Deadfall (1993 film)

Deadfall
Deadfall
	Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Christopher Coppola
Written by	Christopher Coppola ; Nick Vallelonga
Produced by	Mark Amin ; Gerson Fox; Gertrude Fox; Ted Fox
Starring	Michael Biehn; Sarah Trigger; Nicolas Cage; James Coburn; Peter Fonda; Charlie Sheen; Talia Shire;
Cinematography	Maryse Alberti
Edited by	Phillip Linson
Music by	Jim Fox
Distributed by	Trimark Pictures
Release date	October 8, 1993;
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3.4 million
Box office	$18,369

Italic text

Deadfall is a 1993 crime drama film directed by Christopher Coppola. Coppola co-wrote the script with Nick Vallelonga. The film stars Michael Biehn, Coppola's brother Nicolas Cage, Sarah Trigger, Charlie Sheen, James Coburn, and Peter Fonda. It is also the prime influence on the song "Deadfall" written by the American hardcore punk band Snot. A prequel/sequel, Arsenal, starring Nicolas Cage as his character Eddie King, was released in 2017.

Plot

After con artist Joe Donan accidentally kills his father Mike during a sting when his blank bullets were replaced with live ammunition, he tries to carry out Mike's dying wish to recover "the cake". To do so he goes to find his uncle Lou. Uncle Lou, also a con artist, tries to get Joe in on one of his cons, but Joe falls in love with Lou's assistant's girlfriend Diane and decides that they will take the money from the con and run away. After the con goes wrong and Uncle Lou gets shot, Joe flees with the money but runs into his father, alive and well. Joe learns that Mike and Diane were working together to con Lou. Enraged, Joe fires his gun at Mike, not knowing whether the bullets inside were blanks or real. The bullet is a blank, and the film ends with Joe walking away from Mike.

Cast

Michael Biehn as Joe Donan
Sarah Trigger as Diane
Nicolas Cage as Eddie
James Coburn as Mike Donan / Lou Donan
Peter Fonda as Pete
Charlie Sheen as Morgan "Fats" Gripp
Talia Shire as Sam
Micky Dolenz as Bart
Ron Taylor as The Baby
Michael Constantine as Frank

Production

Val Kilmer was initially cast to play the role of Joe. He left the film at the last minute because he apparently didn't get along with the producer. He instead did The Real McCoy. Christopher Coppola accused him of breaking his contract and leaving because he was offered $1 million for the other project. After he left, Trimark Pictures slashed the budget from $8 million to $3.4 million.

After producer Ted Fox had delivered the film to Trimark $240,000 under budget, Trimark asked for the money to be used on reshots but Fox refused. The bond company, Completion Bond, took over the film to do the reshoots. Litigation to resolve who met the cost of the reshoots delayed the release of the film.^[1] It is claimed that the initial underspend was actually supposed to go to Christopher Coppola but he put it back into the production and didn't get a single cent.^{[citation needed]}

When the film premiered, the lab made a mistake on the print and they double printed the awkward sex scene, meaning the scene played twice back to back. The studio didn't bother checking the print.^{[citation needed]}

Critical reception

The movie received negative reviews from critics. Kevin Thomas described it as "a hopelessly callow, leaden-paced attempt at film noir."^[2]

The film holds a 0% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 5 reviews.^[3]

Star Michael Biehn called this one of the worst films he ever made.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "'Deadfall' flap settled". Daily Variety. June 28, 1994. p. 5.
^ "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Deadfall' a Coppola Family Affair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
^ "Deadfall". www.rottentomatoes.com. 1993-07-15. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
^ Vespe, Eric. "AICN Legends: Quint chats with Michael Biehn, Part 2! William Friedkin, Michael Bay, Nic Cage, Grindhouse, Megiddo, The Rock, The Victim and More!". Ain't it Cool News. Retrieved 1 October 2022.

External links

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[flap-1] "'Deadfall' flap settled". Daily Variety. June 28, 1994. p. 5.

[2] "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Deadfall' a Coppola Family Affair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-01.

[3] "Deadfall". www.rottentomatoes.com. 1993-07-15. Retrieved 2016-05-17.

[4] Vespe, Eric. "AICN Legends: Quint chats with Michael Biehn, Part 2! William Friedkin, Michael Bay, Nic Cage, Grindhouse, Megiddo, The Rock, The Victim and More!". Ain't it Cool News. Retrieved 1 October 2022.

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