Face/Off (1997)

In order to foil an extortion plot, an FBI agent undergoes a facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity and physical appearance of a terrorist, but the plan turns from bad to worse when the same terrorist impersonates the FBI agent.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Mike Werb, Michael Colleary

Stars:

John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Sean Archer
Nicolas Cage	...	Castor Troy
Joan Allen	...	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	...	Prison Guard Walton
CCH Pounder	...	Hollis Miller
Robert Wisdom	...	Tito Biondi
Margaret Cho	...	Wanda
James Denton	...	Buzz (as Jamie Denton)
Matt Ross	...	Loomis

Storyline

Sean Archer, a very tough, rugged FBI Agent, is still grieving for his dead son Michael. Archer believes that his son's killer is his sworn enemy and a very powerful criminal, Castor Troy. One day, Archer has finally cornered Castor, however, their fight has knocked out Troy cold. As Archer finally breathes easy over the capture of his enemy, he finds out that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles and all of its inhabitants. Unfortunately the only other person who knows its location is Castor's brother Pollux, and he refuses to talk. The solution, a special operation doctor that can cut off people's faces, and can place a person's face onto another person. Archer undergoes one of those surgeries to talk to Pollux. However, Castor Troy somehow regains consciousness and now wants revenge on Archer for taking his face. Not only is Troy ruining Archer's mission, but his personal life as well. Archer must stop Troy again. This time, it's personal.

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Plot Keywords:

face transplant | face | death of child | title spoken by character | prison | 

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Taglines:

It's like looking in a mirror - only not

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

27 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Face Off

Filming Locations:

Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,387,530, 29 June 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$112,225,777, 2 November 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$128,000,000, 22 March 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Permut Presentations,Touchstone Pictures,Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Woo let Nick Cassavetes write a lot of his own lines for the movie.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 24 mins) When Jamie is being smooched by her date, she says, "Karl, stop it!" but her lips do not move.

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Quotes

Castor Troy: [as Sean Archer] Sasha, baby, I'm Castor. That's Archer.
Sasha Hassler: And I'm bored. Put the fucking gun down!

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Alternate Versions

7 seconds in which a butterfly knife is shown were cut out of the UK version.

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Connections

Featured in Conan: A Finger Un-Pulled (2011)

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Soundtracks

Prelude in D-Flat, Op. 28, No. 15 ('Raindrop')
By Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Irina Zaritzkaya
Courtesy of Naxos of America
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

In my top 3 best Movies.

What can I say?! One of the best movies I have ever seen. The Storyline is superb, and the acting is of the finest actors there is. Cage and Travolta deserve Oscars for their performances; how Cage changed from a murdering criminal to a determined good cop in the way he did, I will never know.

Another great element of this film is the action: Guns, knives, grenade launchers, AK-47s and so on! Some of the greatest gun fights I have ever seen in any movie take place here, specifically the the cop vs criminal fight in the mansion, is it? Anyway, these are just a few things I have mentioned that put this in my top 3 movies. But I must emphasise the acting once more, and how tremendous both Travolta and Cage are in this master-piece.

10/10, or in other words, brilliant!