History Film / ThreeDaysOfTheCondor

* ColdWar: Higgins justifies what happens because "The [[DirtyCommunists other side]] plays games too."

!!''Three Days of the Condor'' provides examples of:

* [[LondonEnglandSyndrome Washington DC Syndrome]]: Turner asks a phone operator for the Washington area code, then quickly appends that with "D.C.".

* WorldWarII: Mentioned in-film by Houseman's CIA boss. He reminisces about serving in both the great wars and laments "I miss that kind of clarity."

* ConspicuousAgent: Joubert's trenchcoat practicallly screams "bad guy".

''Three Days of the Condor'' is a 1975 political thriller starring Creator/RobertRedford, Creator/FayeDunaway, Creator/CliffRobertson and Creator/MaxVonSydow.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Averted when Joubert comes across Turner holding someone at gunpoint -- he tells Turner to put the thumb of his free hand under the hammer of his pistol before lowering it. As the Colt M1911 he's holding is a single-action weapon (it can't fire unless cocked first) this not only prevents accidental discharge but also has the same effect as putting the safety catch on.

* PunchClockVillian: Joubert. He certainly doesn't seem to relish his work so much as the odd freedom it provides.

* AffablyEvil: Joubert. He comes to respect Turner after his various escape attempts. [[spoiler: And after killing Atwood instead of Turner, Joubert even offers Turner friendly advice, a ride to the train station... and even a gun.]]

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Averted when Joubert comes across Turner holding someone at gunpoint -- he tells Turner to put his thumb under the hammer of his pistol before lowering it. As the Colt M1911 he's holding is a single-action weapon (it can't fire unless cocked first) this not only prevents accidental discharge but also has the same effect as putting the safety catch on.
* BadassBookworm: Turner goes from being a meek researcher who reads books all day into a CrazyPrepared field operative able to outfox a trained assassin like Joubert. [[LampshadeHanging His background as a bookworm]] is why the CIA boss played by John Houseman thinks Turner will be able to evade both his would-be executioners and the CIA itself.
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:It looks like Joubert is going to shoot Turner, but he kills Atwood instead. Turner then naturally assumes he'll be next, but Joubert just offers him a lift as no-one has ordered him to kill Turner]]

* CorruptBureaucrat: [[spoiler: Atwood.]]

* DisposableWoman: Janice, Turner's almost-girlfriend. Subverted in the sense that she's not the ''sole'' motivating factor - his whole office and friend serve that purpose.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: Janice looks up from her work to see three men pointing silenced Ingrams at her.
-->'''Joubert:''' [[AffablyEvil Would you please]] step away from the window.

Mild-mannered researcher Joe Turner (Redford) works for [[{{CIA}} Central Intelligence Agency]] in a small building in New York, reading book after book to review their plots to see if they either contain elements that may be similar to ongoing covert operations or else be useful ideas for the CIA to employ. One day during the holiday season Turner steps out of the office to grab his co-workers lunch at a nearby deli... during which a hit squad led by Joubert (von Sydow) enters the office and kills Turner's co-workers (and love interest Janice). Terrified, Turner calls in the deaths to his CIA handlers, who issue his code name 'Condor' and order him to follow procedures for pick-up and debriefing. In the process, things keep getting messier and Turner begins to worry that his own employer the CIA is trying to murder him.

* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: When Turner is talking to Kathy. (The idea being that neither of them think it's a good idea at this point).

* DisposableWoman: Janice, Turner's almost-girlfriend.

* StockholmSyndrome: Kathy's decision to sleep with Turner clearly has elements of this. [[spoiler:Until an assassin bursts into her home the next day, she has no reason to believe that anything Turner says is true.]] The squick is toned down when he connects his earlier observation that her photographs have a fleeting, "November; not Autumn, not Winter, in between" element to them, to her interest in people.

* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: When Turner is talking to Kathy..

* DeadlyDelivery: The CIA analyst office where Turner works has its own security -- CCTV cameras, locked doors, a guard -- even the receptionist has a gun in the drawer. The killers get inside by sending in a man dressed as a postman, and as the place gets regular deliveries of books this doesn't seem strange. [[spoiler:The postman killer tries the same trick on the protagonist later on, but this time he's ready.]]

* GenreSavvy (InUniverse): Turner, due to his [[ButIReadABookAboutIt constant reading of action novels and comics as part of his job]].

* StockholmSyndrome: Kathy's decision to sleep with Turner clearly has elements of this. [[spoiler:Until an assassin bursts into her home the next day, she has no reason to believe that anything Turner says is true.]]

''Three Days of the Condor'' is a 1975 political thriller starring RobertRedford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson and Creator/MaxVonSydow.

''Three Days of the Condor'' is a 1975 political thriller starring RobertRedford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson and Max Von Sydow.

* SpannerInTheWorks: The only reason Turner survived the massacre was because it was raining, so he goes out the back way to get lunch. As the assasins assume he's still in the building, they go ahead with their plan.

* SniperPistol: Joubert uses a silenced and scoped Broomhandle Mauser at one stage.

* HeelFaceTurn: Inverted. [[spoiler: Joubert kills Atwood only because The Company hired him back. But while Joubert claims he doesn't kill Turner at the end because The Company didn't figure on Joubert finding Turner at Atwood's home, the assassin seems genuinely relieved he doesn't have to kill him.]]
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Joubert [[spoiler:makes it look like Atwood's death is suicide.]]

:: [[spoiler:Also it's suggested that Turner will eventually be killed too, as he is unwilling to flee the country as Joubert advises.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: With eight innocent people dead all because of what Higgins calls "a war game," Turner reveals to Higgins that Turner had told everything to the ''New York Times.'' But as Turner walks away...]]

** [[spoiler:Also it's suggested that Turner will eventually be killed too, as he is unwilling to flee the country as Joubert advises.]]
* EverybodysDeadDave: The protagonist goes out of the office to get lunch and returns minutes later to find that all of his colleagues, friends and even her love interest have been murdered, himself the actual target and chance survivor.

'''''Three Days of the Condor''''' is a 1975 political thriller starring RobertRedford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson and Max Von Sydow.

* LawfulNeutral: How Joubert sees himself. He's not evil: he just happens to be very good at killing people. [[invoked]]
--> '''Joubert''': Well, the fact is, what I do is not a bad occupation. Someone is always willing to pay.
--> '''Turner''': I would find it... tiring.
--> '''Joubert''': Oh, no. It's quite restful. It's almost peaceful. No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause. There's only yourself. ''The belief is in your own precision''.