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IMDbPro

The Rock

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
342K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
959
454
Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Harris in The Rock (1996)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:54
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureThriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francis... Read allA mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
342K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
959
454
    • Michael Bay
    • David Weisberg(story)
    • Douglas Cook(story)
    • Mark Rosner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Sean Connery
    • Nicolas Cage
    • Ed Harris
    • Michael Bay
    • David Weisberg(story)
    • Douglas Cook(story)
    • Mark Rosner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Sean Connery
    • Nicolas Cage
    • Ed Harris
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 554User reviews
    • 134Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:54
    Watch Official Trailer
    Defining Bay-hem With the 'Ambulance' Cast and Director Michael Bay
    Clip 3:44
    Watch Defining Bay-hem With the 'Ambulance' Cast and Director Michael Bay

    Photos141

    Nicolas Cage in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage in The Rock (1996)
    Ed Harris, John C. McGinley, David Morse, and Brendan Kelly in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)
    Ed Harris and David Morse in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)
    Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)
    Sean Connery, Michael Biehn, Danny Nucci, and John Spencer in The Rock (1996)
    Sean Connery in The Rock (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sean Connery
    Sean Connery
    • John Patrick Mason
    Nicolas Cage
    Nicolas Cage
    • Stanley Goodspeed
    Ed Harris
    Ed Harris
    • General Francis X. Hummel
    John Spencer
    John Spencer
    • F.B.I. Director Womack
    David Morse
    David Morse
    • Major Tom Baxter
    William Forsythe
    William Forsythe
    • Ernest Paxton
    Michael Biehn
    Michael Biehn
    • Commander Anderson
    Vanessa Marcil
    Vanessa Marcil
    • Carla Pestalozzi
    John C. McGinley
    John C. McGinley
    • Marine Captain Hendrix
    • (as John C. Mc Ginley)
    Gregory Sporleder
    Gregory Sporleder
    • Captain Frye
    Tony Todd
    Tony Todd
    • Captain Darrow
    Bokeem Woodbine
    Bokeem Woodbine
    • Sergeant Crisp
    Jim Maniaci
    • Private Scarpetti
    Greg Collins
    Greg Collins
    • Private Gamble
    Brendan Kelly
    Brendan Kelly
    • Private Cox
    Steve Harris
    Steve Harris
    • Private McCoy
    Danny Nucci
    Danny Nucci
    • Lieutenant Shepard
    Claire Forlani
    Claire Forlani
    • Jade Angelou
      • Michael Bay
      • David Weisberg(story) (screenplay)
      • Douglas Cook(story) (screenplay)
      • Mark Rosner(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sir Sean Connery insisted the producers build a cabin for him on Alcatraz, as he didn't want to travel from the mainland to the island every day. He got what he asked for.
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 5 mins) When Mason is with the troops in the basement of Alcatraz, he states that he studied the timing of the boiler that he must roll through. The question has often been asked why he wouldn't then just be able to open the door during his original escape. However, when Alcatraz was functional, the door may well have been guarded or locked from the other side.
    • Quotes

      John Mason: [while on the stairs leading to the prison morgue] Are you sure you're ready for this?

      Stanley Goodspeed: I'll do my best.

      John Mason: Your "best"! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen.

      Stanley Goodspeed: Carla *was* the prom queen.

      John Mason: Really?

      Stanley Goodspeed: [cocks his gun] Yeah.

    • Alternate versions
      Although the film was shot in the Super 35 process, the HDTV version Pans and Scans as if it were shot in Anamorphic Widescreen instead of properly framing it for Full Frame as most Super 35 films are.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)
      Written by John Phillips

      Performed by Scott McKenzie

      Courtesy of Epic Records

      By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

    User reviews554

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    An action packed, high octane thriller with great performances. ***1/2 out of ****.
    THE ROCK / (1996) ***1/2

    Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Jon Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Bokeem Woodbine, and Vanessa Marcil. Directed by Michael Bay. Running time: 135 minutes. Rated R (for strong intense violence, language and brief sexuality)

    Notes taken while screening The Rock:

    · The film contains superior character development of both the antagonist and protagonist. Each is clear and well defined. We also learn the characters motives, reasoning, dramatic situation, and premise--all brilliantly introduced within the setup.

    · Sean Connery provides us with strong character development through John Patrick Mason--although the character is somewhat a rip off of the Anthony Hokins' Hannibal from "The Silence of the Lambs."

    · It is uncanny how well the movie's visual style works. It propels the film's suspense the extra mile, increasing the tension and enticement. Also contributing to the style is the fitting soundtrack.

    · Some of the events are excessively coincidental. For example, during an exciting chase scene, Mason dashes out of a building, escaping the clutches of concealing police, discovering a Hum-V seemingly awaiting his arrival. Experienced chemist, Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage), chases after him, in a high speed Ferrari sitting outside his position in a building. Another coincidence occurs in the high security prison, where Mason escapes a grenade blast by dashing at random into a room, where, of course, there just so happens to be a secure bathtub to climb in.

    · There is a stolid, aggressively effective cast present. Each actor contributes a taut, penetrating performance, especially Ed Harris as the film's villain, General Francis X. Hummel who demands a moral purpose holding the lives of an urban area at stake.

    * The character's motives and perfectly defined, especially General Francis X. Hummel. Even as the film's bad guy, he serves an understandable position, thus we empathize with him, unlike most villains witnessed in modern day thrillers.

    · The standard three act structure is flawless: each scene propels the plot forward. The sequences either create a new problem or complicate a previous conflict, favoring with the later concept. This raises the line of tension even further.

    · Most of the production takes place in a high security prison, Alcatraz, crafted with a complex, awe-inspiring atmosphere towering over that of most action movies.

    · Sean Connery handles the complicated role of John Mason with mere simplicity, yet easily torments the audience with a sense of omniscient knowledge of the plot.

    · The picture is unpredictable and contains several inducing and unexpected twists proving this movie is imaginative and free to surprise us. The conclusion is not fomulatic. "The Rock" is filled with artful design and crafty performances. It is one of the year's best action films.

    Brought to you by Hollywood Pictures.
    helpful•77
    33
    • Movie-12
    • Mar 20, 2000

    FAQ29

    • When in captivity, what books did Mason have on his shelf to occupy his brilliant mind?
    • What medal did Hummel lay on his wife's headstone?
    • How can VX nerve gas be discovered by accident AND be designed at the same time?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 7, 1996 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Hollywood Pictures
      • Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 16 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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