Demolition Man
Short description
In 1996, Los Angeles detective John Spartan pursues the violent criminal Simon Phoenix. Their confrontation leaves hostages dead, and both men are held responsible: Spartan for the failed rescue, Phoenix for the killings. Each is sentenced to a long term in a cryogenic prison, frozen until a distant future.
When Phoenix is revived and escapes in a 2032 Los Angeles where violence has supposedly been eliminated, the authorities are unable to deal with a criminal who still operates by the habits of the 1990s. Their solution is to wake Spartan as well, so the two old enemies can settle things in a society that has no place for either of them. Sandra Bullock plays a police officer who assists Spartan in the unfamiliar city, alongside Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt and Bob Gunton.
Demolition Man was the feature debut of director Marco Brambilla, who went on to make Excess Baggage, Dinotopia and Destricted. Released in October 1993, it stars Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock. Made for about 57 million US dollars, it took in roughly 159 million worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 208,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8 from a much smaller tally; a critics' rating of 6.1 from 45 reviews places professional assessment somewhat below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- It is well known that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone enjoy teasing each other in their films. Thus, in the film "Twins" (1988), Arnie poked fun at Sly's character John Rambo, in response, Sly made Arnie the president of the future in "The Terminator".
- Lori Petty was originally cast as Lenina Huxley, but after a few days of filming, she was replaced by Sandra Bullock. Sylvester Stallone wanted Jackie Chan to play the role of Phoenix, but the actor refused a negative role. Interestingly, in one scene, Sandra Bullock's character says that she learned to fight from Jackie Chan's films.
- A scene in which John Spartan enjoys eating a rat meat hamburger in an underground village was not included in the television version of the film on the TBS channel.
- In the original version of the film, John Spartan meets his aged daughter in the finale.
- While all restaurants in San Angeles were named Taco Bell in the American release, they were named Pizza Hut in the European release (except in the United Kingdom).
- The lead roles were offered to Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
- The song "Demolition Man" for the film was written and performed by Sting.
- Simon Phoenix finds the name of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer on the list of frozen people.
- Sylvester Stallone called filming the freezing scene the worst five hours of his life.
- Wesley Snipes hated dyeing his hair yellow, so he shaved his head immediately after filming wrapped.
- Dennis Rodman started dyeing his hair blond after the release of this film.
- Producers asked Wesley Snipes to move his legs slower, as his kicks appeared blurred on film.
- Wesley Snipes' shoulder pads and chest plate were made from tire protectors.
- The main villain, Phoenix, has heterochromia: his left eye is blue, and his right eye is brown. However, in the scene where Phoenix rises to the surface from the dungeon, it's reversed – his left eye becomes brown, and his right eye turns blue. In the chase scene, everything is back to normal.
- The first and last name for the character “Lenina Huxley” were constructed from the surname of English writer Aldous Huxley and the name Lenina Crowne – a character from A. Huxley’s novel “Brave New World”.
- A poster for the film “Lethal Weapon 3” (1992) can be seen in the San Angeles police station.
- During the shootout in the museum, Simon directly references Aldous Huxley's novel, saying: "O brave new world! It's a pity you're leaving it."
Similar movies
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