Product Description

When wealthy landowner Henry Ballard sets up a toll gate and takes two of Myrl Redding?s horses in lieu of payment, Redding is enraged. But when those horses are starved and beaten almost to death, he demands justice. So begins a personal feud that becomes a war .. a war that becomes a manhunt ... and a trial that will lead to a bloody kind of Western justice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11918 in DVD
• Brand: HBO HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 1999-08-31
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.com
The Jack Bull was produced for and premiered on HBO, but it's easily the most respectable job that feature director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, WarGames) has done in the past two decades. The title refers not to a piece of livestock but a metaphorical Jack Russell terrier that, once it's annoyed enough to close its jaws on something, will hang on to the point of death.

That would be Myrl Redding (John Cusack), a horse-breeder of limited means but a deeply entrenched sense of justice. His independence galls Henry Ballard (L.Q. Jones), the crusty land baron out to set his brand on most of the countryside. Ballard insults and cheats Redding several times over, and his men beat Redding's horse trainer and friend, an Indian (Rodney A. Grant). When Redding seeks redress from the law, its agents can't be bothered (the local magistrate is in Ballard's pocket). So Redding musters a vigilante army to enforce his own law.

Scratch this handsome but rigorously unromanticized Western--fully an hour passes without a shot being fired--and you find the classic Heinrich von Kleist book Michael Kohlhaas transposed to Wyoming Territory on the eve of statehood. The script--by the star-producer's dad, Dick Cusack--is sturdy and uncompromising, willing to engage the knotty ambiguities of embracing vigilantism even in a just cause. Badham's decision to treat the authorities (Scott Wilson, Jay O. Sanders, John Goodman) as period caricatures is regrettable. But John Cusack is solid as a figure of utterly matter-of-fact integrity. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

This Jack's great, that's no Bull
Wow. I've not seen very many westerns, truth be told. I can count the one's I've enjoyed on one hand. Tombstone, Unforgiven, and to a lesser extent, Silverado. But the Jack Bull tops them all (sorry, Clint). John Cusack plays a horse trader who is forced to leave two prized steeds with a spiteful land Baron because he can't afford the Baron's toll. When he returns to pick his horses back up, he finds them badly beaten and swaybacked, and the Indian worker he left with them was beaten and driven off. He wants amends and gives the Baron two weeks to have his horses returned to their former glory and his Indian cohort payed for his damages. The Baron refuses, and with no help from the local or federal law agencies, he takes matters into his own hands. In my opinion, this is how the Wild, Wild West really was, as every bit of this movie rings authentic. Cusack is amazingly good in one of his best rolls ever (among Say Anything and Grosse Point Blank), and John Goodman is equally as good as a no-nonsense judge. This is a good example of the price of taking the law into your own hands, and I think this one will become a staple in any film fan's, western or no, permanent video collection. I give this one five stars, and that's saying something seein' as how I ain't none too keen on westerns and all. Watch this movie. Buy it. You won't regret it.

Cusack's best performance yet. His character was alive!!!
The plot was captivating, very interesting twists that took you off-guard. It truly holds your attention. The scenery was breathtaking! Being a fan of Cusack, I have seen pretty much all of his movies, this one tops them all in the category of plot and acting. (Of note: My favorite Cusack classic will always be: Say Anything, I have this movie and have seen it a thousand times. I actually quote from it on a regular basis.) Getting back to The Jack Bull, this movie lets you see the range Cusack has in his acting ability and allows you to see real growth in him as a talented actor. Kudos to you John! The one area that stands out in my mind was watching his anger....very believable and impressive. It was also good to see John Goodman on screen again, especially in the "morals" role. The ending was a bit disturbing and not what you expect, but it was a good fit to the overall plot. Thumbs up to Dick Cusack for creating such a wonderful movie as this, and for his talented kids!

Jack Bull
One of the least known western movies of the time that should be considered as a great real to life action movie. It transports you to the time of pre-statehood and could be any state of the USA. Cusak's performance is totally outstanding and I would consider his best work ever. A good family film that even my grandchildren enjoyed.
In this day and time you look for films that DO NOT cater to foul language, sex and drugs and this film was a delight to sit through.