--- product_id: 47931735 title: "Carlos The Jackal (Complete)" price: "€ 32.66" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/47931735-carlos-the-jackal-complete store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # Carlos The Jackal (Complete) **Price:** € 32.66 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Carlos The Jackal (Complete) - **How much does it cost?** € 32.66 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/47931735-carlos-the-jackal-complete) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The story of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the OPEC headquarters in 1975 before being caught by the French police. Review: The French are good at this sort of film - This film is a tour de force by a gifted director and a brilliant new actor. It is 350 minutes long and split into 3 episodes over 3 DVDs, but I was sorry when it ended. Edgar Ramirez played the central character of Carlos with so much understated style and simmering violence, he was fascinating to watch. I have lived through Carlos' entire career, some of the time in Paris, and this film is so believable. It is not a documentary. The director himself points out in an interview on disc 3 that it is part fact, part fiction, because he had to fictionalise events that are not documented, but it is evident that he had a lot of research material to work from. For many years the authorities had only one indistinct photograph of Carlos, who was also a master of disguise and a chameleon who could change his appearance, and, of course, changed naturally over the years. That is all apparent in this film. The man matures as the film progresses but his basic nature does not change. He was dangerous. He scares people but also excites them. He used the media to his own ends. He was a marxist, he said, and later converted to Islam but one always has the impression that he really only believes in himself and his own agenda. He and his faithful German sidekick Weinrich would visit their paymasters looking like a couple of businessmen doing a deal, and they had contacts throughout the world of revolutionaries, from Moscow to Tripoli, East Germany to the Basque territories. They used the Stasi by playing the Soviet card when it suited them; they used terror to browbeat the Hungarian secret service into cooperating with them. They used the PFLP as a cover for some of their worst atrocities such as the killings in the Rue Marbeuf in Paris, or the OPEC kidnappings in Vienna. The interaction between Carlos and Sheikh Yamani is a superb little vignette, played against a background of unremitting violence. A word about language. It is billed as being in French with English subtitles. In fact everyone speaks their own language, so much of the film actually takes place in English. There are sequences in Arabic, in Spanish, in German, in French and in other languages. Carlos speaks Arabic with Arabs, French with Frenchmen, German with Germans, Spanish with South Americans and English with almost everyone else. All except the English sequences are subtitled in English, but as I speak French and German in addition to my native English and understand Spanish and some Arabic it was no trouble for me to follow everything. The body language and continuity also contribute to the flow. My German girlfriend had no trouble following it either. Edgar Ramirez with his multilingualism and his quiet-spoken manner interspersed with outbreaks of terrifying violence is a great discovery. He plays Carlos so convoncingly that it is easy to forget that he is acting. This from a man in his first rôle is amazing. Despite its length I shall watch this film again and again. It is spellbinding. It is worthy of general release but is too long for the cinema. Canal+ made it for TV but it is a crossover between TV and cinema. It is reminiscent of the Baader Meinhof Complex and Mesrine both of which have comparable qualities, but, in my view, it surpasses both of these admirable productions. As I said at the beginning, a tour de force, a major work that deserves a wide audience. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Review: Compelling View of an Radical Outlaw - "Carlos The Jackal" joins the small list of terrorist biographies which have crept onto our screens in the last few years. From Baader-Mienhoff to the IRA the stories are being told of people who some might see as either folk heroes or modern day pariahs. Carlos is probably the most problematic of the current group as he was far more mercenary than some. Consequently from a political perspective he is somewhat harder to understand. It is this dilemma that director Olivier Assayas tries to explore. His biggest challenge is to try and sort out the myth from the truth. The work commences with an explanation that this has been researched but that despite some in-depth work done on this matter (and living protagonists to draw upon) Assayas clearly acknowledges the almost impossible task of spltting the myth from the actual fact. Carlos was media savvy in a time before many fully understood the power of the media in creating a mythical persona. Assayas calls upon his audience to view this as a work of fiction. What then takes place is a story of very epic proportions. Assayas tries to present not just a story of a radical invloved in many infamous and high profile terrorist incidents but also look at the person behind the story. Here his casting of Edgar Ramirez as Carlos is inspired. Ramirez clearly bears a passing resemblance and also gives a startlingly convincing performance of a man whose main aim seems to be to wage war on imperialism. Its a wonderfully charismatic and compelling performance which holds the attention throughout the 5+ hours of its duration. Whilst there is a shorter cinematic version of this piece it's worth seeing the full version origninally shot for French TV. Here you get not just the action and the build up but also a lot of the political machinations behind the scenes showing that Carlos was very much a political player. This adds an interesting dimension to the piece and although I suspect that this is not exactly based on absolute truth it presents the more problematic side of his persona very well. Compared to many of his contemporiaries Carlos was clearly something of a mercenary than some. This provides a very revealing insight into how some states were also involved in terrorism and times the feeling is that you're watching a man who is doing the covert bidding of Governments - with little sense of the outlaw approach many would consider these acts to have been at the time. The highlights of the series (split here into 3 parts) are mainly based around the major events. The attempted shooting down of an Isaeli jumbo jet early on is a shocking more for the fact that the group walk calmly into the airport almost unchallenged. The OPEC seige is covered in great detail and forms the centrepiece and includes the almost farcical aftermath where the group fly around North Africa trying to find somewhere to land and stay. The climax is also fascinating in depicting Carlos as something of an irrelevance clinging to ideas and ideals which belong to another era. It is complelling stuff throughout and has a great supporting cast to commend it too. The only slight false note is the soundtrack which rather puzzlingly veers across the punk/post-punk divide. It is never less than tasteful but could perhaps have been organised to ensure that the songs fitted the times the scenes they were depicting. That said it was nice to hear a number of well chosen Wire songs alongside some great music from the likes of New Order and A Certain Ratio. Whatever this work is, fiction or fact, or a curious imagining of the two, "Carlos The Jackal" is an engrossing look into the life of an enigmatically mysetrious figure. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B003YXZIW0 | | Actors | Alexander Scheer, Edgar Ramirez, Nora von Waldstätten | | Aspect Ratio | Unknown | | Best Sellers Rank | 54,922 in DVD & Blu-ray ( See Top 100 in DVD & Blu-ray ) 4,617 in Crime (DVD & Blu-ray) 6,491 in Thriller (DVD & Blu-ray) 9,202 in Box Sets (DVD & Blu-ray) | | Customer reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (145) | | Director | Olivier Assayas | | Item model number | 5055201812858 | | Language | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1) | | Media Format | PAL | | Number of discs | 3 | | Product Dimensions | 1.7 x 11.9 x 16.1 cm; 118 g | | Release date | 1 Nov. 2010 | | Run time | 5 hours and 25 minutes | | Studio | Optimum Home Entertainment | | Subtitles: | English | ## Product Details - **Contributor:** Alexander Scheer, Edgar Ramirez, Nora von Waldstätten, Olivier Assayas - **Format:** PAL - **Genre:** Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller - **Language:** French - **Runtime:** 5 hours and 25 minutes ## Images ![Carlos The Jackal (Complete) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61y1Z2usDvL.jpg) ![Carlos The Jackal (Complete) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/513h7Pr9xwL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The French are good at this sort of film *by R***S on 1 December 2010* This film is a tour de force by a gifted director and a brilliant new actor. It is 350 minutes long and split into 3 episodes over 3 DVDs, but I was sorry when it ended. Edgar Ramirez played the central character of Carlos with so much understated style and simmering violence, he was fascinating to watch. I have lived through Carlos' entire career, some of the time in Paris, and this film is so believable. It is not a documentary. The director himself points out in an interview on disc 3 that it is part fact, part fiction, because he had to fictionalise events that are not documented, but it is evident that he had a lot of research material to work from. For many years the authorities had only one indistinct photograph of Carlos, who was also a master of disguise and a chameleon who could change his appearance, and, of course, changed naturally over the years. That is all apparent in this film. The man matures as the film progresses but his basic nature does not change. He was dangerous. He scares people but also excites them. He used the media to his own ends. He was a marxist, he said, and later converted to Islam but one always has the impression that he really only believes in himself and his own agenda. He and his faithful German sidekick Weinrich would visit their paymasters looking like a couple of businessmen doing a deal, and they had contacts throughout the world of revolutionaries, from Moscow to Tripoli, East Germany to the Basque territories. They used the Stasi by playing the Soviet card when it suited them; they used terror to browbeat the Hungarian secret service into cooperating with them. They used the PFLP as a cover for some of their worst atrocities such as the killings in the Rue Marbeuf in Paris, or the OPEC kidnappings in Vienna. The interaction between Carlos and Sheikh Yamani is a superb little vignette, played against a background of unremitting violence. A word about language. It is billed as being in French with English subtitles. In fact everyone speaks their own language, so much of the film actually takes place in English. There are sequences in Arabic, in Spanish, in German, in French and in other languages. Carlos speaks Arabic with Arabs, French with Frenchmen, German with Germans, Spanish with South Americans and English with almost everyone else. All except the English sequences are subtitled in English, but as I speak French and German in addition to my native English and understand Spanish and some Arabic it was no trouble for me to follow everything. The body language and continuity also contribute to the flow. My German girlfriend had no trouble following it either. Edgar Ramirez with his multilingualism and his quiet-spoken manner interspersed with outbreaks of terrifying violence is a great discovery. He plays Carlos so convoncingly that it is easy to forget that he is acting. This from a man in his first rôle is amazing. Despite its length I shall watch this film again and again. It is spellbinding. It is worthy of general release but is too long for the cinema. Canal+ made it for TV but it is a crossover between TV and cinema. It is reminiscent of the Baader Meinhof Complex and Mesrine both of which have comparable qualities, but, in my view, it surpasses both of these admirable productions. As I said at the beginning, a tour de force, a major work that deserves a wide audience. I cannot recommend it highly enough. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Compelling View of an Radical Outlaw *by P***R on 6 April 2012* "Carlos The Jackal" joins the small list of terrorist biographies which have crept onto our screens in the last few years. From Baader-Mienhoff to the IRA the stories are being told of people who some might see as either folk heroes or modern day pariahs. Carlos is probably the most problematic of the current group as he was far more mercenary than some. Consequently from a political perspective he is somewhat harder to understand. It is this dilemma that director Olivier Assayas tries to explore. His biggest challenge is to try and sort out the myth from the truth. The work commences with an explanation that this has been researched but that despite some in-depth work done on this matter (and living protagonists to draw upon) Assayas clearly acknowledges the almost impossible task of spltting the myth from the actual fact. Carlos was media savvy in a time before many fully understood the power of the media in creating a mythical persona. Assayas calls upon his audience to view this as a work of fiction. What then takes place is a story of very epic proportions. Assayas tries to present not just a story of a radical invloved in many infamous and high profile terrorist incidents but also look at the person behind the story. Here his casting of Edgar Ramirez as Carlos is inspired. Ramirez clearly bears a passing resemblance and also gives a startlingly convincing performance of a man whose main aim seems to be to wage war on imperialism. Its a wonderfully charismatic and compelling performance which holds the attention throughout the 5+ hours of its duration. Whilst there is a shorter cinematic version of this piece it's worth seeing the full version origninally shot for French TV. Here you get not just the action and the build up but also a lot of the political machinations behind the scenes showing that Carlos was very much a political player. This adds an interesting dimension to the piece and although I suspect that this is not exactly based on absolute truth it presents the more problematic side of his persona very well. Compared to many of his contemporiaries Carlos was clearly something of a mercenary than some. This provides a very revealing insight into how some states were also involved in terrorism and times the feeling is that you're watching a man who is doing the covert bidding of Governments - with little sense of the outlaw approach many would consider these acts to have been at the time. The highlights of the series (split here into 3 parts) are mainly based around the major events. The attempted shooting down of an Isaeli jumbo jet early on is a shocking more for the fact that the group walk calmly into the airport almost unchallenged. The OPEC seige is covered in great detail and forms the centrepiece and includes the almost farcical aftermath where the group fly around North Africa trying to find somewhere to land and stay. The climax is also fascinating in depicting Carlos as something of an irrelevance clinging to ideas and ideals which belong to another era. It is complelling stuff throughout and has a great supporting cast to commend it too. The only slight false note is the soundtrack which rather puzzlingly veers across the punk/post-punk divide. It is never less than tasteful but could perhaps have been organised to ensure that the songs fitted the times the scenes they were depicting. That said it was nice to hear a number of well chosen Wire songs alongside some great music from the likes of New Order and A Certain Ratio. Whatever this work is, fiction or fact, or a curious imagining of the two, "Carlos The Jackal" is an engrossing look into the life of an enigmatically mysetrious figure. ### ⭐⭐⭐ so so *by D***G on 12 September 2011* while action was good, i just felt that this film was lacking in some kind of substance and real plot. it's a film that really lacks that 'punch' to make it an excellent film. having seen the baader meinhof komplex, i was expecting something similar but was a little let down. it's a good film but lacks the substance to make it a great and meaningful film of a popular man ## Frequently Bought Together - Carlos The Jackal (Complete) [DVD] - The Baader-Meinhof Complex [DVD] --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/47931735-carlos-the-jackal-complete](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/47931735-carlos-the-jackal-complete) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-05-18*