The Rock (1996)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

David Weisberg (story) &
Douglas Cook (story) ...

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Alcatraz. Only one man has ever broken out. Now five million lives depend on two men breaking in.

Plot:

A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threat San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos.

Plot Keywords:

Night Vision Goggles | Melting Face | Foot Blown Off | Car Chase | Chemical Weapons

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	John Patrick Mason
Nicolas Cage	...	Dr. Stanley Goodspeed
Ed Harris	...	Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel, USMC
John Spencer	...	FBI Director James Womack
David Morse	...	Major Tom Baxter
William Forsythe	...	Special Agent Ernest Paxton
Michael Biehn	...	Commander Anderson
Vanessa Marcil	...	Carla Pestalozzi
John C. McGinley	...	Marine Captain Hendrix (as John C. Mc Ginley)
Gregory Sporleder	...	Captain Frye
Tony Todd	...	Captain Darrow
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Sergeant Crisp
Jim Maniaci	...	Private Scarpetti
Greg Collins	...	Private Gamble
Brendan Kelly	...	Private Cox

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and a sex scene.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 (heavily cut) | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | USA:R (certificate #34620) | Australia:MA (cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2007) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 (w) (uncut version) | Ireland:15 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | New Zealand:PG (cut) | Canada:PG (tv edition) | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Company:

Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Trivia:

Ed Harris, playing Brig. Gen. Hummel here, co-starred with Michael Biehn in The Abyss (1989) (although not as a Marine). In that film, it was Biehn's character who was a renegade soldier and Harris' character was attempting to stop him.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Rubber tires are visible underneath the trolley as it crashes into the SUV.

Quotes:

[first lines]
General Hummel: Congressman Weaver and esteemed members of the Special Armed Services Committee, I come before you to protest a grave injustice... It has to stop.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The King of Queens: The Rock (#1.7)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

World Without Love

An absolute classic

What can I say other than Connery at his best as usual? It's good to see Hollywood remembers the best. It's also good to see an American film portray us little Brits in such high regard.

When else would you see a 60+ year old retired SAS agent who's been wrongfully banged up for 30 years and kept away from his daughter, break back into Alcatraz (after successfully breaking out all those years ago), take out an entire SEAL team almost empty handed, save 81 hostages held at gun point and a city of 5 Million held ransom with 15 deadly poisonous VX gas rockets?? Generally excellent acting by Ed Harris as you could expect and an almost convincing performance by Nicolas Cage.

...and thats just the half of it.