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A terrorist group from the Middle East plot to blow up the Goodyear blimp while it's hovering over a football stadium during a Super Bowl game that the president is scheduled to attend. It's up to ruthless Israeli agent Kabakov (Robert Shaw in fine rugged form) to stop them before it's too late.Director John Frankenheimer, working from a taut and involving script by Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, and Ivan Moffat, handles the gripping story with his customary clockwork precision: Frankenheimer ably generates plenty of nerve-wracking tension, maintains a hard gritty tone throughout, keeps the absorbing premise moving along at a steady pace, and stages the rousing action set pieces with rip-snorting aplomb, with the climax in particular standing out as a tour-de-force of gut-wrenching excitement.The uniformly super acting from the topflight cast keeps this picture humming Marthe Keller excels as tough and determined ring leader Dahlia, Bruce Dern does his trademark crazy routine with striking results as deranged and vengeful Vietnam veteran blimp pilot Lander, Fritz Weaver lends sturdy support as no-nonsense FBI agent Corley, and Steven Keats holds his own as Kabakov's equally hard-nosed partner Moshevsky, plus there are praiseworthy contributions from Bekim Fehmiu as the vicious Fasil, Michael V. Gazzo as shady smuggler Muzi, William Daniels as snide shrink Pugh, and Walter Gotell as the redoubtable Colonel Riat. Moreover, this film earns extra points for depicting its two key antagonists in a sympathetic matter: You might not agree with what Lander and Dahlia doing, but you still understand exactly why they are willing to commit such a horrible and destructive act just the same. John A. Alonzo's slick widescreen cinematography provides an impressive polished look. The spirited score by John Williams hits the stirring spot. A bang-up nail-biter.

A movie based on a good book does not necessarily make a good movie. When too much emphasis is placed on talking heads it becomes very boring visually and drawn out. This may have been acceptable in 1977, but does not work in 2017. Only the last hour brings excitement and tension, but in an almost two and a half hour movie, it happens too late.The whole story could have been told in about 100 minutes to make a gripping drama/thriller, when I would have given it a score of 7.

My all-time favorite thriller! Magnificently mounted by director John Frankenheimer. An excellent cast, sharp script and pitch-perfect cinematography all work together to make this one of the best thrillers on film.Even with everything else in its favor, the highlight is John Williams' score. It's tense, terse and tightly written. This was the score Williams did just before "Star Wars," so John was definitely in the zone!The real-life terrorism we have been confronted by very much underscores this film. Regardless, this film is as thrilling as it was when it was released.********** (10 Out of 10 Stars)