The Rock (1996)

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.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

David Weisberg (story), Douglas Cook (story) (as Douglas S. Cook)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	John Patrick Mason
Nicolas Cage	...	Stanley Goodspeed
Ed Harris	...	General Francis X. Hummel
John Spencer	...	F.B.I. Director Womack
David Morse	...	Major Tom Baxter
William Forsythe	...	Ernest Paxton
Michael Biehn	...	Commander Anderson
Vanessa Marcil	...	Carla Pestalozzi
John C. McGinley	...	Marine Captain Hendrix (as John C. Mc Ginley)
Gregory Sporleder	...	Captain Frye
Tony Todd	...	Captain Darrow
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Sergeant Crisp
Jim Maniaci	...	Private Scarpetti
Greg Collins	...	Private Gamble
Brendan Kelly	...	Private Cox

Storyline

Stanley Goodspeed, who lives in Washington, D.C., is a biochemist who works for the F.B.I. Soon after his fiancée Carla Pestalozzi announces that she is pregnant, Stanley gets a call from F.B.I. Director James Womack. Womack tells Stanley that San Francisco's Alcatraz Island has been taken hostage, along with eighty-one tourists, by Marine General Francis Xavier Hummel who, for years, has been protesting the government's refusal to pay benefits to families of war veterans who died during covert military operations. The death of his wife Barbara on March 9, 1995 drove General Hummel over the edge, and now he's holding hostages in order to get his point across. Stanley is needed because General Hummel has stolen some VX gas warheads and has announced that he will launch them onto San Francisco unless his demands are met. Stanley knows how to disarm the bombs, but he needs someone who knows Alcatraz well enough to get him inside. That man is former British Intelligence Agent John Patrick...

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Plot Keywords:

two word title | time bomb | colored smoke | aircraft | warplane | 

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Taglines:

Alcatraz. Only one man has ever broken out. Now five million lives depend on two men breaking in.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and a sex scene

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cast includes two Oscar winners: Sir Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage; and one Oscar nominee: Ed Harris.

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Goofs

When Goodspeed is blown away by the bombs you can see the wires that pull him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
General Hummel: Congressman Weaver and esteemed members of the Special Armed Services Committee, I come before you to protest a grave injustice... It has to stop.

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Alternate Versions

For its theatrical release in Germany the film was edited to secure a more commercial "Not under 16" rating. The uncut version has a "Not under 18" rating. Both versions are available on DVD/VHS. TV version was edited even more (total ca. 11 min.) to remove all kinds of violence/gore for a "Not under 12" rating (required for broadcast at primetime).

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Connections

Referenced in Marienthal: State of Emergency (2002)

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Soundtracks

World Without Love
Written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Performed by Peter and Gordon
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Actioner a league ahead of the others!

Wow! The Rock is one of the most rewatchable films I own. I've watched it countlessly, and it seems to have the quick, energizing effect of a good song that we love to play again and again. The dialogue is at times funny, always fresh, and sometimes intelligent. This film shines as an actioner that actually has a great, plausible plot, with some characters we wouldn't mind following on a journey. (I really liked Sean Connery's character; maybe a sequel with "Mr.John Mason"?)

And then there are the heavyweights in acting, a rarity in action films. Ed Harris, Sean Connery, Nic Cage, and a few others are so talented in reading their lines in a unique way, one can see that these are truly great actors. I loved Ed Harris' character, since it was not the standard black & white type, but a complex person. Who would've thought I'd be saying "complex" in an actioner? Well, that's how The Rock surprises you, like a vicious left hook to the face. Oh yeah, the Hans Zimmer score is a knockout, as always.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rock

Filming Locations:

New Russian Hill Market - 1198 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,069,525, 9 June 1996

Gross USA:

$134,069,511

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$335,062,621

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1