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Fortress - Die Festung (1992)

Fortress (original title)
A futuristic prison movie. Protagonist and wife are nabbed at a future US emigration point with an illegal baby during population control. The resulting prison experience is the subject of ... See full summary »

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(story), (story) | 4 more credits »
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2 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Nino Gomez (as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez)
...
...
...
...
Maddox
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon ...
Zed-10 (voice)
Alan Zitner ...
Claustrophobic Prisoner
Deni Gordon ...
Karen's Cellmate
Eric Briant Wells ...
Border Guard
Dragicia Debert ...
Bio Scanner Guard
Heidi Stein ...
Pregnant Woman
Harry Nurmi ...
Guard #1
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Storyline

A futuristic prison movie. Protagonist and wife are nabbed at a future US emigration point with an illegal baby during population control. The resulting prison experience is the subject of the movie. The prison is a futuristic one run by a private corporation bent on mind control in various ways. Written by Mark Allyn <allyn@netcom.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

A Prison of the Future. A High-Tech Hell. Built to Hold Anything... Except an Innocent Man. See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

3 September 1993 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Fortress - Die Festung  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,739,141 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Like Snake Plissken, the protagonist of "Escape from New York", it's sequel "Escape from L.A." and Robbins, the protagonist of "Escape from Absolom", Brennick is a former soldier. See more »

Goofs

While passing the supposed US/Mexican border, there are signs in English and Spanish saying that it is a crime to cross the border. However, the English sign has the word "offence" (as it would be spelled in Australia, where the film was made). See more »

Quotes

Stiggs, Maddox's Buddy: Smart fish! Very smart.
[laughs]
Stiggs, Maddox's Buddy: You know, the two of you gotta pay the rent.
John Henry Brennick: I do my own time.
Stiggs, Maddox's Buddy: There's all kinds of time. Think about it: you don't pay the rent, me and Maddox come and get it.
John Henry Brennick: [to D-Day] That you?
Stiggs, Maddox's Buddy: [laughs] No. Maddox is hard to miss. He's got a 187 tattooed on his forehead. Do you know what 187 means, fish?
John Henry Brennick: Bet it's not your IQ.
Nino Gomez: 187, murder statute. He's doing the big biz.
Stiggs, Maddox's Buddy: So maybe you want to pay the rent after all.
See more »

Connections

Followed by Fortress 2 (2000) See more »

Soundtracks

DIE KUNST DER FUGE BWV 1080
Contrapunctus 3&11 a 4
Canon per augmentationem in contrario motu
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Bell'Arte Ensemble
Courtesy of Koch Import Service
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Highly entertaining film!
23 October 2002 | by See all my reviews

Fortress is a very underrated sic-fi/action movie made in the early nineties by Stuart Gordon (the maker of re-animator/from beyond/dagon). The story is your standard prison movie formula, only it's set in the future.

The best thing about this film is the suspense of the action sequences. There were several scenes in the movie that literally had me talking to the TV. Nice performances by Jeffery Combs(as a very amusing computer geek type)and Christopher Lambert are a big plus. Kurtwood smith is also great as the prison director.

At the time it was released I was impressed with this film and over time my affection for it has grown (it continues to entertain even after seeing it several times). The main flaws would be the predictability of the plot and some cliché characters, but it's all handled so well that it doesn't really hurt the movie.

It's a good popcorn action movie, and one of my favorite Stuart Gordon Films. In my opinion, this is probably Gordons Second best film, after re-animator.


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