Production note The studio allegedly inserted the San Francisco car chase after early screenings showed a flat stretch.
Production note Connery reportedly asked for and received a cabin on Alcatraz during production.
Production note Cage wanted Stanley Goodspeed to never swear in the movie.
Production note A writers-guild arbitration reportedly could not fully determine who wrote the script.
Production note Some Navy SEAL roles were played by real Navy SEALs.
Production note The movie was used as a source of misinformation in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion.
Die Hard Used as the template The Rock is perfecting and escalating.
Jaws Cage reportedly studied Dreyfuss’s bomb-scene work for his performance.
Mission: Impossible Compared with The Rock as a 1996 action movie, but considered inferior here.
Independence Day Cited as part of 1996’s unusually strong action-blockbuster slate.
Twister Another 1996 blockbuster used to contextualize the year.
Total Recall Used as a benchmark for big action movies with star power.
True Lies Referenced as one of the action-movie classics The Rock belongs with.
So I Married an Axe Murderer Mentioned for its Alcatraz tour joke and Phil Hartman’s guide performance.
The Untouchables Used to mark Connery’s late-career run after his Oscar win.
Finding Forrester Mentioned as one of Connery’s final notable roles.
Crimson Tide Cited as an example of another great mutiny/command thriller and as a parallel for casting.
Pulp Fiction Referenced for the ‘needles in the heart’ image and heat-check style.
Platoon Referenced for the Christ-pose and war-movie visual language.
GoldenEye Used to discuss generational Bond awareness and Brosnan’s era.
The Fugitive Named among the era’s top action films.
