The Jackal (1997)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers (WGA):

Kenneth Ross (earlier screenplay Day of the Jackal)
Chuck Pfarrer (screen story)

Release Date:

14 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

How do you stop an assassin who has no identity?

Plot:

An imprisoned IRA sniper is freed to help stop a brutal, seemingly "faceless" assassin from completing his next job.

Plot Keywords:

Jackal | FBI | Assassin | IRA | Sniper

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	The Jackal
Richard Gere	...	Declan Mulqueen
Sidney Poitier	...	FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston
Diane Venora	...	Major Valentina Koslova
Mathilda May	...	Isabella Zanconia
J.K. Simmons	...	FBI Agent T. I. Witherspoon
Richard Lineback	...	FBI Agent McMurphy
John Cunningham	...	FBI Director Donald Brown
Jack Black	...	Ian Lamont
Tess Harper	...	The First Lady
Leslie Phillips	...	Woolburton
Stephen Spinella	...	Douglas
Sophie Okonedo	...	Jamaican Girl
David Hayman	...	Terek Murad
Steve Bassett	...	George Decker

Also Known As:

Der Schakal (Germany)
Le chacal (France) (dubbed version)
The Day of the Jackal (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | UK | France | Germany | Japan

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | DTS-Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #35563) | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Norway:18 (original rating) (1998) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Brazil:14 | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | Australia:M (original theatrical version) (cut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Burnham Park Yacht Club - 1500 Linn White Drive, Near South Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Alphaville Films

Trivia:

At age 91, just months before his death, Fred Zinnemann, director of the original The Day of the Jackal (1973), on which this film is based, fought with Universal to change the title of the film. He said the original had stood the test of time and did not want the remake to have the same title.

Goofs:

Factual errors: All Canadian custom officers wear uniforms, not just a suit and tie with a badge.

Quotes:

Carter Preston: Major Koslova ends the debate about women in combat as far as I'm concerned.
Declan Mulqueen: How's that?
Carter Preston: She saved my life and took out Terek's brother. She did it knowing she'd be drawing a death sentence down on her neck. But when we offered to set her up some place else when this is over, you know what she said? The good guys don't hide.
Declan Mulqueen: Fierce woman.
Carter Preston: In that country, under that system: staggering.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'The Jackal' (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Star

I had fun

I guess that, once you've seen the original, and liked it, it's hard to stomach a remake, especially when the remake is American fluff.

However, I have not seen the original, Day of the Jackal. After

having read the reviews here, I'll plan to see it.

In the meantime, having not yet seen the original, I gotta tell ya, I had fun with this one.

Sure, things are quite contrived. Any thinking person will

spend too much time asking "why" to a lot of things that happen.

But, the long wait to find out just how cold and ruthless this Jackal could be was well worth it. He was certainly cold, wasn't he?

The acting was good all around. Willis was certainly acting up a storm to act like a character who pretends to be gay to make contact with a stooge.

Who doesn't love what Sidney Poitier brings to the screen?

Gere? Well, I thought that he was refreshingly not polished and sophisticated, and he did maintain consistency in his accent through the film, hats off to him for that. Was it a "bad" accent? Well, that depends? Do ALL Irish people speak with

exactly the same accent? Are there no regional dialects? Sure there are, and with that escape, he might have been playing a

north Irish person (giving it a slight Scottish lilt, perhaps).

It had its faults, but if you don't take yourself too seriously, it's fun to watch.