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Face/Off (1997)
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Overview
Release Date:
27 June 1997 (USA) moreTagline:
In order to catch him, he must become him. morePlot:
A revolutionary medical technique allows an undercover agent to take the physical appearance of a major criminal and infiltrate his organization. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 17 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(23 articles)
Gershon's Rep Chastises Vanity Fair Journalist For Clinton 'Lie' (From WENN. 3 June 2008, 12:07 PM, PDT)
Cage Forgives Penn for "Not an Actor" Remark (From WENN. 13 October 2005)
User Comments:
Woo's US breakthrough: A triumph! moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| John Travolta | ... | Sean Archer / Castor Troy | |
| Nicolas Cage | ... | Castor Troy / Sean Archer | |
| Joan Allen | ... | Dr. Eve Archer | |
| Alessandro Nivola | ... | Pollux Troy | |
| Gina Gershon | ... | Sasha Hassler | |
| Dominique Swain | ... | Jamie Archer | |
| Nick Cassavetes | ... | Dietrich Hassler | |
| Harve Presnell | ... | Victor Lazarro | |
| Colm Feore | ... | Dr. Malcolm Walsh | |
| John Carroll Lynch | ... | Walton, Prison Guard | |
| CCH Pounder | ... | Dr. Holllis Miller | |
| Robert Wisdom | ... | Tito Biondi | |
| Margaret Cho | ... | Wanda | |
| James Denton | ... | Buzz (as Jamie Denton) | |
| Matt Ross | ... | Loomis |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for intense sequences of strong violence, and for strong language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
138 minCountry:
USAColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
Finland:K-15 (DVD version) | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | USA:R (certificate #34954) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:18 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (re-rating) (uncut) (2004) | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Austria:16 | Belgium:KNT | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 | UK:18 (cut)MOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The boat chase at the end of the film was originally intended for Hard Target (1993), also directed by John Woo. moreGoofs:
Plot holes: The complex face switching surgery required anesthesia and experienced doctors when Archer is given Troy's face; Troy would have needed to go through the same procedure when he awakens from the coma to get Archer's face, and wouldn't have been able to overrun the doctors. moreQuotes:
Castor Troy: [looking at Jamie in her underwear][to himself]
Castor Troy: The plot thickens.
Jamie Archer: [on the phone] Carl, I'll have to call you back.
[hangs up]
Jamie Archer: You're not respecting my bounderies.
Castor Troy: I'm coming in Jainnie.
Jamie Archer: Jannie?
Castor Troy: [seeing a pillow that says Jamie on it] I do'nt think you heard me Jamie. You got something I crave.
[closes in on Jamie, reaches back and grabs her pack of cigarettes]
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "Family Guy: The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz (#4.18)" (2005) moreSoundtrack:
Stella By Starlight moreFAQ
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FACE/OFF
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS
This magnificent thriller represents director John Woo's triumphant return to the kind of hyperkinetic, emotionally charged film-making which made him such a hot property in the first place. Following the artistic bankruptcy of his first two Hollywood projects, this one is a marriage of high-octane movie-making and mind-twisting narrative complexities. It's also one of the few American action movies which manages to strike a balance between crowd-pleasing set-pieces and domestic interludes, and renders them equally important. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are perfectly matched as hero/villain (and vice versa!), whilst heavyweight theatre actress Joan Allen provides the narrative with much of its dramatic backbone in the role of Travolta's wife (the scene in which she is first confronted with her husband in Cage's body is almost identical to a similar scene in Terence Fisher's FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED [1969]).
Technically, the film is a blast, and Woo stages the action highlights with a visual grace and dexterity that is often breathtaking to behold. The climactic speedboat battle is probably the finest set-piece of Woo's career to date, and the script is overflowing with visual and thematic ironies that underscore the action highlights. In fact, the production has arguably more dramatic resonance than any other Hollywood blockbuster of the 1990s, but the dictates of American commercialism mean that Woo is only able to skate over the emotional surface of his characters and their moral dilemmas. The two main protagonists are much too cold and heartless to fully engage the audience's sympathies, and there's nothing here that matches the scorching human drama of, say, BULLET IN THE HEAD (1990). But for all that, FACE/OFF dares to go deeper than your average Hollywood action picture. It's clever, witty and thrilling, and it manages to accomplish the difficult task of feeding the brain whilst entertaining the eye.