Thriller 'Jackal' still has its day

If you like Gillo Pontecorvo’s ‘‘The Battle of Algiers,’’ in the middle of a strong run at the Kendall Square Theatre, you’ll love Fred Zinnemann’s ‘‘The Day of the Jackal.’’ As the cereal ad says, taste them again for the first time. Together.

Pontecorvo’s 1965 masterwork, which found renewed fame after it was screened at the Pentagon early in the Iraq war, chronicled the brutal Algerian war for independence from France that began in 1954 and ended with a cease-fire at the Evian Accords in March 1962. Formal separation occurred four months later. (Algeria was administratively part of France, not simply a colony.)

What Pontecorvo did not address were the attempts to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists in the French military who were incensed that he was granting Algeria its freedom. Led by Raoul Salan, a former commander of French forces in Algeria, these men formed a terrorist organization called the OAS (Organisation de L’Arm´ee Secr` ete) that was responsible for bombings and murders of civilians and officials alike. (Salan was captured in 1962 and the organization imploded soon after.)

The OAS mission to kill de Gaulle made a fine suspense novel, ‘‘The Day of the Jackal,’’ by Frederick Forsyth , and a better movie by the same name in 1973, directed by Zinnemann . While a piece of fiction, the flick cleaves to the essence of the real-life drama and is the de facto sequel to ‘‘The Battle of Algiers.’’

It stands the test of time on its own and is a treat seen in tandem with Pontecorvo opus. The historical connection is seamless. There is even a sly film link with the brief appearance by the French actor Jean Martin, who played the ruthless Colonel Mathieu in ‘‘The Battle of Algiers’’ and is an OAS die-hard in this one. Nice touch.

‘‘The Day of the Jackal’’ carries no fat. Its pacing is elegant under the eye of Zinnemann, who directed such classics as ‘‘From Here To Eternity,’’ and its dialogue and special effects are spare. The movie is, mercifully, a low-tech affair that rises on the craft of acting. The simple scene in which the Jackal sights his custom-made sniper rifle using a watermelon hanging from a tree remains as shocking today as it was 31 years ago.

(We know what Hollywood would do with the movie now. Witness the ghastly remake in 1997 called ‘‘The Jackal’’ starring Richard Gere and Bruce Willis.) OAS hit men came close to de Gaulle in June 1961, when they ambushed his limousine. Miraculously, he escaped unhurt. ‘‘The Day of the Jackal’’ opens with a recreation of this drama and moves quickly to the ensuing disarray within the OAS, now crippled by informers and arrests. As in real life, its few remaining leaders are on the run. Still bent on assassinating de Gaulle, though, they turn in desperation to an international contract killer to do the job.

Enter the marvelous British actor Edward Fox, who gives a taut performance as the nameless assassin known only as ‘‘the Jackal.’’ (‘‘Carlos the Jackal’’ was the name of an actual international killer loose at the time.) He kills and seduces as needed with a minimum of fuss. He is inventive, focused, unstoppable, and scary.

His nemesis is the fine Michel Lonsdale, whose shaggy brilliance as Deputy Commissioner Lebel charms and impresses. Lebel is charged with the impossible task of catching the phantom before he shoots de Gaulle at a public ceremony in Paris. Lebel’s assistant is a British actor unknown to American screen audiences at the time, named Derek Jacobi. Cyril Cusack also makes a nice, understated turn.

Both Pontecorvo and Zinnemann have made art out of a dirty war. ‘‘The Battle of Algiers’’ reminds you of no other movie. Its look and feel is wholly its own. ‘‘The Day of the Jackal,’’ in contrast, looks and feels like a topnotch Hollywood effort graced with a great director, superior screenplay, and a fine international cast. It reminds us that they really don’t make them like they used to.

Sam Allis can be reached at allis@globe.com.