True Lies (1994)

A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman.

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

Claude Zidi (screenplay), Simon Michaël (screenplay)

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 18 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 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) 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 (Bill Paxton) 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:

secret agent | spy | spy film | secret mission | espionage | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | 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:

True Lies - Le caméléon

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$146,282,411 (USA)

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

Eliza Dushku cracked a couple of ribs during shooting.

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Goofs

When in the Helicopter, Albert says there are two Harriers that can be there in eleven minutes yet they show up just seconds later. However, it appears that each shot in the helicopter is jumping a few minutes. It is therefore possible that the Harriers did take the time indicated.

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Quotes

Gib: [when Harry tells Gib to tap Helen's phone] Ok, I've got two words for that. In. Sane.

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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

Referenced in The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998)

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Soundtracks

Liebeslieder Waltz, Op.114
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Heard at the ball at the beginning of the film

User Reviews

She Married Rambo and She Didn't Know

The secret agent Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has been happily married with his wife, the legal secretary Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), for many years living in the suburbs and having a teenager daughter, Dana (Eliza Dushku). Helen does not suspect that Harry has a double life, and she believes he is a computer salesman. After a top-secret mission, Harry finds evidences that Helen is having an affair with Simon (Bill Paxton), an used cars salesman that seduced Helen with the glamour and excitement of his fake life, telling her that he is a spy. Harry forces his partner Albert Gibson (Tom Arnold) to use the resources of their agency to follow Simon and Helen; they abduct Helen wearing masks and later they assign a pseudo mission for her. However, a group of terrorists kidnap Helen and Harry and the couple gets involved with a dangerous group that possesses an atomic bomb ready to be exploded in Florida.

"True Lies" is one of the best adventures ever, and I personally do not recall how many times I have watched this excellent movie. The story is amazingly good, with a magnificent screenplay that alternates action with comedy. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his partner Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton are hilarious, with very funny liens and situations. Jamie Lee Curtis is not only funny, but also extremely sexy and hot, and I love when she says that she married Rambo. The special effects in the action scenes are stunning. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "True Lies"