the Watergate and the film title All the President’s Men. He was also in Lions for Lambs, The Last Castle, and Legal Eagles. In winter Soldier Redford plays Fury’s oldest friend and it is clear from the beginning we should not trust this character one bit. This is an excellent performance from Redford. He is great in just about everything. I always look at this and think my god they got Redford to do a comic book movie. Just amazing.
When I was younger most of the comic book movies were handled very differently than they are today. There seemed to be the insane need to meticulously recreate the world of the comic. Look at Tim Burton’s Batman. A great movie but you can see the fanciful elements. I always like to say the Nolan’s Batman movies makes Burton’s Batman movies look like the Batman show from the sixties. Now that is not a slight to any of those incarnations. It is however the slow progression that has paved the way for a more realistic take on these beloved characters from our favorite comics. They are treated with so much more reverence today. So, it really should not be a surprise that Redford has done a comic book movie.
The wonderful Colbie Smulders reprises her role as Maria Hill Agent of Shield, which should also be the name her new show on Disney plus. You know Colbie from How I Met Your Mother, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and the short-lived series Stumptown. I loved Stumptown and I am convinced it was COVID that killed that show. Anyway, Agent hill shows up just when we think all is lost and breaks our team out of Hydra custody and is crucial in solving the entire mystery with our gang.
Anthony Mackie plays Sam Wilson the falcon. He does this so perfectly. Just the right amount of confidence at what he does and seems to understand he may not be as strong or enhanced as Cap, but he is just as good. I think he will make a great Captain America in the new movie. So excited to see if they keep the conspiracy theory genre for his movies as well. fingers crossed. You know Mackie from all the marvel stuff obviously, but he was also in the Hurt Locker, Adjustment Bureau, and a season of Altered Carbon. He will be excellent in the new captain America movie.
Sebastian Stan plays the winter solider, the title villain. is that a thing? He has been brain washed and frozen to only be used when needed to shape the events in Hydra’s favor. He has interacted with Black Widow in the past as well as Tony Stark’s Father, and many others if we really dug into it. He delivers this role wonderfully. You might think there is not too much to do playing this sort of blank dead eyed assassin, but I bet that is a lot tougher than you think it was. He is even great Falcon and the Winter Soldier so you should check that out on Disney plus. I always say that one slow as I always think of Falcon and the Snowman movie from the eighties. Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn selling secrets to the Russians. Another good one to check out if you have not seen it yet. you know Sebastian Stan from the Covenant, the Martian, and a series only lasting one season Kings. I think this one was a victim of the 08 collapse. Modern Day monarchy set in a fictional world. I really enjoyed that show when it was on, and he was excellent in it playing the Heir to the throne.
I honestly thought this was as close to a black widow movie as we were going to get. Here we get Scarlet Johansen as Black Widow. She plays this role to perfection I would love to see her in this part for several films and shows. she is that girl in the group that is just one of the guys, and if you really pay attention not many of the guys can compete at her level. I love her energy with this. The banter with Cap on trying to find him a date, the way she acts so flippant about all of it, but she is definitely taking it very seriously. You really do not see how serious she is until you see her trying so hard to keep it all together in Endgame. Excellent. You also know her from Ghost World, Ghost in the Shell, and Hail Caesar as well as several other projects. She has had a decent career in indie pics before landing her role in Iron Man 2. Very under-utilized character in marvel movies and shows as well under-utilized actress. I would hope these changes somehow.
Chris Evans has gone from playing Johnny Storm to Captain America, what a shift. I can hardly imagine anyone else as Captain America that is how good he is in this role. True to himself and his principles which is what you need in Captain America. The ending when he is fighting with the Winter Soldier but will not fight because they are friends. I mean what else do you really need here. Great performance and I can wait to see what else he will be in. you may have already seen him in Street Kings, Knives out, and of course the fantastic four movies.
Like I said this is my favorite of the marvel movies. I can always watch this one. the way these conspiracies are woven together to create an ultimate conspiracy is beautiful. I mean this movie shows the very definition of “It’s Complicated”. The other thing I love here is what a mixed ending. Yes, our team defeats the bad guys and saves the day, but the bad guys have already done so much damage that I doubt they ever get back to normal. As a matter of fact, we know they never actually get back to normal. Shield is destroyed by Hydra which leaves us vulnerable to the myriad of threats coming at us most, of all the arrival of Thanos. I always seem to start with winter soldier then I need to see Age of Ultron and Civil War. This seems like such a trilogy for me.
Great movie obviously most of you have seen and I am sure we all know it can be found over at Disney plus.
This one is definitely a classic. You know they say pop culture only lasts two generations and I think Soylent Green straddles the line between boomer and Gen X. Soylent Green also looks forward from the seventies which I always love. The hopes and dreams or even the anxieties and worries of a generation looking forward. As is with most good conspiracies you are only fully aware at the end when you see all the pieces of the puzzle, usually when our protagonist gets all figured out. If you have not seen this one you need to it is on VUDU for rent and for sale.
So, I have always heard that pop culture only last about two generations. So simply put things my father watched with my grandfather would be out of favor by the time my father tried sharing it with me. Yeah, that was convoluted. Early days westerns were everywhere. Amazingly simple to produce but also taps into that westward movement that would have been a generation removed from my grandfather. So, when my grandfather watched things, he was focused on the western. This would have been shared with my father. That bond of westerns would hold. Look at the early days of television and you see a ton of westerns were produced. This is what my father grew up on. This would be a foreign concept to gen X. we arrived at world that was explored and conquered. We have to go to space or the bottom of the ocean for our frontiers. These stories hold true in the media. A decline in westerns from the fifties through the eighties.
Why all this? Well Soylent green has a lot of great actors, many of whom I do not know as this film was towards the end of their careers. This film features Edward G. Robinson, you might know him from those gangster movies set in the depression, and many made in the depression. He was in Little Caesar, Key Largo with Bogart, and the Stranger. All really good films; however, they are so far removed from the current style and presentation that for many they may not hold up. In Soylent Green Robinson plays a retired detective who helps out our protagonist on solving cases. He also provides us a link to the time before things were so bad.
Charlton Heston plays our protagonist. He is a detective solving crimes, or at least trying to. You know Heston from Planet of the Apes, Ben-Hur, and Omega Man, the second movie made from the novel I am legend. The third being the one with Will Smith. The first is the 1964 Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price. In Soylent Green Heston is called in to investigate a murder. Seems like your run of the mill robbery gone wrong. However, it is revealed our victim was an important person and was clearly assassinated. This is determined when Heston notices nothing was stolen, except what he took while investigating. Now I do not mean he was collecting evidence I mean he was stealing items, a bar of soap, fresh meat, some books, and other incidentals. Heston lives in this decayed world and has no knowledge of the before times. His only link to this is through Edward G Robinson. This is their bond and relationship.
Chuck Connors who most will know from Old Yeller, The Rifleman, and Gen X will know him from the slasher movie Tourist Trap. He is private security for our deceased. He is a prime suspect but is also working to kill off our detective. He is at odds with Heston who does eventually get the better of him.
All these actors, and really everyone in the film, has had a wonderful career. This was towards the end for many of them. So, moving forward a lot of us would not know or recognize beyond the titles of things they had done.
The world we live in is, well, now. It is set in 2022, I love when we catch up to sci fi. I like to look and see how close we are. Now I am glad to say we are not that close to Soylent Green, yet. the world has been ravaged from the effects of climate change. Much leave in overcrowded buildings with an armed guard at the front. The wealthier you are the better you are standing. You get access to fresh fruits and vegetables and do not have to eat the nutrient crackers produced by the Soylent company. Blue was plankton and now that is running low, so we have to innovate once more. The new popular soylent product is Soylent green. There is a scene where the distribution center runs out and a small riot ensues. People are hungry and will not stop till they get what they need. Society is clearly breaking down, and all of this is traced back to the environmental issues as they are tied to not only food but also wealth.
Robinson’s character dies, volunteers to die, and Heston follows his body to the processing center. This is where he discovers where exactly Soylent Green comes from. And this leads to the end of the film where Heston is trying to warn everyone what they are eating. This ends the film. We do not know if they stop producing Soylent Green, we do not know if people even care. Hunger will make you eat all manner of things.
The entire film feels like it leads to this. There seems to be no real direction. Yes, we are trying to solve a murder that no one seems to want solved. What we are really seeing is an in depth look at the world we are living in. this is like a warning to the audience “if you do not change this is where you are going”. The corrupt police and politicians, the huddled hungry masses fighting each other from scraps, and a world where no one really seems to care beyond being able to eat and live. It is a very bleak out look on the future. Remember this was made back in 1973. It is a very dark time in America. Crime is up, and really at the start of that. we have an energy crisis with oil prices starting to climb, they almost triple in this period. World hunger is now an issue on top of the environmental concerns. This was a very dark period so our look forward would be very dark. Just a few years earlier we were working towards landing on the moon, and we got our first star trek, which showed a hopeful future. This shows how quick it all turned, and how quick it all can turn. Just under a decade we went from the hopeful future of Gene Rodenberry’s wagon train to the stars to this much darker less hopeful tomorrow. Which of course gives me hope that when we get dark, as a species or society, it will not take much to turn it around to a more hopeful tomorrow. This is a great sociological look at what they thought the world would be like today. I enjoy this on that level as well as the mystery we get to see unfold very naturally. I would definitely recommend watching this.
Capricorn One is the type of conspiracy movie that gives you everything upfront. You know it all and now you are just waiting for to all come to light. Which is an entirely different tension. Again, we got an excellent cast and great writing. Not to mention this movie helped to reinforce a belief in a conspiracy theory that was already out in the open. This is a must watch for anyone who loves a good conspiracy.
We start the same as any other space-based movie in the post Apollo era. We got wonderful shots of a sunrise behind the capsule. Everybody is busy in mission control. We got lots of blinking lights in a dark room, you can hear the sound of tape drives engaging. There is even an undercurrent of the teletype machines that used to be so prevalent. All this takes place as we get basic flight ops information voiced over these shots. It feels like you are in the middle of all this. The viewer is clearly part of the team, more of an omniscient observer really. Exterior shots of the countdown clock tick off as we see the crowd out front to witness the launch.as we get to about the three-minute mark and all the astronauts were strapped down and locked in. all systems go. We are ready for our historical launch to put humans on mars. A frantic sound as the capsule is pried open and the astronauts are urged to come right away. There is an issue, a safety issue. Something is not right. We see our astronauts boarding a van then a helicopter then a jet all shot as we see the capsule launch. There was no emergency. Everything went just fine. What is going on here?
When the Astronauts arrive at their earthly destination they are put in a small room, and it is al revealed to them. There was a problem with life support they would have died enroute to mars. Dead astronauts in a time when all we needed were wins. We could not have a loss in the space program as this would shut it all down. This was the only way. The astronauts are to remain on base until the end of their mission when they will be put back into the capsule and retrieved as if nothing had gone wrong. They would appear in all of the television appearances from mars and from orbit to sell this to the public, but we were not going to put them on mars for real until we could actually work it out. Our boy scouts agree, reluctantly, to carry out this ruse. It all goes swimmingly until, like every good plan, it does not. Our first indication to the world something is up when a technician notices he has errant readings. The capsule’s telemetry is all running correctly but the broadcast images are showing as only being three hundred miles away. It can’t be. It is clearly faulty equipment, or so we think until this technician goes missing. Not only does he go missing it looks like he never existed. His apartment has been lived in by someone else for over a year. There is no record of him working on the Capricorn mission, or even at NASA for that matter. Poof he is just gone. This is what starts to set off the investigation into this false landing on mars. The next big issue comes when the capsule is in reentry and the heat shield separates. Now they have to kill all three astronauts. This is when they escape and try to return home to tell everyone what has happened. This is all put together and layered so wonderfully that you have no choice, but o be caught in the middle of the action. There is not a lot of action in this movie. It is a lot of talky talky and not a lot of car chases or shoot outs, but you feel the action and the tension as you watch. You watch the movie not the clock, other than trying to figure out how this is going to wrap up in that small of amount of time.
First up fresh off of his run as Deep Throat in All the President’s Men we got Hal Holbrook. He is our head scientist. Capricorn is his life’s work, and he will stop at nothing to succeed in this mission. It is important, not just to him, but to all of mankind. With this thinking he can justify anything. It is all about the greater good. You know Hal Holbrook from a couple episodes of West Wing as well as Creep Show. He plays the professor who sends his wife under the stairs to get eaten by the thing in the crate. That movie really got me when I was younger. He was also in Star Chamber. I swear in the seventies and eighties if you needed someone who would project as being in charge and yet working from the shadows Hal Holbrook is your guy. He is wonderful here as well, as always.
First up on the flight crew is O.J. Simpson. He plays a really two-dimensional character here. There is not a lot of screen time or dialogue for him in this one. you know OJ from …well let’s see those car rental commercials, his football and sports casting career, and also from the Naked Gun movies. I loved that show, police squad, when it was on. It did like six episodes and was never heard from again. What else was O.J. known for? I feel like I might be forgetting something. Oh well it will come to me.
Sam Waterston is also on our flight crew. He is the one that is always telling jokes. Remember that guy? Not too many of them around, if you are lucky enough to have the joke around your office enjoy that. I got a guy I work with he has heard every joke, told every joke. Former bartender so you won’t get much past him. I have even gone to him with just a punchline and he knew the whole joke. Where do you know Sam Waterston from? Well, most of us will know him as Jack McCoy on Law and Order. He was also on Newsroom over at HBO. If you like West Wing you need to check this one out. He was also in the Killing Fields as well. A very well credited actor underrated if I may say.
James Brolin, Thanos’s dad, plays our flight lead. He is also the first one to get out a message to his wife about what is going on. Although she does not realize it until later. He is our hero. You know James Brolin from The Amityville Horror, West World, and who could forget his series from the eighties Hotel. Brolin is the one who decides they need to participate in the cover up. Then he is the one who decides they need to get away as obviously something has gone wrong. He determines that they are going to kill them if the do not escape. He has the idea of scattering the three of them in different directions to find civilization and break this thing wide open. He is in charge and directs all this for the astronauts.
Now with this being in the seventies post-Watergate and Woodward and Bernstein, we have to have a plucky reporter and we get one from Elliot Gould. He is our driven reporter who starts to put the pieces together. Of course, it takes his friend going missing and his car almost killing him for Gould to really get into gear and start investigating but nonetheless he does get out there and get it done. You know Elliot Gould as Mr. Gellar on friends, Monica and Ross’s dad, as well as playing Trapper John in the movie MASH. He was also in the ocean movies with Brad Pitt and crew. A wonderful actor of his right and excellent here in this movie.
When we landed on the moon almost a third of the country did not believe we did it. My scoutmaster told me that when he was in elementary school his teacher told him we could not get to the moon because there was not enough railroad track to get there. Many believed that the radiation in space would have cooked the astronauts. There were tons of people with logical, and sometimes comical, reasons for why we could not have traveled to the moon. This movie comes out and people point to it to say this is people who faked the moon landing telling us it was faked by making this movie. So many moving parts for a conspiracy of that size. Remember Ben Franklin? A secret can be kept between three people so long as two are dead. I have given up on conspiracy theories. Yes, they are fun and entertaining, but they do more harm than good.
Capricorn One is a good movie, it is an excellent conspiracy theory movie. You need to see this. This is modern suspense down very well. you can find it for sale at Amazon iTunes, most of the usual suspects there. It is free on Freevee Roku and Tubi if you’d rather got that direction.
in conspiracy theory movies there are a few types. Condor is the puzzle to be solved. We get just enough to keep us going but not enough to figure it all out until, well, we are supposed to. This takes a bit of writing and planning to pull off. The cast here is also excellent. Great performances all around. No one feels out of place or wedged in. the pacing is also very well done. So many times, you get this purposefully slow movie as if that is all that is needed to create tension. An excellent movie, even if some of it starts to feel a little dated and out of place. Definitely worth the watch.
When watching conspiracy movies there are several types to deal with. First is where you do not know there is even a conspiracy until the end. Our hero would be willfully ignorant until they are hit in the face with an abundance of evidence. Very much like Soylent Green where you do not know until the reveal at the end. The other type is you know exactly what is happening and are along to see how it plays out, like Capricorn 1. We know all about it and now we are waiting for it to be exposed to the public. The third is the puzzle. We are given a bunch of information and then we have to put the pieces together. Three days of the condor does just that. we get a ton of information, the big piece we are missing through out much of the film is why, and this is usually the piece we miss.
The film starts off normal enough with character introductions. Clearly, we are working at some sort of CIA front hiding in plain sight. Not necessarily spies but CIA none the less. I love telling my students about all the jobs the CIA does and showing them the CIA world fact book online. They think it is all spies, Jack Ryan and James Bond, they do not realize how much research is involved in understanding the countries of the world. We are working in a research facility, not lab coats normal people. Not really normal very smart people they read books. Books about everything. They are looking for leaks from operations and new ideas for the various tasks to be carried out by operatives in the field. Very noisy. Lots of old style tele types cranking out in the background. Everybody is reading and inputting books into computer data bases. It all looks so high tech, well from the seventies. They take this mundane task and make it look so busy and important. One of our readers heads out to pick up lunch for everyone. We can tell he is the subversive of the group. It’s the seventies so there were many people who had these conspiracy ideas and were weary of the government and Turner is such a person. Now he is not looking to overthrow the government he just does not understand all the cloak and dagger surrounding his particular job. While out getting lunch there is a breach at the office and everyone is killed. Turner discovers this upon his return and quickly flees the scene on foot. He calls in, as he is supposed to do, and we quickly see how much he does not know. We have been shown that Turner is very bright in all he is doing, but when he has discovered all his co workers have been murdered and he has to call in on an unsecured line we see he violates protocol in all sorts of ways. His really seems to make the character very relatable. So many times, I see these types of movies where the normal average person is put under stress and rises to the occasion. I know for me to discover all my coworkers murdered would lead to my immediate murder as well. No way I could hold it together enough to get armed, get out, and get help. I would freeze in fear and just scream. Turner does not. He does get armed get out and gets help, or so he thinks. He calls in, and they set up a meet to bring him. This is a double cross. They kill Turner’s friend and Turner shoots the man who was sent to kill him. Now Turner is alone, and we can see his wheels start cranking as he tries to put this all together. This is a puzzle for him to figure out.
The cast here is excellent. Max Von Sydow plays Joubert. He is our hired assassin that does government wet work. He was present when the office was hit. He will try several times to kill Turner. He is the classic East German looking henchman. You know long trench coat, black umbrella, and the hat, you know not the full Indiana Jones fedora but that vaguely European short brimmed small feather in the band hat. Every conspiracy movie has to have this character, and I honestly think it should always be played by Max Von Sydow. Now you know Max Von Sydow from a ton of projects. He was in Flash Gordan as Emperor Ming, Exorcist II Heretic, Star Wars the Force awakens, and Strange Brew. I love Strange Brew. If you have not seen it this is a film with Bob and Doug Mackenzie sketch from Second City tv. An absolute beer fueled comedy. Think Harrold and Kumar Go to White Castle but with beer in stead of weed. A wonderful performance from Max Von Sydow here. He is focused and it is a job, not personal. I can not say enough great things about him in this role.
Faye Dunaway plays Kathy. She is the civilian that gets caught up in this plot. Another must have character for this kind of conspiracy movie. She knows nothing and is Turner’s hostage. He has grabbed her form a store where she was shopping. He just needs a place to figure this all out. He has it down that they are looking for him, so they know where he goes. You know Faye Dunaway from Chinatown, Network, and Barfly to name just a few. An excellent performance here.
Robert Redford plays Turner. He is the analyst trying to figure out this whole thing. He is shown as smart. There is line about him having read everything. He is uniquely positioned to put all this together and this is what we see. Honestly this character feels very similar to the character he played in Sneakers. As though that could be a spiritual sequel to condor. I like sneakers such a good movie. What else do we know Redford from? He was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Natural, and All the President’s men. Seriously a ton of other things too. He was also in Spy Game which I can not say enough good things about. Prolific but you already know that since your brain is screaming out your favorite Redford roles right now.
Three Days of the Condor is a wonderfully crafted conspiracy film. Nothing comes at you from nowhere. If any character does a thing, you have already seen them do something similar or it has been referenced that they could do it. the pacing is wonderful. About the time we have this piece figured out we open up a new question to solve. Just wonderful writing. My one criticism is the sex scene. I am not even sure why this was put in or how it was allowed even in the seventies. She is his hostage. Yes, she is starting to believe what he is saying, and the relationship is movie away from the hostage situation that it is, but at the point where the sex scene happens it has not moved away enough. It seems a bit much and really not necessary for what we are doing. I am by no means a prude, I have always felt like this was no necessary to our story or plot, and really does detract, for me at least, from another wise excellent film.
Definitely going to recommend you see this movie, warts and all. It is an excellent example of what a conspiracy movie should be. It is the template for so many that follow it. I mean the first Mission Impossible movie seems to follow this step by step. Find and watch it. currently it is available on Paramount Plus and amazon with a subscription. If you do not have those services, then you will need to find at VUDU and most of the other places you buy it digitally.
This one scares the hell out of me and always has. This is the most realistic conspiracy theory movie out there for me. The story is incredibly realistic in its base and how it unfolds. Another wonderful cast with great writing. The real-world setting seems to enhance this one moving forward. I love this movie so much my teeth hurt. So, while it is still safe let’s jump into it.
Most of us will not be super soldiers exposing the corruption of a government organization just in time. We will never be a future cop who stumbles across a hard corporate choice. I know most of us will not be astronauts who get caught up in a web of lies and destruction. Personally, I will never be the super smart subversive reading books for the CIA to use in one form or another, although I think I worked with that guy for a while. What I do know is there is a good chance some one from ,y past, a friend or relative, could get me entangled into a plot of international importance or just trying to get to some money someone has squirreled away. Marathon Man does just this.
This entire movie happens because of a simple twist of fate and road rage. We have a man checking a safety deposit box. He leaves the bank and gets into his car where he has an altercation with another driver. Don’t you love New York of the seventies. You yell and scream at each other then go your separate ways when the light turns green. Not here. This altercation continues to escalate with a car chase and an explosion killing both drivers. This is the opening. What is happening here?
We cut to Europe where we see another character being followed. I love these following scenes. I love scenes with very deliberate use of spy craft. Our agent is being followed and he knows it. he is watching through windows, side glances, and stopping at newsstands. He has a delivery to make, and he is going to make it. of course, when he arrives at the meeting, we discover he is three days late and the person he was meeting with was surprised to see him. Did he order him followed and killed? Did he know who does? Does not matter as we now set another meet for another time later.
Next, we see a young man running. We hear a siren and see smoke. Clearly this is the wreck from earlier. Our runner stops to look and then back on track. He is challenged by another runner, and they race for a distance before our guy slows down and calls it off. He is grad student, and we see him in class discussing his thesis.
It seems very odd to put all these things together and you even wonder how any of these things relate. First off, our guy in Europe is related to our runner. They are brothers. Our man in Europe has been smuggling diamonds and gold out from former NAZIS. Yeah, early seventies there were still actual bonified NAZIs in this world. Like you know WWII NAZIs not the I don’t like your opinion NAZIs. And the man checking his safety deposit box at the beginning was another NAZI storing these ill-gotten goods.
That is what this story is plain and simple. There is gold and jewels, wealth, ill gotten wealth and now someone wants to retrieve this wealth. However, with the accident and other events that occur we need to know if it is still safe to acquire this wealth. Yep, money truly is the root of all evil and this film shows that wonderfully.
Our cast of characters here are very rich and wonderfully played. We start with the love interest. Marthe Keller plays Elsa. She and our hero begin dating during this story. I do not recall if she was a plant or a legitimate civilian. I do know it is discovered that she was not entirely honest about who she was or where she was from. Claiming to be from Belgium it is later revealed she is actually German. This throws a wrench into everything. Looking over IMDB and her career is mostly European films throughout.
Next up we have one of the most iconic film characters of all time. The very face you see in your mind when you hear the phrase “Is it safe” I am talking about Sir Lawrence Olivier. He plays our lead NAZI Szell. He has escaped after the war has remained hidden while collecting back all the riches, he was able to steal during the war. This character has single handedly done more harm to dentistry than any other film character out there. His calm delivery in most of the stressful scenes really adds to the tension. You know this guy has done this before and left to his own devices will do this countless more times. This is not personal. Our young hero has information, Szell needs this information. He’d do this to his own mother if she had information. It is just a job, which don’t make it right, but it is what it is. Now what do you know Sir Lawrence from? He was in The Bounty, he was Zeus in the original Clash of the Titans, and also in The Boys from Brazil, another Nazi heavy movie and worth the watch.
Before he sold gold on Fox News William Devane was an actual actor. Obviously, he was an actor they really don’t get nobodies to sell gold on television. you know him from Space Cowboys, a season of 24, and Knots Landing. He plays the side kick to our agent form Europe. He is the partner. He is the one who tells our hero everything about his own brother and asks to use our hero as a form of bait. Very untrustworthy character but the way it played you feel like he is untrustworthy because he is a secret agent and we do not trust any of those here.
Roy Scheider, Jaws, Blue Thunder, Listen to Me, and French Connection, plays the brother of our hero. He is our agent in Europe. He discovers his European contact has been killed prior to their meet, he is also attacked in his hotel room, and then decides to return home to see his brother. Which implicates the brother in this entire scheme. This is why I say these scares me to no end. All our hero did was see his brother, and now he has all this to deal with.
Our hero is played by Dustin Hoffman. Fresh off of All the Presidents men he turns in another great performance here. Now I have not seen Ishtar, but I also can not think of a bad Dustin Hoffman role that I have seen. he was in Tootsie, The Graduate, Rain Man, and Midnight Cowboy. He is marathon runner, get the title now? I am little disappointed that he does not seem to have to run for an extended period of time. In these movies back in the day we used to get an intro that gave us some background on our hero. You’d see him engaged in an activity and then you knew later on this was going to figure in prominently. Here he does some running but I do not think he does any more than anyone else. The entire point of most of this movie is trying to find out if before his death, did Sheider’s character reveal anything to his brother. Is it safe? Olivier’s character already paranoid that Sheider was planning to rob him wants to know if he can still get to his diamonds or does he need to change plans. All of this centers around greed.
I love seeing old New York in movies and television. now I have never been to New York in person, only through movies and television. I love how, for the longest time, New York was the most dangerous city in America. Dirty streets, crime running through the sewers, everyone out for themselves. The whole thing is very grey to see. These films seem to convey that in how they are shot. I love how New York is presented. Yes, it is dangerous, no you should not go if you are faint of heart, however, like the song says, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. You really get that from this film. Those who survive this ordeal will no doubt survive much longer lives because of it. I think I would like to see a sequel or reboot or something of this. Not sure if modern audience could handle a quiet deliberately paced action movie but I’d like to think we could handle it.
Those are my five conspiracy films. Did miss yours? I am sure I have since most of the seventies were these kinds of films. Speak up on social media with the hashtag that and a dollar podcast. Please follow me on twitter at @thatandadollar. I am also on Instagram at @a_guy_named_chuck . Also feel free to check out the the podcast, That and a Dollar…, where ever you listen to podcasts. if you’d like to support this one-man operation leave me a tip at buymeacoffee.com/thatandadollar. I am guy named chuck and that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.
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