True Lies (1994)

Harry Tasker is a secret agent for the United States Government. For years, he has kept his job from his wife, but is forced to reveal his identity and try to stop nuclear terrorists when he and his wife are kidnapped by the terrorists.

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

Claude Zidi (screenplay), Simon Michaël (screenplay),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Harry Tasker
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Helen Tasker
Tom Arnold	...	Albert Gibson
Bill Paxton	...	Simon
Tia Carrere	...	Juno Skinner
Art Malik	...	Salim Abu Aziz
Eliza Dushku	...	Dana Tasker
Grant Heslov	...	Faisil
Charlton Heston	...	Spencer Trilby
Marshall Manesh	...	Jamal Khaled
James Allen	...	Colonel
Dieter Rauter	...	Boathouse Guard (as Deiter Rauter)
Jane Morris	...	Janice
Katsy Chappell	...	Allison
Crystina Wyler	...	Charlene

Storyline

Harry Tasker leads a double life. At work he is a government agent with a license to do just about anything, while at home he pretends to be a dull computer salesman. He is on the trail of stolen nuclear weapons that are in the hands of fanatic terrorists when something more important comes up. Harry finds his wife is seeing another man because she needs some adventure in her life. Harry decides to give it to her, juggling pursuit of terrorists on one hand and an adventure for his wife on the other while showing he can Tango all at once.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | agent | secret | used car salesman | secret agent | 

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Taglines:

When he said I do, he never said what he did.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a lot of action/violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Arabic German

Release Date:

15 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mentiras verdaderas

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£10,923,140 (UK) (9 September 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Lightstorm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Digital (35 mm prints) DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many problems plagued the shooting of the opening sequence: the mansion scene was filmed on an extremely cold night and the mansion itself was not heated; all of the women wore dresses with nothing underneath and a costume change room was set up outside in the cold; kerosene lamps were used to heat the tents; one of the extra's blouses caught fire. For their suffering through the harsh cold that night, the extras were paid an additional $50.

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Goofs

Just before her striptease assignment, Helen modifies her dress. At one point, she holds fabric she ripped from her sleeves as she tries to rip away the collar. Then, in a closer shot, the sleeve fabric is nowhere in sight.

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Quotes

[Salim Abu Aziz reveals a nuclear weapon]
Salim Abu Aziz: Do you know what this is?
Harry: I know what this is...
[Salim smiles]
Harry: This is an espresso machine.
[Salim frowns]
Harry: No, no wait. It's a snow cone maker.
[Salim approaches Harry]
Harry: Is it a water heater?

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Crazy Credits

In the middle of the credits, Gib (who's waiting outside in the stereotypical spy van as Harry's having fun inside the party) says, "You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys can be in the van next time. I've been in the van for fifteen years, Harry."

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Connections

References Scorpio (1973)

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Soundtracks

"I Never Thought I'd See the Day"
Written by Sade Adu and Leroy Asbourne
Performed by Sade
Courtesy of Epic Records

User Reviews

"Can you hurry up. My horse is getting tired."

James Cameron has directed some fantastic action movies during his career (Aliens, the first two Terminator movies, The Abyss, Titanic--that boat action was like totally awesome!!), but none were as funny as True Lies is. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Eraser, the Governor of California) is Harry Tasker, a computer programming father by day, James Bond by night, working for a top secret government agency that is beyond the CIA and run by Charlton Heston. Tom Arnold, in his first dramatic role, plays Harry's partner, Gib, and is the smartass, class clown of the agency. Schwarzenegger and Arnold have a fantastic chemistry, creating the movie's biggest laughs. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Harry's under-appreciated wife, Helen, who flirts with the idea of leaving Harry for a used-car salesman, played with uber-confidence by Bill Paxson. Helen finds out the true identity of her husband in another funny scene where both are captured by Arab terrorists with help from a truth serum. The action part of True Lies comes from Harry trying to track down the nuclear bomb that has been stolen by the terrorists. A wonderfully shot escape scene on the bridge that connects the Florida Keys to the mainland is the pinnacle of True Lies. An action film that does not take itself too seriously (notice all of the silly Arnold-lines peppered throughout the movie, my personal favorite being "you're fired!" before Trump thought of it), True Lies is wildly entertaining, so much so that you almost forget Tom Arnold was married to Roseanne.