Point of No Return (1993)

Director:

John Badham

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (film La Femme Nikita)
Robert Getchell (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 March 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The Government gave her a choice. Death. Or life as an assassin. Now, there's no turning back.

Plot:

A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a chemist shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit. However...

Plot Keywords:

Assassin | Lethal Injection | Black Belt | Washington D.C. | California

Cast

Bridget Fonda	...	Maggie Hayward - Claudia Anne Doran - Nina
Gabriel Byrne	...	Bob
Dermot Mulroney	...	J.P.
Miguel Ferrer	...	Kaufman
Anne Bancroft	...	Amanda
Olivia d'Abo	...	Angela
Richard Romanus	...	Fahd Bahktiar
Harvey Keitel	...	Victor the Cleaner
Lorraine Toussaint	...	Beth
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Drugstore Owner
Mic Rodgers	...	Cop
Michael Rapaport	...	Big Stan
Ray Oriel	...	Burt
Spike McClure	...	Johnny D
Lieux Dressler	...	Johnny's Mom
John Capodice	...	Detective
Carmen Zapata	...	Judge
Calvin Levels	...	Computer Instructor
Michael Runyard	...	Weapons Instructor
Bill M. Ryusaki	...	Karate Instructor
Jan Speck	...	Kaufman's Assistant
Francesco Messina	...	Waiter in Restaurant
Peter Mark Vasquez	...	Guard in Booth
Wendy L. Davies	...	Shopping Woman
James Handy	...	Operative
Lee Dupree	...	Guy with Gun
David Sosna	...	Operative with Headset
Bruce Barnes	...	New Orleans Thug
Jaqueline Koch	...	V.I.P. Woman
Kenny Endoso	...	Angela's Bodyguard
Gary Kasper	...	Angela's Bodyguard
Rosalind Jue	...	Maid
Eric Cohen	...	Valet
François Chau	...	Building Security Guard
Joe Garcia	...	Hassan
Frank Girardeau	...	Policeman
Clark Heathcliffe Brolly	...	Male Student
Jodie Markell	...	Female Student
Robert Harvey	...	Police Detective
Harry Perry	...	Venice Guitar Player
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Apisa	...	The V.I.P. (Maggie's First Kill) (uncredited)
John Badham	...	Room-service waiter (uncredited)
David R. Maier	...	Compound Guard (uncredited)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	...	Bodyguard (with moustache) in kitchen (uncredited)
Michael W. Watkins	...	Gate guard (uncredited)

Directed by
John Badham

Writing credits (WGA)
Luc Besson		(film La Femme Nikita)
Robert Getchell		(screenplay) and
Alexandra Seros		(screenplay)

Produced by
D.J. Caruso	....	associate producer
James Herbert	....	co-producer
Art Linson	....	producer
David Sosna	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
Michael W. Watkins		(director of photography) (as Michael Watkins)

Film Editing by
Frank Morriss

Casting by
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
Philip Harrison

Art Direction by
Sydney Z. Litwack

Set Decoration by
Julia Badham		(as Julia Laughlin)

Costume Design by
Marlene Stewart

Makeup Department
R. Christopher Biggs	....	special makeup effects artist
Kimberly Felix	....	makeup artist
Vivian McAteer	....	hair stylist
Toni-Ann Walker	....	hair stylist
Lizbeth Williamson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
James Herbert	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
D.J. Caruso	....	second unit director
Ronald Chong	....	second assistant director (as Ronnie Chong)
David D'Ovidio	....	second second assistant director
Carla McCloskey	....	second assistant director
Eric Oliver	....	dga trainee
Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Tracy Rosenthal)
David Sosna	....	first assistant director

Art Department
James R. Bayliss	....	set designer
Jonathan Bobbitt	....	swing gang
Joseph C. Fama	....	construction coordinator
Louis S. Fleming	....	property master
Roger G. Fortune	....	set designer
John Hinkle	....	stand-by painter
Kristin Frances Jones	....	swing gang (as Kristin F. Jones)
Scott W. Leslie	....	assistant property master (as Scott Leslie)
Robert S. McDonald	....	general foreman
Eric Orbom	....	set designer
Vic Petrotta Jr.	....	assistant property master
Edward J. Protiva	....	swing gang
Eric Ramirez	....	swing gang
Rudy Reachi	....	assistant property master
Sharron Reynolds	....	property master: second unit
Terry Sheffield	....	swing gang
Wayne Shepherd	....	swing gang
Brett C. Smith	....	lead man
Louis Terry	....	swing gang
Sally Thornton	....	set designer

Sound Department
Wayne Artman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin B. Barron	....	assistant sound editor (as Kevin Poor)
Kelly L. Boisseau	....	assistant sound editor
Willie D. Burton	....	sound mixer
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer
James J. Isaacs	....	supervising sound editor
Dale Johnston	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Jones	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator
William L. Manger	....	supervising sound editor
Richard Oswald	....	supervising sound editor
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Peter Albiez	....	special effects
Larz Anderson	....	special effects
Albert Delgado	....	special effects foreman
Gary L. Karas	....	special effects
Kelly Kerby	....	special effects
Robert L. Olmstead	....	special effects
Ken Pepiot	....	special effects coordinator
Gintar Repecka	....	special effects
Thomas R. Ward	....	special effects

Stunts
Steven Chambers	....	stunts
Shane Dixon	....	stunts
Doc Duhame	....	stunts
Annie Ellis	....	stunts
George Giordano	....	stunt double
Joyce McNeal	....	stunts
Manny Perry	....	stunts
Mic Rodgers	....	stunt coordinator
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunts
R.A. Rondell	....	stunts
Keith Tellez	....	stunts
Cheryl Wheeler-Dixon	....	stunts
Danny Wynands	....	stunts
Szumai Anderson	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Howard Bachrach	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mark Lonsdale	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mic Rodgers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Christopher J. Tuck	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark Abbot	....	chief lighting technician
Eric D. Andersen	....	camera operator: second unit
Alex Barraza	....	best boy
Richmond G. Cogswell	....	video assist operator
Glenn Corbett	....	rigging gaffer
Michael Ferris	....	director of photography: second unit
Dylan Goss	....	second assistant camera (as Dylan M. Gross)
John M. Hennessy	....	dolly grip
Ronald E. High	....	camera operator
Michael Krueger	....	rigging gaffer
Tom May	....	key grip
Richard B. McCormick	....	dolly grip
Jeff McGrath	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
Mark Mele	....	rigging electrician
Randy Nolen	....	camera operator
Jeffrey Norvet	....	first assistant camera
Aaron Pazanti	....	camera operator: second unit
Steve Peterson	....	first assistant camera
Vic Petrotta Jr.	....	key grip: second unit
Steve Robertson	....	best boy grip
Alex Rodriguez	....	assistant chief lighting technician
John Stradling	....	second assistant camera
Bruce W. Talamon	....	still photographer
Joseph T. Terranova	....	set lighting technician
Richard Tim Vanik	....	camera operator
Thomas Loizeaux	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sandra Luckow	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eduardo Castro	....	wardrobe supervisor
Dorrie E. Halperin	....	wardrobe: women
Melissa Merwin	....	key costumer
Hans Georg Struhar	....	wardrobe: men

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Jeff Jones	....	associate editor
Kevin Stitt	....	assistant editor
David Tweet	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Alex Gibson	....	music editor
Nick Glennie-Smith	....	composer: additional music
Sherry Whitfield	....	music editor
Christopher Ward	....	assistant composer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Thomas Browne	....	transportation captain: second unit (as Thomas V. Browne)
Richard Burch	....	driver: insert car
Alan Falco	....	transportation captain
Craig Lietzke	....	driver
Jack Lietzke	....	transportation coordinator
Dan Romero	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
David Ascher	....	staff assistant
Michael S. Berlly	....	staff assistant
Sandra Bolish	....	first aid
Brian Callier	....	script supervisor: second unit
Tony Didio Jr.	....	weapons specialist
Cord Douglas	....	staff assistant
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Kristine Foti	....	staff assistant
Damian Ganczewski	....	assistant production secretary
Elizabeth Harmon	....	staff assistant
Wendell Harvey	....	staff assistant
Brian Herbert	....	assistant: Mr. Byrne
Maureen Higgins	....	assistant accountant
Suzanne Keith	....	staff assistant
Linda Klein	....	technical advisor: medical
David Krudis	....	staff assistant
Deborah Laub	....	location manager
Harry Lu	....	weapon specialist
Dana Mackey	....	staff assistant
Susan Malerstein	....	script supervisor
Todd A. Marks	....	computer systems coordinator
Dorene Lauer Martin	....	unit publicist
John Monsour	....	macintosh 24-frame sync
Angela O'Neill	....	assistant: Ms. Fonda
Cynthia Quan	....	production accountant
Alex Reid	....	assistant location manager
Patti Roberts-Nelson	....	production associate
William T. Schneider	....	location manager
Steven Shkolnik	....	location manager
David Sosna	....	computer systems designer
Mark Suveg	....	craft service
Mike Wacker	....	staff assistant (as Michael 'Forehead' Wacker)
Randy Walker	....	technical advisor: police
Victoria A. Zamora	....	staff assistant
Anna Zappia	....	production secretary
Michael Burnett	....	lifecast of Bridget Fonda (uncredited)
Bill Daly	....	post-production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Art Linson Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Fox Network (1995) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)

Other Companies

• New Orleans Film Commission, The  film commission
• RCA Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

The Assassin (Australia) (International: English title) (UK) (USA) (video title)
Girl No. 5 (USA) (working title)
The Assassin - (Point of No Return) (UK) (DVD box title)
The Specialist (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

109 min | Germany:104 min (TV version) | Turkey:101 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-16 (DVD) (cut) (1999) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (uncut) (1993) | Finland:K-18 (original rating) (uncut) (1993) | Germany:16 (heavily cut) | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R (certificate #32163) | Argentina:13 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Australia:M | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Bourbon Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Cameo: [Michael W. Watkins]last guard at the gate during the escape.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Mardi Gras assasination scene, Maggie's Anschutz .22LR, match, single-shot bolt-action rifle is fired semi-automatically.

Quotes:

[Bob is waiting for Maggie as she returns from an 'assignment']
Bob: How are you?
Maggie: I just blew up a hotel. How the hell do you think I am?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE'S HAIR

An excellent example of Hollywood's ability to ruin a good movie concept.

An excellent example of Hollywood's ability to ruin a good movie concept. The original version ('La Femme Nikita') was far more gritty and realistic. The main character is offered a choice between death, or the life of an assassin. As such, she spends most of the film trying to find a way out of her situation. Unfortunately the overuse of high-tech props, sets and special effects have made the entire experience so sanitised that by the end of the film I found myself wishing that a corrupt government would come and kidnap me.