Corrected entry: When the Jackal boards the train for Paris, about 40 minutes from the end of the film, the engine of the train is blue; when the train arrives in Paris, the engine is red.
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
1 commented-on entry since 12 Dec '24, 05:47
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Edward Fox, Michel Auclair, Terence Alexander, Alan Badel
Plot hole: When the French conclude - incorrectly - that Charles Calthrop is the Jackal, they contact the British authorities and obtain his file photograph from the passport office. The photograph is of Edward Fox in character as the Jackal - but it shouldn't be! The Jackal and Calthrop have no connection. The Jackal never used his identity and did not apply for a false passport in his name. The photo should have been of Edward Hardwicke in character as Charles Calthrop, who appears in the closing minutes of the film. The two actors do not look anything like each other.
Lebel: It's obvious that the Jackal has been tipped off all along, and yet he's decided to go ahead, regardless. He's simply challenged the whole lot of us.
Minister: Are you really suggesting that there's a leak from inside this room?
Lebel: I can't say. But we think that the Jackal is now in Paris with a new name and a new face, probably masquerading as a Danish schoolteacher.
Trivia: Fred Zinnemann wanted the Jackal to be played by an anonymous actor, so he passed over established stars such as Michael Caine, Roger Moore, and Jack Nicholson in favor of Edward Fox. He later admitted that his decision might have been what contributed to the film's sub-par performance at the box office.
Question: I have seen this movie many times, but one question continues to bother me: How did the Jackal plan to escape if he was successful in shooting the president? (He had already removed his disguise).
Answer: When the Jackal entered the parade area, he was disguised as an old army veteran, with one leg and false I.D. When the job was done he would walk out as a younger man with two legs and another set of of false I.D.
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Correction: The train has had a change of engine en route. The original engine was diesel and arriving in Paris was electric. This would actually have happened but wasn't shown as it would serve no part in telling the story.
Yes but how many changes? It makes sense to change a locomotive from diesel to electric or vice versa if the railway infrastructure would require this change. On usual train routes the locmotive is changed once from diesel to electric or vice versa. On few ocasions it would be possible to change the locomotive from diesel to electric and then back to diesel so two changes on one train route in total. But it wouldn't make any sense at all to change the electric locmotive with another electric locomotive. This is a continuity error in the movie.
There are three shots of the train: one arriving at Tulle, one in transit, and finally one as the train arrives in Paris. In each of the three shots, the train is pulled by a different locomotive. Also, the train in the second shot is a different length and made up of different types of carriages than the train that arrives at Tulle. It's obvious that stock train footage was used and any attempt at continuity was disregarded.