John Frankenheimer’s “Black Sunday” is perhaps one of the more under-rated thrillers to come out of the 1970’s, with such plentiful competition in the likes of “The French Connection” starting the decade with a bang, and setting such a high standard for film thrillers. “Black Sunday” casts Bruce Dern as a crazed Vietnam veteran who joins Palestinian terrorists Dahlia (Marthe Keller) and Fasil (Bekim Fehmu) in a plot to hijack a Goodyear blimp and explode it directly over a crowd of 80,000 during the premiere U.S. sporting event, the Super Bowl. Israeli military officer Kabakov (Robert Shaw) fights desperately to thwart the plot and prevent a very realistic loss of life in what would have been one of the more egregious acts of terrorism imaginable.

It is perhaps the realism of the story (if perhaps slightly overwrought in terms of the complexity of the dastardly plot) that makes “Black Sunday” such a success. If the film was lost in 1976, it has special resonance in 2003, due to the prevalence of Israeli-Palestinian violence in world events, as well as the very real threat of terrorism on every North American’s mind. One can only imagine that such a plot to kill 80,000 people seemed completely removed from any sense of reality in the 1970’s, but altogether too possible 25 years later.

Most compellingly, Frankenheimer manages to keep a taut edge of tension for the entire 143-minute duration of the film. This alone is no mean feat, but considered in the context of the extraordinary special effects that were required for the film, the result is even more surprising. Much of the climactic conclusion of “Black Sunday” was shot at an actual Super Bowl game, yet another sense of realism that adds to the film’s appeal. For true-to-life and timely thrills this year, rewind the tape to 1976 and prepare to be shocked by what you find in “Black Sunday.”