The Rock (1996)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

David Weisberg (story) &
Douglas Cook (story) ...

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threat San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos.

Plot Keywords:

Alcatraz | General | FBI | Hostage | Prison

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	John Patrick Mason
Nicolas Cage	...	Dr. Stanley Goodspeed
Ed Harris	...	Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel, USMC
John Spencer	...	FBI Director James Womack
David Morse	...	Major Tom Baxter
William Forsythe	...	Special Agent 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

Also Known As:

La roca (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
The Rock - Fels der Entscheidung (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Скала (Russia) [ru]
A Rocha (Brazil) [pt]
A szikla (Hungary) [hu]
Alcatraz (Slovenia) [sl]
Fortareata (Romania) [ro]
Kaya (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Le rocher (Canada: French title) [fr]
O Rochedo (Portugal) [pt]
O vrahos (Greece) [el]
Rock (France) [fr]
Skála (Czech Republic) [cs]
Skala (Slovakia) [sk]
The Rock (Denmark) [da]
The Rock - Entscheidung auf Alcatraz (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
The Rock - Paluu helvettiin (Finland) [fi]
Twierdza (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and a sex scene.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Netherlands:12 (TV version) (slightly cut) | Germany:12 (heavily cut) | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R (certificate #34620) | Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 (w) (uncut version) | Ireland:15 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | New Zealand:PG (cut) | Canada:PG (tv edition) | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

The line "I'll take pleasure in guttin' you, boy" is a reference to the Clint Eastwood film Escape from Alcatraz (1979). Frank Morris (Eastwood) is constantly referred to as "boy" by the prison librarian, English (Paul Benjamin), in the same drawn-out manner.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the tram crushes the Ferrari, the alloy wheels that come apart from the car are not Ferrari alloys (showing this is another mock up car and not a real Ferrari). These mock alloys can also be seen resting on the ground when Goodspeed turns to observe the crushed Ferrari.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Soundtrack:

San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)

An absolute classic

What can I say other than Connery at his best as usual? It's good to see Hollywood remembers the best. It's also good to see an American film portray us little Brits in such high regard.

When else would you see a 60+ year old retired SAS agent who's been wrongfully banged up for 30 years and kept away from his daughter, break back into Alcatraz (after successfully breaking out all those years ago), take out an entire SEAL team almost empty handed, save 81 hostages held at gun point and a city of 5 Million held ransom with 15 deadly poisonous VX gas rockets?? Generally excellent acting by Ed Harris as you could expect and an almost convincing performance by Nicolas Cage.

...and thats just the half of it.