Face/Off

Face/Off

Promotional film poster
Directed by John Woo
Produced by David Permut
Barrie M. Osborne
Terence Chang
Written by Mike Werb
Michael Colleary
Starring John Travolta
Nicolas Cage
Joan Allen
Alessandro Nivola
Music by John Powell
Michael A. Reagan (source music)
Cinematography Oliver Wood
Editing by Steven Kemper
Christian Wagner
Distributed by North America:
Paramount Pictures
International:
Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) June 27, 1997
Running time 141 min.
Country U.S.A.
Language English
Budget $80 million
Gross revenue $245,676,146 [1]

Face/Off is a 1997 action film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another.

The film exemplifies gun fu and heroic bloodshed action sequences, and has Travolta and Cage each playing two personalities. It was the first Hollywood film in which Woo was given complete creative control and was acclaimed by both audiences and critics. Eventually grossing $245 million worldwide, Face/Off was a financial success, as well as Woo's highest-grossing American film.[2]

Contents

Plot

Freelance terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) is relentlessly pursued by FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta). Years earlier, Castor, in an attempt to kill Archer, accidentally killed Archer's young son, Michael; the two have been obsessed with each other ever since.

The FBI receives information that Castor's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), has chartered a plane at LAX airport. Archer knows that Pollux will not fly without Castor, so he leads a FBI team to chase the plane down, which crashes into a hangar. In the ensuing chaos, Pollux is captured by the FBI and Castor is knocked into a coma after bragging to Archer about a bomb that will destroy Los Angeles.

Although he learns the date of the bombing, Archer is unable to find any information about the location of the bomb itself. Knowing that the only way to obtain the location is from Pollux; and the only person Pollux will reveal the location to is Castor, Archer's colleagues present him with a top-secret mission: he will undergo an experimental surgical procedure to temporarily graft Castor's face onto his skull, infiltrate the prison where Pollux is being held, and get the location of the bomb.

Arrangements are made for Archer (as Castor) to be incarcerated with Pollux in prison. Once there, he successfully learns the bomb's location. Meanwhile, Castor unexpectedly awakens from his coma and, realizing what has happened, calls his men to kidnap the doctor who performed the surgery. Castor then forces the doctor to give him Archer's face.

Castor (as Archer) visits Archer in prison, informing him that he killed everyone who knew about Archer’s mission and destroyed all the evidence. He leaves, telling Archer his plans to take advantage of his job and family. Castor then has the FBI negotiate a deal with Pollux for his release, in return for revealing the bomb's location. Castor proceeds to disarm the bomb and revels in the praise from Archer’s colleagues and the media.

After Castor's disarmament of the bomb, Archer begins an escape attempt. After a violent battle with the prison guards, Archer escapes. Later, Archer visits Castor’s crew and successfully fools them into thinking that he is the real Castor. Archer then asks them to help kill “Archer”.

Elsewhere, Castor flirts with Archer's wife Eve (Joan Allen) and bonds with Archer's teenage daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain). Meanwhile, Archer finds himself having to take drugs to impress Castor’s crew. Also present is Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon), Castor's ex-girlfriend, and their son Adam. Earlier, Archer threatened to put her son into foster care. He now realizes that she is a devoted mother who is trying to raise Adam away from a life of crime. Archer (as Castor) promises her that Archer will not bother her anymore.

Pollux, watching Castor’s old safehouse, informs Castor of Archer's arrival. Castor sends an FBI team in. A gunfight ensues, killing most of Castor’s crew, while Sasha and Adam escape with Archer’s help. As he makes his own escape, Archer catches Pollux and drops him through the apartment skylight, killing him.

Later, the FBI Director berates Castor for the unnecessary carnage at the safehouse. Castor confesses his true identity and kills him, blaming his death on a heart attack. As a result, Castor is promoted to FBI Director. Meanwhile, Archer returns to his suburban home and tries to convince Eve that he is really Archer; she is only convinced after he tells her the story of their first kiss.

Sometime later, Sasha and Archer track Castor to the former director’s funeral. Archer arrives during Mass and prays in a side chapel until it finishes and the mourners leave. He then discovers that Castor is holding Eve and Jaime hostage. A gunfight ensues, in which Sasha and Castor's crew are killed. Castor and Archer engage in several gun fights and hand-to-hand battles. Eventually, Castor steals a speed boat and is pursued closely by Archer. After a lengthy chase, both Archer and Castor are thrown ashore by an explosion resulting from their boats colliding. The two engage in a final hand-to-hand confrontation, which results in Archer eventually killing Castor with a spear gun. Later, Eve is able to explain the entire situation to the FBI, successfully convincing them of Archer's true identity. Archer is then taken to the hospital and his face is restored.

Sometime later, Archer arrives home with Adam, bringing him into his family in order to fulfill his promise to Sasha of not allowing Adam to grow up to be a criminal.

Cast

Production

Face/Off was a spec script which writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary tried to sell to a studio from as early as 1990. It took numerous studios, producers and rewrites before John Woo became attached several years later.[3]

Originally the film was to be set in the far future and was to star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the lead roles. Other pairings that was considered was that of Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas[4] as well as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. When the film was eventually made, Douglas was an executive producer. Werb and Colleary have cited White Heat (1949) and Seconds (1966) as influences on the plot.[3]

John Woo was offered a chance to direct but declined unless the studio agreed to give him more creative control than he had received on his previous American films. Travolta had previously starred in Woo's Broken Arrow (Cage was later to star in another Woo film Windtalkers). Woo set the movie in the present so he could focus on the psychological elements of the story, such as how the feud between the two men affects those close to them — such as Sasha and Adam and Archer's family.

The names Castor and Pollux come from a pair of brothers from Greek mythology which also features the city of Troy. The story itself, most notably the hatred between Archer and Troy, is very similar to that of Hector and Achilles, who fought against each other in the Trojan War. Castor and Pollux are also the brothers that make up the Gemini constellation. The Archer is also a constellation.

Pollux is held at Erehwon prison, a secret jail for top terrorists. The inmates do not even know which part of the country they are in. "Erehwon" is "nowhere" in reverse. The reversal is taken from the title of an allegorical novel by Samuel Butler.

The battle in the church, which includes doves flying around and religious artifacts being destroyed, is similar to the final confrontation in Woo's classic 1989 Hong Kong film The Killer.

Costing $80 million to make, Face/Off made heavy use of action set pieces including several violent shootouts and a boat chase. It was filmed in the Los Angeles area.[5][6]

The film was part of a trio of films in the late 1990s starring Nicolas Cage that were co-productions of Paramount Pictures and Touchstone Pictures, with Snake Eyes (1998) and Bringing Out the Dead (1999).

Release

Face/Off was released in North America on June 27, 1997 and earned $23 million on its opening weekend. It went on to become the 11th highest domestic and 14th worldwide grossing film of 1997, earning a domestic total of $112,276,146 and $133,400,000 overseas for a total of worldwide gross of $245,676,146.[5][7]

The Region 1 DVD of Face/Off was one of the first films to be released on the format on October 7, 1998.[8] A 10th Anniversary Collectors Edition was released on DVD September 11, 2007 and HD DVD October 30, 2007 in the United States.[9] The new DVD is a 2-disc set including 7 deleted scenes, an alternate ending and several featurettes.[10]

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2007 by Buena Vista, and was released in the United States on 20 May 2008 by Paramount Pictures[11].

Reception

Garnering largely positive reviews and high box office earnings, the film was a critical and financial success. The role reversal between Travolta and Cage was a subject of praise, as were the stylized, violent action sequences. Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked that "Here, using big movie stars and asking them to play each other, Woo and his writers find a terrific counterpoint to the action scenes: All through the movie, you find yourself reinterpreting every scene as you realize the 'other' character is 'really' playing it."[12] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers said of the film, "You may not buy the premise or the windup, but with Travolta and Cage taking comic and psychic measures of their characters and their own careers, there is no resisting Face/Off. This you gotta see."[13] Richard Corliss of Time Magazine said that the film "isn't just a thrill ride, it's a rocket into the thrilling past, when directors could scare you with how much emotion they packed into a movie."[14]

Some critics felt the film's violence was overkill, and that the action sequences dragged out too long. Barbara Shulgasser of the San Francisco Examiner called the movie "idiotic" and argued that "a good director would choose the best of the six ways and put it in his movie. Woo puts all six in. If you keep your eyes closed during a Woo movie and open them every six minutes, you'll see everything you need to know to have a perfectly lovely evening at the cinema."[15]

Face/Off holds a 93% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 54 positive reviews out of a total 56 and a score of 82 on Metacritic with 25 reviews counted.[16][17] The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Sound Editing at the 70th Academy Awards, but lost to Titanic. Face/Off also won the Saturn Awards for Best Directing and Writing, and the MTV Movie Awards for Best Action Scene (the speedboat chase) and Best Duo for Travolta and Cage.[18]

Soundtrack

Face/Off: Original Soundtrack Music By John Powell
Soundtrack by John Powell
Released July 1, 1997
Recorded 1997
Genre Score
Length 41:42
Label Hollywood Records
Producer Hans Zimmer
Professional reviews
Track listing
  1. "Face On" – (4:57)
  2. "80 Proof Rock" – (4:29)
  3. "Furniture" – (7:12)
  4. "The Golden Section Derma Lift" – (3:15)
  5. "This Ridiculous Chin" (– 6:51)
  6. "No More Drugs For That Man" – (7:27)
  7. "Hans' Loft" (– 3:37)
  8. "Ready For The Big Ride‚ Bubba" – (3:54)
Album credit

Additional music

Several pieces of music and songs were used in the film but not included in the soundtrack.[20] These include:

References

  1. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=faceoff.htm
  2. ↑ Yabroff, Jennie (1997-06-27). "Gentleman with a gun". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/june97/entertainment/woo970627.html. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Christopher Heard. Ten thousand bullets: the cinema of John Woo. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publ, 2000. ISBN 158065021X
  4. ↑ Empire - Special Collectors' Edition - The Greatest Action Movies Ever (published in 2001)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Face/Off". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=faceoff.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  6. ↑ "Filiming locations for Face/Off". IMDB. http://imdb.com/title/tt0119094/locations. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
  7. ↑ "Release dates for Face/Off". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119094/releaseinfo. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  8. ↑ "DVD details for Face/Off". IMDB. http://imdb.com/title/tt0119094/dvd. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  9. ↑ Perenson, Melissa J. (2007-01-18). "New HD Disc Titles, New HD Disc Technology". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128557/article.html. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  10. ↑ Face/Off (US - DVD R1 | HD | BD RA) in News > Releases at DVDActive
  11. ↑ Breaking: Paramount Unveils Blu-ray Launch Plans | High-Def Digest
  12. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1997-06-27). "Face/Off". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970627/REVIEWS/706270301/1023. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  13. ↑ Travers, Peter (2001-02-09). "Face/Off". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947489/review/5947490/faceoff. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  14. ↑ Corliss, Richard (1997-06-30). "ONE DUMB SUMMER: Reviews". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986612-3,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 
  15. ↑ Shulgasser, Barbara (1997-06-27). "Trading Faces". San Francisco Examiner. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1997/06/27/WEEKEND590.dtl. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  16. ↑ "Face/Off". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/faceoff/. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  17. ↑ "Face/Off". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/faceoff?q=face/off. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  18. ↑ "Face/Off awards". IMDb. http://imdb.com/title/tt0119094/awards. Retrieved 2007-06-08. 
  19. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. Review: Face Off (Original Soundtrack). Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-07-26.
  20. ↑ "Soundtracks for Face/Off". IMDB. http://imdb.com/title/tt0119094/soundtrack. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 

External links

Films directed by John Woo
1970s
The Young Dragons (1974) • The Dragon Tamers (1974) • Princess Chang Ping (1975) • Hand of Death (1976) • Money Crazy (1977) • Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1978) • Hello, Late Homecomers (1978) • Follow the Star (1978)
1980s
From Riches to Rags (1980) • To Hell with the Devil (1981) • Laughing Times (1981) • Plain Jane to the Rescue (1982) • The Time You Need a Friend (1984) • Run Tiger Run (1985) • Heroes Shed No Tears (1986) • A Better Tomorrow (1986) • A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987) • The Killer (1989) • Just Heroes (1989)
1990s
Bullet in the Head (1990) • Once a Thief (1991) • Hard Boiled (1992) • Hard Target (1993) • Broken Arrow (1996) • Once a Thief (1996) • Face/Off (1997) • Blackjack (1998)
2000s
Mission: Impossible II (2000) • Windtalkers (2002) • Paycheck (2003) • Red Cliff (2008-2009) • Reign of Assassins (2010)