Face/Off (1997)

Director:

John Woo

Writers (WGA):

Mike Werb (written by) &
Michael Colleary (written by)

Release Date:

27 June 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In order to catch him, he must become him.

Plot:

A revolutionary medical technique allows an undercover agent to take the physical appearance of a major criminal and infiltrate his organization.

Plot Keywords:

Identity Swap | Boat Chase | Death | SWAT Team | Identity Theft

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Face Off

MPAA:

Rated R for intense sequences of strong violence, and for strong language.

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

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)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The boat chase at the end of the film was originally intended for Hard Target (1993), also directed by John Woo.

Goofs:

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.

Quotes:

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]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz (#4.18)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Stella By Starlight

Woo's US breakthrough: A triumph!

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.