Frederick Forsyth

Shoot to thrill: Reinventing The Day of the Jackal

Eddie Redmayne steps onto a train as the titular assassin of The Day of the Jackal

Brian Kirk speaks for a generation when he recalls watching The Day of the Jackal on TV as a child. “Even then, it felt genre-defining,” says the director. “It had this enormous manhunt with a sense of consequence and incredible plotting, great set-pieces, sustained tension. It felt like it was in the real world, with a real ticking clock, which left a big impression.”