The Cincinnati Enquirer du lieu suivant : Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 35

FILM The Cincinnati Enquirer Friday, November 14, 1997 27 Killer Performances Jackal' remake left out one thing the suspense WW: BY MARGARET A. McGURK The Cincinnati Enquirer Fans of Fred Zinneman's sleek 1973 thriller The Day of the Jackal would be well advised to pass on The Jackal. The original was cool, lean and maddeningly suspenseful. This version is overheated, overstuffed and predictable as sunrise. In other words, it's a textbook Hollywood blockbuster.

The plot, for instance, is a jumble of contrivances interrupted by a string of bloody deaths. The level of violence is typical, and apparently the only part of the movie that inspired any original thought by the filmmakers. Bruce Willis plays the central villain, a hit man hired by the Russian Mafia (who else?) for the grisly public execution of some unnamed American figure. (The eventual identification of the target is supposed to be a A nou af The Playhouse OCT 21 -NOV 21 fair IE 4 i Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler A sweeping tale of romance, revenge and murder. Winner of eight Toiiv Awards including Best Musical.

'Exhilarating and unforgettable." KMOX-St. Louts VKyfJ tJ BARBER OF lyiiV FLEET 5TREET Sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Spirited Universal Studios The many looks of the Jackal, played by Bruce Willis, inlcude a blond wig. "In putting (the makeup) together, none of us came to the conclusion that this particular identity was the man. We really had no idea who the Jackal was," said the movie's makeup artist Gerald Quist.

Makeup man behind 'Jackal' MOVIE REVIEW The Jackal (R; strong violence, profanity) Richard Gere, below, Bruce Willis, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones. 124 minutes. National Amusements, Princess Oxford, Cinema 10. November 30-December 28 jEiiii surprise; it not.) He goes online to buy a gun big enough to take down a 747 and makes his way toward his target, leaving a trail of paper and blood behind.

Meanwhile, an FBI boss (Sidney Poitier) and a Russian police officer (Diane Venora) are tracking him with the help of Declan Mulqueen, an imprisoned IRA gunman (Richard Gere) freed to do the cops' job for them. Mulqueen agrees to bv Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin "If you only do one holiday entertainment, this is it." -Cincinnati Enquirer Special children's price (12 and under) Sponsored by The Gibson Foundation Soulful Performances lr BY MARGARITA DIAZ New York Daily News Bruce Willis' title character in The Jackal is not only a killer for hire he's also a suave businessman, a grungy tourist, a charming gay man, a Latin American tough guy and an overweight trucker. The enigmatic Jackal, who has been hired to assassinate a high-ranking U.S. government official, dons multiple disguises as he tries to evade a team of international pursuers led by Sidney Poitier and Richard Gere. "We had six different identities for Bruce in the film," says, makeup artist Gerald Quist, the man responsible for Mr.

Willis' 'looks" in the film. "But the makeup itself is not particularly elaborate you can always see Bruce." The 32-year-old Mr. Quist, who previously worked with Mr. Willis on Death Becomes Her and Last Man Standing, says the filmmakers wanted to give the movie a gritty feel, so the makeup, which the Jackal is supposed to be applying himself, sometimes has an unfinished look. The guy's an international terrorist who's creating these looks for himself in hotel rooms and such, so he's creating them as he goes along, with whatever he finds," he says.

And what he finds includes a ponytail, a bleached blond wig, a fat suit, a prosthetic nose and a goatee. "The looks were decided upon by myself, Bruce, director Michael Caton-Jones and hair designer Bunny Parker," says Mr. Quist "But Bruce really has definite ideas of what he wants in his character." Still, that vision of what the Jackal should look like was not as carefully planned out as some of us would think. "We met and discussed what the different identities should be," says Mr. Quist "But because of other commitments, Bruce was not available for casting.

So the makeup you see on screen was put together on the same day at work. "From the standpoint of the makeup designer, you want your work to be perfect and clean but Jackal we did right out of the bag it had never been executed before." So, which of Mr. Willis' identities is the real Jackal? "YouU think this is funny," says Mr. Quist who has been doing film makeup for 15 years, "but in putting (the makeup) together, none of us came to the conclusion that this particular identity was the man. We really had no idea who the Jackal was." November 1 1 -December 21 The Off-Broadway Hit That Rocked New York "A rousing new performers dazzlingly give white music real soul!" -NewYorit Daily News "Nostalgic fun! A jovial oldies hit from the Andrews Sisters to John Lennon." The New York limes Sponsored by United Medical Resources Inc.

I help because of an old love, another I former terrorist (Mathilda May). Her character is one of the many needless I complications thrown into this plot, 1 1 .1 t- 1 conceived by Dee Dee Thomas and David Tweedy Call Today! RaH nui iu auvaiux uie story uui tu set up some movie-star moments later on for Mr. Gere. Mr. Willis' movie-star moments mostly amount to displays of his coldblooded efficiency as a killer arid his wig-swapping skill.

Yet for some reason, once he catches sight of the Irish Get a look behind the scenes! Holiday Open House FREE! Sunday, Nov. 30, 1 1 am-2pm Box Office 421-3888 721-1000 www.cincyplay.com Season Presented by Heidelberg Distributing Co. man, he goes of his rocker taunting, snickering, casually dropping clues. We've been told why Declan hates the Jackal. But for the reverse we have no clue.

When the two finally have their big showdown prepps-. related to Frederick Forsyth's gripping novel. The filmmakers credit Kenneth Ross' 1973 screenplay as their source, but they do him no honor with this grisly, glossy bag of Tinseltown tricks. The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation terous bit of theater in a subway station Mr.

Willis is reduced to cackling like the Wicked Witch. This Jackal, from writer Chuck Pfarrer and director Michael Caton-Jones jloesnt even pretendto be.