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 | Assassin | FBI | IRA | Major

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:

Bruce Willis asked for the scene where the Jackal kills a gay man to be re-shot so it was more obvious that he was being killed due to the fact that he knew too much (having seen The Jackal on a news report) rather than because he was gay.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When "The Jackal" first enters the subway station after the big shooting, he uses the metro card upside down. You can clearly see the magnetic part of the card never goes in the machines.

Quotes:

[to FBI Director Brown, about the Jackal]
Declan Mulqueen: This man is no clown. He knows all your moves, back to front. Right now, you've got a name; that's all you've got. The Jackal has got a target: you. He's got a timetable. And as to making mistakes, he's spent twenty years in a trade that doesn't forgive error. And he's prevailed. You think he's the one who's up against it? It's the other way around.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Jackalmouse

THE JACKAL (DIDIER BECU)

I actually hate remakes and knowing that one of the best movies of all time, "The day of the jackal" by Fred Zinneman was another victim I really was upset but the thing is that this is a great movie, especially as it has nothing to do with the original...except the idea that there is a professional killer called The Jackal. So it'd be better if this movie had a different name anyway but good.... We are in modern Russia that's ruled by the Russian mob and since the FBI and the KGB started work together, maffiatypes got eliminated...this of course asks for revenge and so they hire The Jackal (played by Bruce Willis). The sole person on earth who can get him is a prisoner (Richard Gere) who was sent there for life after being involved in several IRA-bombings. Don't ask any questions how things can be possible cos there are some black spots in the scripts, better watch the excellent performances from Bruce Willis who plays at least 10 different personages here and he's the kind of killer who has no mercy... Also great to finally see Richard Gere in another role then a bored lawyer. Not a superb movie but better than the rest...