Eraser (1996)

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

Director:

Chuck Russell (as Charles Russell)

Writers:

Tony Puryear (story), Walon Green (story)

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan

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

U.S. Marshal deputy John Kruger is one of the toughest Marshals, his methods are to "Erase" The identities of his witnesses he is assigned to protect. Meanwhile, a woman named Lee Cullen who works for a corporation named Cyrez performed an undercover job for the FBI to unveil a top secret weapon which uses an electromagnetic pulse to dispatch targets. Cyrez discovered this about Lee and are now out to kill her, Kruger's job is now to protect Lee so she can testify against Cyrez. But, when Kruger was assigned to perform a job with another Marshal named Robert Deguerin, he discovers that Deguerin is behind some kind of scam that will involve the EM Gun, which will change hands to a Russian criminal if Kruger does not stop them, Kruger must not only protect Lee's life but his own.

---

Plot Keywords:

witness protection program | rogue agent | fbi | treason | railgun | 

---

Taglines:

He will erase your past to protect your future.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent action throughout and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eraser

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,566,446, 23 June 1996

Gross USA:

$101,295,562

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$242,295,562

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kopelson Entertainment, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vanessa Williams performed the song "Where Do We Go From Here", which is heard during the end credits.

---

Goofs

The mini-cam image of Lee in a mirror is not reversed as a mirror image would be.

---

Quotes

John: Don't move. You're dead.

---

Alternate Versions

In later versions of the movie, the reference of UBS meaning "Union de Bank Swiss" is changed to "United Bank of Syria."

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Fights on a Plane (2014)

---

Soundtracks

That's Amore
Written by Jack Brooks and Harry Warren
Performed by Dean Martin
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Special Markets

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.