The Jack Bull (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Badham

Writers (WGA):

Heinrich von Kleist (book)
Dick Cusack (written by)

Release Date:

17 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

After being wrongfully denied justice, a horse trader seeks his own justice on a treacherous rancher.

Plot Keywords:

Justice | Wyoming | Native American | Irish Wolfhound | Hanging

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Cusack	...	Myrl Redding
John Goodman	...	Judge Tolliver
L.Q. Jones	...	Henry Ballard
Miranda Otto	...	Cora Redding
John C. McGinley	...	Woody
John Savage	...	Slater
Rodney A. Grant	...	Billy
Kurt Fuller	...	Conrad
Rex Linn	...	Shelby Dykes
Jay O. Sanders	...	Atty. Gen. Metcalfe
Drake Bell	...	Cage Redding
Nick Gillie	...	Ollie (as Nicholas E. Gillie)
Duncan Fraser	...	Edsel Fraser
Ken Pogue	...	Judge Wilkins
Glenn Morshower	...	Col. Jeffries (as Glen Morshower)

MPAA:

Rated R for some Western violence.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

CL Ranch - 45001 Township Road, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the pivotal moment of the hanging, the safety rig is clearly seen behind the noose, holding up Myrl's suit jacket at the collar.

Quotes:

[Riding through a beautiful mountain pass]
Woody: Whaddaya make of all this?
Myrl Redding: A church with no roof. Ya got the Almighty braggin' his head off.
Woody: Yeah. Whaddaya figure he's sayin'?
Myrl Redding: "Remember who did this. Don't get too big for your britches." I guess.
Woody: Fair enough.

Movie Connections:

Version of Michael Kohlhaas (1937)

Soundtrack:

Ring them Bells

Solid film, beautiful story

Though most likely found in the Westerns section at your local rental joint, this movie does not feel like a western. It feels like a timeless story set incidentally in the "Old West." It is, in fact, derived from another telling of the same story set in another time and another place. Regardless of that fact, "The Jack Bull" stands on its own for quality and character. All performances, from the leads to the extras, are inspired. John Cusack is in top form and earns his place in the title role. The direction, cinematography and editing are unpresumptuous but essentially flawless, as if standing aside to let the story go to your heart. And the story itself is touching and transcendent, a parable of honor, duty, pride, justice, and the price paid by those who uphold them. Neither a traditional "ride off into the sunset," nor a traditional tragedy, this film rather from beginning to end rings true and thereby sets itself apart from others like it. It comes highly recommended, and will not disappoint.