Eraser (1996)

A Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons.

Director:

Chuck Russell

Writers:

Tony Puryear (story), Walon Green (story),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, Vanessa Williams

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	U.S. Marshal John 'The Eraser' Kruger
James Caan	...	U.S. Marshal Robert DeGuerin
Vanessa Williams	...	Lee Cullen
James Coburn	...	WitSec Chief Beller
Robert Pastorelli	...	Johnny Casteleone
James Cromwell	...	William Donohue
Danny Nucci	...	WitSec Deputy Monroe
Andy Romano	...	Undersecretary of Defense Daniel Harper
Nick Chinlund	...	WitSec Agent Calderon
Michael Papajohn	...	WitSec Agent Schiffer
Joe Viterelli	...	Tony Two-Toes
Mark Rolston	...	J. Scar
John Slattery	...	FBI Agent Corman
Robert Miranda	...	Frediano
Roma Maffia	...	Claire Isaacs

Storyline

John Kruger is a U.S. marshal who is assigned to protect Lee Cullen, who works for the Cyrez Corporation, a company that manufactures top secret weapons for the military. Lee knows about a scam going on within Cyrez Corporation, and the man behind it is determined to silence Lee, because without Lee, the FBI has no case against the Cyrez Corporation. After taking Lee to New York City to hide her, John discovers that his friend, U.S. Marshal Robert Deguerin, is the mastermind behind the scam!

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Plot Keywords:

weapon | witness | u.s. marshal | fbi | witness protection | 

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Taglines:

He will erase your past to protect your future.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent action throughout and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El protector

Filming Locations:

Kelly Gulch - 1801 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Topanga Canyon, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$24,566,446 (USA) (21 June 1996)

Gross:

AUD 5,776,922 (Australia) (1 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kopelson Entertainment, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The early version by Tony Puryear was meant as an action vehicle for Robert De Niro.

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Goofs

When trapped by the glass door in the weapons building, Kruger stops firing because the bullets are ineffective, not because he has run out. Therefore, a later shot at the sprinkler system without reloading is reasonable.

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Quotes

Tony Two Toes: Lemme explain somethin' to ya, sonny boy. Nothin' moves off these docks without it don't get loaded by the union. I don't see no union people around here. Do you?

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Connections

Featured in David Walliams' Awfully Good: Awfully Good Movies (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Caught A Train"
Written and Produced by Trevor Rabin

User Reviews

Very good. Surprisingly.

As one of the later Arnold movies and a suspicious title, there are initially serious worries about how good this film will be. Fortunately it turned out to be a great movie in the end. The only nitpick would be those obviously fake CGI crocodiles used in one scene but otherwise, the movie has consistency in quality. This movie also introduced the famous rail gun which became an instant hit when videogames copied it. The rail gun in the movie itself is more like a super fast rocket launcher than a sniping weapon. The story itself, surrounds the marketing of that weapon. The acting is very good as is the screenplay and cinematography. This film isn't anything new, isn't a groundbreaker in any way but is still highly enjoyable.