The Day of the Jackal (film)

"Kenneth Ross (screenwriter)" redirects here. For the Australian playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist, see Kenneth G. Ross.
For the 2024 British TV series, see The Day of the Jackal (TV series).

The Day of the Jackal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFred Zinnemann
Screenplay byKenneth Ross
Based onThe Day of the Jackal
by Frederick Forsyth
Produced byJohn Woolf
Starring
CinematographyJean Tournier
Edited byRalph Kemplen
Music byGeorges Delerue[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • 16 May 1973 (1973-05-16) (New York premiere)
  • 14 June 1973 (1973-06-14) (U.K.)
  • 14 September 1973 (1973-09-14) (France)
Running time
142 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • France
LanguageEnglish
Box office$16,056,255

The Day of the Jackal is a 1973 political thriller film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth, the film is about a professional assassin known only as the "Jackal" who is hired to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963.[2][3]

A co-production of the United Kingdom and France,[1] the film stars Edward Fox as the Jackal, with Michael Lonsdale, Derek Jacobi, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel, Tony Britton, Cyril Cusack, Maurice Denham and Delphine Seyrig. The musical score was composed by Georges Delerue.

The Day of the Jackal received positive reviews and went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Editing (Ralph Kemplen), five additional BAFTA Award nominations (including Best Film and Best Direction), two Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Oscar nomination. The film grossed $16,056,255 at the North American box office,[4] returning $8,525,000 in rentals to the studio.[5] The British Film Institute ranked it the 74th greatest British film of the 20th century.[6]

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  6. ^ British Film Institute - Top 100 British Films (1999). Retrieved 27 October 2017