Eraser

"He will erase your past to protect your future."

1996 1h 55m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🥫

46%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 2,131🥫46%Rotten Tomatoes●56Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 122,562

ActionMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eraser, an elite federal marshal who "erases" the pasts of jeopardized informers and relocates them into safe anonymity, must protect a moving target who stands to uncover a conspiracy that could shift the balance of power in the world forever.

“He will erase your past to protect your future.”

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Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Eraser
James Caan
DeGuerin
Vanessa Williams
Lee
James Coburn
Beller
Robert Pastorelli
Johnny C
James Cromwell
Donahue
Danny Nucci
Monroe
Andy Romano
Harper

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chuck Russell
Writers: Walon Green, Tony Puryear, Tony Puryear
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$100M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Eraser Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

333+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chuck Russell, shot by Adam Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Tronick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chuck Russell directs. Adam Greenberg behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Michael Tronick cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$100M budget — tentpole studio territory.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
4Part of the "Eraser Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5333+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Chuck Russell, shot by Adam Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michael Tronick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Caan and Vanessa Williams carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "He will erase your past to protect your future.".
11IMDB entry: tt0116213 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 21 themes, including "hitman", "hostage", "traitor", "new identity".

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Greenberg
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Michael Tronick
Production design: Bill Kenney
Costume design: Richard Bruno
Makeup / hair: Louis Lazzara
VFX supervisor: Patrick Dinhut
Sound: Kevin E. Carpenter
Stunt coordinator: Joel Kramer
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000,000
Box office: $242,295,562
Return: 242% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Eraser (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 46% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 56/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 122,562 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 2 nominations total

Part of

Eraser Collection

A series of action films about witness protection agents who erase their clients' identities to protect them.

Also by

Chuck Russell

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-06-24
★ 5/10
Competent action flick with Arnie is moronic and forgettable A US marshal and witness protection specialist (Schwarzenegger) “erases” the identities of people he’s assigned to protect, including a woman (Vanessa Williams) who has damning evidence against a high-tech weapons corporation. Meanwhile the marshal becomes suspicious of some of his coworkers. James Caan and Robert Pastorelli are on hand. "Eraser" (1996) is a proficient Schwarzenegger action thriller; Vanessa is beautiful, Pastorelli is amusing and Caan is effective. There’s a thrilling skydiving scene and a well-done zoo sequence with crocagators. Unfortunately, the opening act failed to really pull me in with its convoluted storytelling and the ‘final battle’ sequence is dull and eye-rolling. Both Siskel & Ebert surprisingly gave this a ‘thumbs up.’ God knows why. The film runs 1 hour, 55 minutes and was shot in Southern Cal, New York City, New Jersey, DC, Maryland and New Brunswick, Canada. GRADE: C+
JPV8522026-06-17
★ 7/10
It's been a while since I last saw this one and while I've always found it fairly entertaining it's certainly in that mid-range amongst Arnold's filmography. The concept was fun and the action well done though some parts just didn't quite fit (like the alligator sequence, felt like part of a horror movie) and Vanessa Williams, as beautiful as she was, had zero personality; wish her character wasn't just somebody trying to do the "right thing". James Caan seemed to be having a good time and I always liked seeing James Coburn show up even in these smaller roles. 3.5/5 I actually think this would make for a fun TV series. Bring in Schwarzenegger for an appearance or two and cast someone like Scott Eastwood to lead. Oh, and yes I did see that Eraser: Reborn. It sucked. As a side, you can see some similarities to Mission Impossible which came out a month before.