Welcome to another episode of Section F – our Spy Movie Podcast track on Spybrary. Our Section F handpicked hosts and guests discuss their favourite spy movies both the classics and the hidden gems of spy films. Today Section F delve into Three Days of the Condor (1975) starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway and directed by Sidney Pollack.
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In Episode 270, Shane is joined by Michael, Jonathan, and debut guest Pierce to delve deep into Three Days of the Condor (1975), directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford.
Three Days Of The Condor – Episode Summary
The team begins with a spoiler-free introduction to the film's plot and style, helping newcomers decide if it's their kind of spy movie. Then they dive into a rich, spoiler-heavy discussion covering historical context, casting choices, character analysis, plot structure, and the film's legacy in spy cinema. They also compare the movie to James Grady's novel Six Days of the Condor and debate the effectiveness of the movie's ambiguous ending.
⏱ Timestamps & Segments
00:00 – Intro & nostalgia: joining Section F
01:41 – Introduction to Three Days of the Condor (spoiler-free)
04:16 – Comparison: Bourne/Bond vs. Le Carré-style suspense
05:36 – Movie premise without spoilers
08:04 – First impressions post-credits
11:58 – Transition into spoilers
12:28 – Turning point: sudden action sequence hits
15:26 – The appeal of the “innocent man on the run” trope
18:58 – Context: 1970s America post-Watergate & oil crises
22:49 – New York as a cinematic character
24:32 – That ambiguous ending and '70s cinema style
26:38 – Casting Robert Redford: perfect or misfit?
32:36 – The romance subplot: valid or forced?
35:50 – Comparing book vs. film
37:14 – Joubert: the assassin as gray man
43:14 – Favorite lines and memorable quotes
55:18 – Final spy film ratings (out of five trench coats)
59:30 – Closing & community shoutout
Key Themes – Three Days Of The Condor
- The cerebral, slow-burn nature of classic spy thrillers
- Post-Watergate distrust and the intelligence community as antagonist
- The gray morality of espionage work and bureaucratic evil
- The man-on-the-run as a spy fiction staple
- Character dualities: Turner as everyman, Joubert as the emotionless operator
- Dissecting the tension between plot and romantic subplot
- 1970s New York and urban paranoia in cinema
🔗 Resources & Links
Join the Spybrary Facebook Community
Six Days of the Condor by James Grady
Three Days Of The Condor DVD
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Panel/Guest Lineup:
- Host: Shane Whaley
- Guests:
- – Section F
- Michael Huie – Section F
- Jonathan Melville – Author and Film Critic
- R Pierce Reid – is a Norwich Alumni with a Masters in Military history. He began his career in marketing which led to working in psychological operations and military information operations. He served as a speaker and later MC of the Norwich University InfoOps Symposium during the late '90's and early 2000's. He has published and consulted on Information Warfare since the early 2000's. He is currently retired from industry and defense and Chairs the Friends of The Norwich Military Writers Symposium and occasionally lectures on psychological warfare at Norwich.
Call to Action:
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More About Three Days of the Condor
Three Days of the Condor is a 1975 American spy thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow.[3] The screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel was based on the 1974 novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady.[3]
Set mainly in New York City and Washington, D.C., the film is about a bookish CIA researcher who comes back from lunch one day to discover his co-workers murdered, then subsequently tries to avoid his own murder and outwit those responsible and understand their motives. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Semple and Rayfiel received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
Looking for more spy movie content then check out Section F's treatment of Funeral in Berlin and The Third Man starring Orson Welles.
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