On Deadly Ground
Short description
Forrest Taft works in Alaska for Aegis Oil, handling fires, blowouts and other emergencies on the company's drilling sites. His employer, Michael Jennings, runs the firm with little concern for the land or the people living on it, cutting corners wherever it saves money. When an accident and the deaths that follow expose how far Jennings will go to protect his profits, Taft turns against the company he once served, helped by a local activist and others who oppose it.
Steven Seagal directed the film as well as starring in it, his first time behind the camera; Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin wrote the screenplay, and A. Kitman Ho, Seagal and Julius R. Nasso produced. Michael Caine plays Jennings, with Joan Chen, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey and Shari Shattuck in supporting roles. Seagal next directed In the Name of Justice, three decades later.
Released in February 1994, the film had a budget of about 50 million dollars and took in roughly 49 million worldwide. Its reception has been poor: on IMDb it holds 4.6 out of 10 from around 27,000 votes, on TMDB 5.2 out of 10 from over 500, and critics gave it 3.7 out of 10 across 35 reviews, so audiences and critics alike rated it low.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role originally intended for Michael Caine was offered to Jeremy Irons. Other candidates for the role included Alan Rickman and Anthony Hopkins.
- Working titles for the film were "Rainbow Warrior" and "Spirit Warrior".
- Filming took place from May 18 to August 19, 1993.
- The producer, director, and lead actor Steven Seagal filmed nearly 40 minutes of footage about nature and the need to protect it, which he planned to include at the end of the film. Warner Bros. strongly opposed this, and the preview screenings were disastrous (the audience made noise, laughed, and made obscene gestures towards the screen), so Seagal cut the footage down to about 7 minutes.
- When Danish actor and stuntman Sven-Ole Thorsen and Steven Seagal first met on set, Seagal wanted to see what Thorsen was capable of and asked him to kick himself. He did, and Seagal caught his leg mid-kick and threw Thorsen to the ground. Then Seagal asked Thorsen to kick himself again, with all his might, he did, and Seagal fell. A couple of days later during filming, Seagal struck Thorsen in the throat, and he lost consciousness for a few seconds. It all looked so natural that Seagal decided to change the plot so that the character played by Thorsen, Otto, would die there, and all the remaining scenes with him were cut from the film.
- The earthquake in Los Angeles in January 1994 led to a delay in the film's release. The roof of the Technicolor building collapsed during the earthquake, and the film was damaged. Fortunately, technicians were able to restore it.
- The film marked Steven Seagal's directorial debut. This was a prerequisite for the actor's participation in the sequel to the box office hit 'Under Siege'.
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