Eraser (film)
Eraser | |
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Directed by | Charles Russell |
Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Adam Greenberg |
Edited by | Michael Tronick |
Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production company | Kopelson Entertainment |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $100 million[1] |
Box office | $242.3 million[1] |
Eraser is a 1996 American
and is forced to fight his former allies when one of the players is revealed to be a mole inside WITSEC.Eraser premiered in Hollywood on June 11, 1996, and was released in the rest of the United States on June 21, 1996, by
A direct-to-video reboot of the film titled Eraser: Reborn starring Dominic Sherwood, was released on June 7, 2022.[4][5]
Plot
John Kruger – a top
During an FBI sting operation, Lee downloads data from the weapon's development onto two discs: one for the FBI and one for herself. Cyrez Vice President William Donohue detects Lee's intrusion and summons her for a meeting. After finding Lee's hidden camera, Donohue commits suicide. Lee delivers the disc but refuses John's offer to go into witness protection, believing the FBI was willing to sacrifice her to nail the conspirators. The FBI's disc is secretly replaced with a fake on the orders of
That night, Lee is attacked by mercenaries sent by Cyrez CEO Eugene Morehart. John rescues Lee and erases her, setting her up in a new identity and keeping her location a secret even from WITSEC. Meanwhile, several witnesses John had previously helped are being murdered due to someone in WITSEC leaking information. The agency is now transferring all protected witnesses to new locations. Accompanied by Marshals Calderon, Schiff, and new recruit Monroe, John helps his old mentor, Marshal Robert DeGuerin, raid a cabin and rescue a witness from a team of assassins. DeGuerin discreetly murders the witness when she overhears one of her captors reveal that he is the mole.
Flying back to
DeGuerin has John and Lee branded as fugitives. With help from Johnny, John and Lee infiltrate Cyrez and use Donohue's terminal to decrypt Lee's second disc. The disc reveals that a huge shipment of EM rifles has been stashed at the docks in
Johnny contacts his mobster cousin, Tony Two-Toes, who controls the docks; angered that he's being cut out of the deal, he has his men assist John. They kill Petrofsky, his henchmen, Calderon, and Schiff. In a struggle atop a shipping container, DeGuerin tries to shoot Lee, but John comes to her aid and destroys the pulley system on the container crane, dropping DeGuerin and the container to the ground and exposing the presence of the EM rifles. John secures DeGuerin, leaving him to be detained by the authorities. This proves John and Lee's innocence. Weeks later, DeGuerin, Harper, and Morehart are indicted for treason. However, it quickly becomes clear that without solid evidence, they will likely be acquitted in court. For their safety, John fakes his and Lee's deaths in an explosion.
After being liberated, DeGuerin, Harper and Morehart leave in a limo that stops at a railroad crossing. The driver – a disguised Johnny – locks the doors and exits the vehicle. Seconds later, a massive freight train plows through the car, killing the three men in a staged accident. Lee asks John what happened, to which he responds "They caught a train". They then drive off for a new life.
Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as U.S. Marshal John "Eraser" Kruger
- Vanessa Williams as Lee Cullen
- James Caan as U.S. Marshal Robert DeGuerin
- James Coburn as U.S. Marshal WITSEC Chief Arthur Beller
- Robert Pastorelli as Johnny Casteleone
- James Cromwell as William Donohue, Vice President of International Division at Cyrez and Cullen's supervisor
- Danny Nucci as WITSEC US Deputy Marshal Monroe
- Under Secretary of DefenseDaniel Harper
- Joe Viterelli as Tony "Two-Toes"
- Olek Krupaas Sergei Ivanovich Petrofsky
- Gerry Becker as Eugene Morehart
- Nick Chinlund as Calderon
- Michael Papajohn as Schiff
- K. Todd Freeman as FBI Agent Dutton
- Mark Rolston as "J. Scar", the mercenary leader
- John Slattery as FBI Agent Corman
- Robert Miranda as FBI Agent Frediano
- Roma Maffia as Claire Isaacs
- Tony Longo as Mike "Little Mike"
- John Snyder as Sal
- Rocco Sisto as Pauley
- Rick Batalla as Kevin, The Bartender
- Skipp Sudduth as Watch Commander
- Sven-Ole Thorsen as Petrofsky's Goon
- Denis Forest as Cyrez's System Administrator
- Patrick Kilpatrick as James Haggerty, Head of Cyrez Security
Production
Development and casting
Director Chuck Russell and star Arnold Schwarzenegger were originally working on another project together when Eraser was brought to their attention.[6] Russell was excited about the possibilities the film could bring between actor and the character: "I see Arnold the way a lot of people do – as a mythic, bigger-than-life character – and that's who Kruger is. The character and the scenario are based firmly in reality, but I liked the mythic proportions of this man with a strong sense of duty, a strong sense of honor, who will literally do anything to protect a noble witness. I was excited about doing a film that had heroic proportions."[6] Producer Arnold Kopelson was also keen to cast Schwarzenegger in the role of "The Eraser", having talked with the actor about working on projects before.[6] Vanessa Williams would be cast as the lead female character, Lee Cullen, the key witness Eraser must protect. Williams came to the attention of the Kopelsons when Maria Shriver, wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time, suggested her for the role.[6] To play the character of DeGuerin (Kruger's mentor and the main sociopathic antagonist), the filmmakers wanted an actor who could "convey intelligence, skill and magnetism – a more mature version of the Kruger character", and they cast James Caan in this role.[6] Before Caan was officially cast, Jonathan Pryce was also considered for the role.[7] The screenplay was initially the work of Tony Puryear, who had a background in advertising and rap videos. Writers Walon Green and Michael S. Chernuchin had previously worked together on the television drama Law & Order.[8] Extensive, uncredited rewrites were made by Frank Darabont and William Wisher Jr. (Terminator 2: Judgment Day).[9] Additional rewrites were made by John Milius as a favor to Schwarzenegger.[10][11][12] John Pogue also did rewrites on the script, however most of his ideas weren't used.[13]
Design
The "rail-gun" featured in the film as a key plot device, and Schwarzenegger talks on the subject: "We paid a lot of attention to making the audience feel the danger of this weapon, that anyone can be outside of your house, looking right through the walls. It really leaves you nowhere to hide," he explains. "But, on top of that, we show the sophistication of the weapon in a lot of fun ways: you not only see through a building, you see a person's skeleton and even their heart beating inside. There are some great visual effects there."[6]
Filming
Eraser began principal photography in 1995 in
One of the most demanding action sequences in the film featured the character of Kruger forced to flee from a jet speeding through the skies at 250 miles (400 km) per hour. Speaking about this scene, director Russell says: "These things are jigsaw puzzle pieces not only within shooting sequence but within each shot. You had elements that were live action, elements that were miniature, sometimes computer-generated, and they're all married together in the final processing."[6] Some of the physical stunts were performed by Schwarzenegger himself. For the "aerial" stunt Arnold was required to fall 65 feet (20 m) in vertical descent and perform a back flip in mid-flight. The shot took seven takes to get right. In the final film, Kruger appears to drop along the length of the fuselage and past the flaming engine of the jet thanks to inventive camera angles and special effects.
Post-production
The original name of the Cyrez corporations was "Cyrex". However, Cyrix, a microprocessor corporation and rival of Intel, protested. The name was then changed digitally in any scenes where the name appeared in a fairly costly process for the time, and dialogue redubbed.[14] Some instances of the "Cyrex" logo are still visible in the finished film.
Release
Home media
Eraser was released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 29, 1996.[15] The DVD was then released in 1997.
The North American LaserDisc release of the film is notorious for being poorly manufactured, with a large number of copies exhibiting severe laser rot. [16]
Reception
Box office
Eraser had an opening weekend of $24.5 million in the United States during the summer season of 1996,[17] staying ahead of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.[18][19] The final US gross was $101.2 million and final worldwide gross was $242.3 million.[1] Eraser was a commercial success in the Philippines, grossing more at the local box office than Twister, Mission: Impossible, and The Rock.[20] The film also had the largest opening for a Warner Bros. film in Malaysia, holding that record for six years until 2002 when it was given to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.[21]
Critical response
Based on 56 reviews collected by
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
A more positive review came from Roger Ebert, who gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4. He wrote that there were so many plot holes that "it helps to have a short attention span", but that Eraser is nonetheless "actually good action fun, with spectacular stunts and special effects" and a spirited performance from Williams "running and jumping and fighting and shooting and kicking and screaming and being tied to chairs and smuggling computer discs and looking great."[25]
Other media
Novelization
A novelization based on the film by Robert Tine titled Eraser, was released in 1996.
Video game
The PC video game Eraser - Turnabout was released as a follow-up to the plot of the film.[26][27]
Sequel
In September 2021, a
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Eraser". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ Taylor, Jim (March 21, 1997). "DVD Frequently Asked Questions (with answers!)". Video Discovery. Archived from the original on March 29, 1997. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ a b "'Shadowhunters' Star Dominic Sherwood Leads Warner Bros Reboot Of Arnie Action Pic 'Eraser'". Deadline Hollywood. 13 September 2021.
- ^ "'Shadowhunters' Dominic Sherwood Cast in 'Eraser' Reboot of Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie". Collider. 13 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Eraser production notes". Warner Bros. 1996. Archived from the original on January 6, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
- ISBN 9781476609768. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1996). "Eraser review". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
- from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ "An Interview with John Milius". IGN. 2003-05-07. Archived from the original on 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ "Eraser – Movie Forums". www.movieforums.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ ""I was never conscious of my screenplays having any acts. It's all bullshit." – John Milius". creativescreenwriting.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ Landler, Mark (6 October 1996). "Not a Movie to His Name, but That's Hollywood". The New York Times.
- ^ Puig, Claudia (June 12, 1996). "Chip Maker Gets Warner Bros. to Erase Its Name from Action Film". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ "Eraser". The LaserDisc Database.
- ^ "'Hunchback' could have staying power". The Winona Daily News. June 25, 1996. p. 12. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ Brennan, Judy (June 24, 1996). "'Eraser,' 'Hunchback' Post Strong Openings". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ^ "Eraser' rubs out competition at U.S. box office". United Press International. 23 June 1996. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Red, Isah V. (September 13, 1996). "Making it to the box office". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 36B. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Groves, Don (November 17, 2002). "O'seas auds also wild about 'Harry'". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Eraser (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
- ^ "Eraser Movie Review & Film Summary (1996) | Roger Ebert". Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Eraser Turnabout: Software". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ "Eraser: Turnabout for Windows (1997) - MobyGames". Archived from the original on 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ Editorial Staff (September 14, 2021). "Eraser sequel in the works; Sherwood not Schwarzenegger". MovieHole. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "'Eraser: Reborn' – Reboot of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Releasing in June". Bloody-disgusting.com. 15 March 2022.
External links
- Eraser at IMDb
- Eraser at AllMovie
- Eraser at the TCM Movie Database
- Eraser at the American Film Institute Catalog