Search - Face/Off

The third of John Woo's American-made feature films, Face/Off stars John Travolta as Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a criminal genius who years before killed Archer's son while trying to assassinate the agent. Archer's single-minded pursuit of Troy has caused serious harm to his marriage, but Archer thinks the light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when a seriously wounded Troy is captured in a bloody shootout. However, it turns out that Troy has planted a time bomb, with a biological payload that could destroy the entire city of Los Angeles -- and Troy isn't about to say where it is. The only other person who knows the bomb's location is Troy's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), who is no more helpful than Castor. FBI scientists hatch a plan: they have developed an experimental surgery which would allow them to graft Troy's face temporarily on Archer's head and allow him to question Pollux as if he were his brother. But after Archer has taken Troy's face, Troy regains consciousness and forces the doctors to give him Archer's face. Now the criminal mastermind has the FBI at his disposal, and the lawman is underground with few places to turn. Along with Woo's usual elaborately choreographed action scenes, Face/Off features a number of notable supporting performances, including Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Colm Feore and C.C.H. Pounder as FBI scientists, and Gina Gershon as Troy's loyal but long-suffering girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

John Travolta - Sean Archer
Nicolas Cage - Castor Troy
Joan Allen - Eve Archer
Alessandro Nivola - Pollux Troy
Gina Gershon - Sasha Hassler
Dominique Swain - Jamie Archer

1997	Best Sound Effects Editing (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Mark Stoeckinger
1997	Best Sound Effects Editing (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Per Hallberg

The DVD release of John Woo's best Hollywood film is sadly lacking in the special features department; in fact, there is absolutely nothing here aside from the original theatrical trailer. Woo's approach to action filmmaking is radically different than the standard Hollywood formula, and this disc would have benefited greatly from a director's commentary, or at least a "making of" featurette. Technically, however, the disc is superb: the film is presented in anamorphic, widescreen format in the theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, and the transfer is very crisp and clear. There is little to no pixellation, the light colors do not bleed over, and the blacks are deep and rich. The soundtrack is a well-balanced 5.1 Digital mix, and the action sequences give the Surround properties an excellent workout. The .1 track has a good, solid presence that perfectly accentuates the frequent gunshots and explosions. There is a strong focus on the center channel which does a great deal to keep the dialogue separate from the background sounds. Viewers who pick up this disc looking for extras will be disappointed; what they will get is simply a nice transfer of an excellent action film. ~ Andrew Hercock, All Movie Guide

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