Arrow Video, with
domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group,
sets a long-lead for the Blu-ray debut of director Fred Zinnemann’s summer of
1973 film adaptation of Frederick Forsyth best-selling thriller, The Day
of the Jackal.
The street date selected
by Arrow Video is Sept. 25.
This amazing thriller
about an attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle was
based on a book that no one wanted to publish.
Rejected! Rejected! Four times, by major publishers, rejected!
Finally, when it was published
it was a monster! Naturally, a film
needed to be made and director Fred Zinnemann (Best Director for A Man
for All Seasons and From Here to Eternity … plus
nominations for Julia, The Sundowners, The Nun’s Story, High Noon and The
Search) landed the directing assignment, with production by
Oscar-winner John Woolf (Best Picture-winner for Oliver! … also nominated
from his production of Room at the Top).
Forsyth did a draft
adaptation of his novel, which was ultimately taken over for a rewrite by
Kenneth Ross (The Odessa File, Black Sunday, The Jackal, etc.). Meanwhile, Universal Pictures first thought
was to have a high-profile American actor play the Jackal, which saw discussions
with both Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson, but ultimately it was decided to
stick with the French-English tie-in outline in Forsyth’s novel.
Edward Fox (Gandhi,
A Bridge Too Far, A Doll's House, The Go-Between, etc.) was ultimately
chosen for the role of the British assassin, which was inspired. As they say, the rest is history.
Bonus Materials include a
newly-prepared video session with Neil Sinyard, author of “Fred Zinnemann:
Films of Character and Conscience” and two archival clips from the film set,
which include an interview with filmmaker Fred Zinnemann.
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