I was wrong about the original Jackal not taking risks though - he did. He wasn't as clinical as I'd remembered. Bedding the posh lady in the hotel and back at her estate, for one thing. And lots of the plot/getaways in the film relied on delays in information exchange by the French authorities (a sign of the older times, I guess).
It's a really cracking thriller though, edge-of-the-seat stuff, every bit as good as I remembered. The Jackal is so cool, calm, collected (mostly) in a Simon Templar (The Saint) kind of way! It's thrilling, chilling, comic in places, beautifully shot, scripted, acted by all. There's very little really to not like. If I'm nit-picking, however...
It was a bit spoiled by many of the French officials being played by frightfully British actors, not even trying not to sound frightfully British! Ha. Anyway, each of these productions had their own pros/cons. The recent TV show showed how utterly ruthless the character can be, but also, unlike the original, susceptible to the trappings, loyalties and demands of a family around him.
Speaking of Bond, I do wonder why Edward Fox wasn't in the running to play him at some point. Perhaps he was. Bond Maestro Gareth Myles tells me that he played M in Never Say Never Again (1983). Anyway, the recent TV show is a real cracker but don't forget the original film here, based on the Frederick Forsyth character/novel of the same name, and perhaps revisit it like I did. I doubt you'd regret it.
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