Face/Off (1997)

In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind, who murdered his only son. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Mike Werb, Michael Colleary

Stars:

John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 21 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 | death of child | girl in panties | face ripped off | severed face | 

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Taglines:

Only one will survive

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three sets of each of the boats were built for the movie by a company in Florida.

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Goofs

At Erehwon prison, during the cigarette incident, Sean (as Castor Troy) is knocked down, and while on the floor the side bar of his left magnetic boot breaks and the entire boot begins to fall off, but it's intact when he crawls to get the cigarette.

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Quotes

Sean Archer: [over the phone with Victor] When we put this thing to bed, you can brand the fourth amendment on my butt.

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Alternate Versions

In the Domestic release, the Paramount opening logo is played, and at the end of the film, The still closing version of the Paramount logo is shown; while on the International prints, the Buena Vista International logo is played for 20 seconds before the company credits is shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Hi Everybody! A Bad Medicine Podcast: Face Off: "This Would be a Scalpel Procedure" (2019)

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Soundtracks

Don't Lose Your Head
By Andrew Farriss & Michael Hutchence
Performed by INXS
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta Make the Film Succeed

"Face/Off" is a somewhat complicated action thriller which involves an obsessed FBI agent (John Travolta) who decides to become a comatose criminal (Nicolas Cage) by literally trading faces with him. The purpose in doing this is to learn where a bomb is by going undercover in a maximum-security prison and getting the information from Cage's brother. When Cage's character comes out of his coma, he decides to take Travolta's face. Still with me? In short Travolta's FBI agent is now Cage's crazed criminal and vise versa. What follows is a wild and crazy thrill ride that is a bit hard to keep straight, but ultimately fun to watch and quite satisfying. Overall a really good film. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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

Gross USA:

$112,276,146

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$245,676,146

Company Credits

Production Co:

Permut Presentations, Touchstone Pictures, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1