Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 5 Episode 3 - The Story of Three Days of the Condor

 

For a change it was Steven Armstrong who opened this episode about Three Days of the Condor, discussing the background with Ian Nathan. In fact the first glimpse of this movie has the star, Robert Redford, finding a dead body. The American Literary Historical Society is a cover for the CIA. Then here is Bonnie Greer (a previous contributor to earlier series) telling us about what was happening in America at the time, especially Watergate. So was director Sidney Pollack "going a little too far out on a limb"?

Steven reminds us that Watergate was still fresh in people's minds when the film was released in 1975. Christina Newland and Neil Norman both talk about America and the new breed of directors. Ian Nathan goes back to that "brilliant opening", and Bonnie Greer talks about Sidney Pollack. Steven tells us about the book Six Days of the Condor by James Grady, on which the film is based. The book had been optioned by producer Dino De Laurentiis, and he brought in screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr who had written The Parallax View. He "both streamlined and complicated" the story. 

It was actually Robert Redford who insisted that his good friend Sidney Pollack would direct if they wanted him to appear. This was just one of the films that they made together. It was Ian Nathan who talked about the director, while Christina tells us about Robert Redford and how this part was quite a departure. Steven then compares this film with a Hitchcock thriller. Bonnie Greer describes how important co-star Faye Dunaway is, how she is central to the film and her relationship with Redford. A very different role for her. The villain is played by Max Von Sydow, and Neil Norman says this casting is "a stroke of genius". Steven describes the supporting cast as "top class".

The location of the book was changed to cold New York in the lead-up to Christmas. Neil Norman describes how the film was all "about technology" that was moving so fast at this time. Bonnie Greer thought "the machine aspect takes over this movie". Ian Nathan thinks this was a new kind of thriller – "a techno thriller". Steven concludes the film had a great box office appeal and that it "grows more relevant by the year". 

Holiday in Ely

 

We had booked a short break in Ely, mainly because this was a good way to include Cambridge on our itinerary. On Monday, 1st June, we set out just before 10am and arrived early at the National Trust's Wimpole Estate near Royston in Cambridgeshire. It's quite a long walk from the car park to the centre, and we went straight to the cafe for tea and cake. Refreshed, we wet out to explore the parkland.

We first toured the gardens of Wimpole Hall; see the top photo. The parterre was bare and very disappointing. See 6 and 7 on the map. We then headed out into the deserted parkland to reach the Chinese Bridge and the Serpentine Lakes (8 and 9). Still not a soul around, that is, except for this herd of cows who seemed to follow us to the water.

We crossed the bridge and headed for The Folly (10) at the top of a hill. The map above shows the way back as that circular route in blue. Arriving back at the centre, we found the area where everybody else was there. We found the walled garden (absolutely superb) where I stayed while Alison went off for the 2.30pm feeding of the pigs at Home Farm.

After we met up, it was off to the other cafe for tea and cake. It was then 4.30pm and time for the drive to Ely and our little terraced house on the main road. The owner was there to show us round. He had made it as perfect as it was possible, even though the triple glazing could not block out all the road noise.

After we unpacked, we walked down to the centre of town and found a brand new restaurant called Limora Mediterranean Kitchen and Bar. Very smart, top class, great service and a good menu (Greek moussaka and lamb casserole). Hope it does well.

Tuesday was forecast to be rainy, so we stayed in Wells. A walk around the cathedral, then a nice circular walk down the hill to the river (the Great Ouse) in the countryside. Then off to Oliver Cromwell's House, a much better tour than I imagined with a digital handset and headphones. See their website, olivercromwellshouse.co.uk, with a taster tour.

A great lunch at Gail's Bakery; see gails.com. Then to Ely Cathedral for our 2pm tour, only four of us and our guide. Photos were taken care of by Alison's phone, as my ancient camera was faulty.

Our guide was excellent, very informative. I especially liked the Octagon Tower and lantern that was rebuilt after the collapse of the old roof. It took around fourteen years to rebuild – see klmagazine.co.uk – Wonder of the Mediaeval World. After the tour I just sat to take it all in.

Dinner was at Wildwood in town. It was a much brighter day than forecast; I think the rain came while we were in the museum.

So Wednesday was the day for Cambridge despite a more mixed weather forecast. A drive to Milton Park and Ride and the bus into the city. We started with a cuppa and a bun at Cafe Nero before finding our way to Kings College Chapel. (The colleges were closed due to exams). But the chapel, whilst not as impressive as Ely Cathedral, had some even better features. The free brochure told us enough about its history and how it was started by the then nineteen-year-old Henry VI in 1441. 

It's the roof that is most impressive with that wooden fan-vaulted ceiling. It was completed in three years between 1512 and 1515. The world's largest fan vault.

However, even more impressive for me were the heraldic stone carvings, five on either side of the ante-chapel. All the same, except the doors were on opposite sides to match positions. The brochure explains all the emblems, and I spent some time identifying each one. Absolutely outstanding. 

Next stop was the Round Church, founded between 1114 and 1131, so pretty old. We found out all about its history. There is a video with headphones.

It was late afternoon when we left and decided to have a very late lunch or early tea at Bills. This time we had a selection of nibbles which went down well. We had missed some heavy rain while we were there, only to get soaked on our way to the bus stop. We had a quiet evening in and watched some cricket.

We left Ely on Thursday morning and headed for the National Trust's oldest nature reserve at Wicken Fen.

We took one of the trails to see reed beds, open water and wet grassland. It was very quiet. We saw some school parties in the distance and ignored the boat trip. Which was fortunate, as when we arrived back at the cafe, it poured with rain. It was time to head for home, a quite tiring, for me, four days.