History Trivia / TheJackal

** An unusual and slightly disorienting case of this, in that there are other scenes earlier in the movie that actually are set in Montreal.

* An unusual and slightly disorienting case in that there are other scenes set in Montreal itself earlier in the movie.

* FakeRussian: Diane Venora as Major Koslova.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: The guy selling the Jackal a yacht brags that it has a "cellular phone".

* DeletedScenes: The Jackal originally had an affair with wealthy woman similar to the Madame de Montpellier subplot from the novel, but this was ultimately cut from the finish movie.

* WagTheDirector: Creator/BruceWillis asked for the scene, where the Jackal kills a gay man, to be re-shot, so it was 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.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film is the poster child of that time Hollywood [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell struggled to keep]] the SpyFiction genre alive after [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the fall of the USSR]]. First, unlike [[Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal the original]], which was a deliberate period piece set in early '60s France, the film takes place in modern-day America and Russia. It begins with a montage summing the history of Russia from Nicholas II to the fall of Communism and the rise of the film's villains, TheMafiya, in the 1990s. A joint American-Russian police operation (which itself dates the film to the [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton Clinton]]-[[UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin Yeltsin]] honeymoon when it seemed like the US and Russia would be allies) results in the death of a mobster's brother, who retaliates by hiring an assassin to kill a First Lady of the US that looks just like 1990s UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton, during a public act with security so light it can only be before 2001.
** But nothing will stick out more to a modern audience than the use of two [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles ex-IRA]] and ETA[[note]]This group is not identified by name[[/note]] members as the film heroes, presented here as [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters romantic badasses that once fought for a just cause]]. Creator/RichardGere's character, the ex-IRA man, [[PoliticallyCorrectHistory is a sniper who only targets soldiers and doesn't use bombs]], and is allowed to walk free in America [[EarnYourHappyEnding after saving the day]] even though he was supposed to be handed back to British authorities to serve the rest of his prison sentence. It's a very ugly reminder that, before the 9/11 attacks, [[WesternTerrorists the IRA]] received a great deal of sympathy and support from [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora certain segments of the American population]] that Hollywood was more than happy to cater to, a sympathy that evaporated after the attacks showed Americans the true horror of terrorism.

* ExecutiveVeto: In his first scenes, Creaotr/RichardGere has a mustache and goatee, as he wanted to have a different look from his popular image. The studio, however, was unhappy, and so Gere and the director were forced to shoot an extra scene where Gere asks for a razor after accepting the job to explain his clean-shaven appearance in subsequent shots.

** Creator/RichardDeanAnderson, Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/JeffBridges, Creator/GaryBusey, Creator/KevinCostner, Creator/HarrisonFord, Creator/MelGibson, Creator/TommyLeeJones, Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/RonPerlman, Creator/DennisQuaid, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/StevenSeagal, Creator/SylvesterStallone, and Creator/PatrickSwayze were considered for Declan Mulqueen.
** Creator/EdwardFox is rumored to have rejected a cameo role.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/RichardDeanAnderson, Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/JeffBridges, Creator/GaryBusey, Creator/KevinCostner, Creator/HarrisonFord, Creator/MelGibson, Creator/TommyLeeJones, Creator/MichaelKeaton, Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/RonPerlman, Creator/DennisQuaid, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/StevenSeagal, Creator/SylvesterStallone, and Creator/PatrickSwayze were considered for Declan Mulqueen.

* FakeIrish: Richard Gere's performance is notorious among Irish viewers for having [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent one of the worst "Irish" accents ever put to film]].
* FakeRussian: Diane Venora as Major Koslova

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/BruceWillis as The Jackal - it's his first role as a main villain character (''Film/TheSiege'' has his character gradually evolve into a bad guy but he isn't the main antagonist, and he later played the BigBad in the 2014 film ''Film/ThePrince''.).

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/BruceWillis as The Jackal - it's his first (and only) role as a main villain character (''Film/TheSiege'' has his character gradually evolve into a bad guy but he isn't the main antagonist).