Face/Off is a 1997 American action thriller directed by John Woo and stars John Travolta as Sean Archer, an FBI agent who undergoes an experimental procedure to transplant the face of his archnemesis Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) onto his own body in order to go undercover to find the clues to disarm a bomb planted somewhere in the city of Los Angeles. Through an unfortunate turn of events, a duplicate procedure has been done on an individual that threatens both him and his family.
The following weapons were used in the film Face/Off:
The weapons of choice for Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) are two gold titanium nitride-plated Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12s fitted with custom gold-inlaid grips that he keeps in two small-of-the-back holsters. Among the obvious modifications to the guns include skeletonized hammers, ball stirrup cuts on the slide, beavertail grip safeties, ambidextrous thumb safeties, Heinie target sights, moderately beveled magazine wells, and V-12 ported slides/barrels. He uses them both during the first shootout of the film, putting a hole in the windshield of the helicopter Sean Archer (John Travolta) is in and later gunning down several FBI agents in the airport hangar. The pistols are then lost when Troy is knocked unconscious, and are presumed confiscated by the FBI. Later in the film, when Archer has assumed Troy's face and identity, he is given an identical pair of these weapons by Dietrich Hassler (Nick Cassavetes). He then uses one for the proceeding shootout as the police raid the apartment building, losing it during a face-off with Troy as Archer. These pistols tell you how much Castor Troy enjoys his job!
The screen-used pistols from the film have repeatedly been sold and re-sold at auction over the years, most recently in a 2018 listing from Heritage Auction (pictures below).
Error creating thumbnail: File missingA “Castor Troy” edition 24k gold titanium Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12 pistol - .45 ACP. The weapon pictured here is one of the actual screen-used pistols from Face/Off, as it appeared in a 2018 Heritage Auction listing.Error creating thumbnail: File missingOpposite view of the screen-used Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12 pistol from Face/Off. This image shows the enlarged ejection port, which is a common modification on prop 1911-style pistols that is intended to enable them to cycle blank ammunition.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA closer view of the screen-used Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12 pistol from Face/Off, showing the custom grips.Error creating thumbnail: File missingAnother closer view of the screen-used Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12 pistol, showing the markings on the right side of the slide.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy's custom pistols in his small-of-the-back holsters. Both pistols are expertly put in "Condition One", sometimes referred to as being "cocked, locked, and ready to rock", meaning that the weapons are chambered, cocked, and put on safety. All that needs to be done once the gun is drawn is to click the safety off and it is ready to fire.Error creating thumbnail: File missingCastor Troy (Nicolas Cage) fires one of his custom Springfield Armory M1911-A1 pistols at the police helicopter.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy reloads his custom M1911-A1s while hiding in the airport hangar. Reloading is a rare sight in a John Woo film, but used sparingly to make it all the more awesome.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy fires his custom M1911-A1s while battling agents in the airport hangar. Note the muzzle flash emitted due to the V-12 ported slides/barrels.Error creating thumbnail: File missingDietrich gives Archer/Troy the custom pair of M1911-A1s along with typical assortment of illegal contraband, and Chiclets. Note that these are most likely not the same pistols Troy used earlier in the film as that pair was undoubtedly seized by the FBI and placed in evidence.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy holds the custom M1911-A1s on Troy's friends before passing it off as a joke.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy holds one of the custom M1911-A1s on Agent Buzz (James Denton) after running into him during the apartment raid. He throws him down and fires a shot next to him, convincing Dietrich he killed him.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy holding one of the custom M1911-A1s while talking to Troy/Archer on the other side of the mirror.
SIG-Sauer P226
Sean Archer (John Travolta) uses a factory two-tone SIG-Sauer P226 with nickel controls and a nickel slide as his sidearm, which has been fitted with a set of Hogue rubber grips. When he and Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) switch faces and identities, Troy/Archer begins using the weapon, killing Dietrich (Nick Cassavetes) and another FBI agent with it before he loses it during the "Mexican Standoff" in the funeral home.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingTwo-tone SIG-Sauer P226 with nickel hammer - 9x19mm. This gun was built specially by MoviePropMaster2008 with the nickel hammer to replicate the gun used in this film. Much thanks goes to him for this.Error creating thumbnail: File missingSean Archer's SIG-Sauer P226 lying on his desk before he holsters it and heads for the airport. In this beautiful shot, we can see that his P226 is fitted with Hogue combat grips.Error creating thumbnail: File missingSean Archer (John Travolta) searches for Troy in the airport hangar.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy/Archer points the SIG-Sauer P226 (with a bad low grip) at Dietrich in his apartment building.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy/Archer talks to Archer/Troy on the other side of the mirror while holding the SIG-Sauer P226.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy/Archer mourns the death of his brother Pollux while unsafely resting the muzzle of his SIG-Sauer P226 on his head with his finger on the trigger. Ironically, this is a good way to take your Face/Off. Get it? In actuality, Troy/Archer is about to kill himself, but is interrupted by Agent Loomis.Error creating thumbnail: File missingClose-up on the SIG-Sauer P226 as Troy/Archer fires it during the shootout in the funeral home.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA non-blank adapted SIG-Sauer P226 fires on a high-speed camera to capture the bullet in flight.
Beretta 92FS
Prison guards on the oil drill platform keep Beretta 92FS pistols as their sidearms. When Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) escapes from the electroshock room, he takes a guard's Beretta 92FS and uses it to fire on the guards, carefully placing his shots as not to kill them. During the final shootout Archer/Troy uses a pair of Beretta 92FS pistols, wielding them akimbo as per the standard norm of John Woo films. Jamie Archer (Dominique Swain) picks one of these up as Archer/Troy and Troy/Archer (John Travolta) struggle in the church's courtyard, only to be misled into shooting her father in the arm. Troy/Archer then picks the Beretta up and holds it on Jamie before she digs a kris-bladed butterfly knife into his leg, which he ironically gave her as a gift to protect herself.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingBeretta 92FS - 9x19mmError creating thumbnail: File missingA Beretta 92FS in the holster of a prison guard.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy places his Beretta 92FS on the table in the funeral home.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy points his Beretta 92FS during the "Mexican Standoff" in the funeral home, another trademark of John Woo (along with the doves flying all over the place).Error creating thumbnail: File missingDuring the shootout in the funeral home, many of the guns are shown in close-ups, except they are at different locations than the scene takes place. This is because they are non-blank adapted guns firing real bullets in front of a high-speed camera to capture the bullet in flight.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArcher/Troy fires a pair of Beretta 92FS pistols at Troy/Archer.Error creating thumbnail: File missingOne of Archer/Troy's Beretta 92FS pistols lying on the grass before being picked up by Jamie.Error creating thumbnail: File missingJamie Archer (Dominique Swain) points the Beretta 92FS at Archer/Troy and Troy/Archer, unsure of who's who. She demonstrates exceptionally poor gun handling, having a low grip with the thumbs layered on top of each other and both index fingers on the trigger, which is expected of someone who's probably never handled a gun before.Error creating thumbnail: File missingTroy/Archer holds the Beretta 92FS on Jamie (Dominique Swain) after she makes the wrong choice and shoots her father in the arm.
Beretta 92FS Inox
A Beretta 92FS Inox is wielded by one of the police officers during the shootout at the airport. Castor Troy/Sean Archer (John Travolta) tries to draw one, which he previously stole from an FBI agent, to use on Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) while on the speedboat, but Archer/Troy kicks it away before he can use it.
A Ruger KP89 is shown as the weapon carried by one of Castor Troy's (Nicolas Cage) victims (incorrectly listed as a Ruger P85). A Ruger KP89 is also wielded by Troy's thug, Leo (Tommy Flanagan), during the funeral home shootout.
During the final shootout in the church, Castor Troy's girlfriend Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon) is armed with a Smith & Wesson 3913. She likely took it from one of Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) friends, who was killed while using it during the raid on the apartment building.
A Russian Stechkin APS machine pistol is used by one of Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) friends to fire on police raiding the apartment building. While in the courtyard of the funeral home, Castor Troy/Sean Archer (John Travolta) uses one briefly before having it knocked from his hand. At the conclusion of the fight, Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) picks the gun up and fires a long burst at Troy/Archer after he unsuccessfully tries to kill his daughter. Earlier in the scene, Troy/Archer dives across the church to grab his henchman's fallen Armscor BXP, which makes no sense if he had the Stechkin in his jacket pocket.
During the FBI raid on Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) apartment, one of Dietrich's thugs uses a nickel-plated Walther PPK to defend himself against the swarm of law enforcement officers.
When Eve Archer (Joan Allen) goes to the hospital to test blood samples from Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) and Castor Troy/Sean Archer (John Travolta) to see if they are actually swapped, Archer/Troy confronts her. She then pulls a nickel-plated Smith & Wesson Model 36 with a bobbed hammer, which she claims she took from her "fake husband".
During the final shootout in the funeral home, Leo (Tommy Flanagan), one of Castor Troy/Sean Archer's (John Travolta) thugs, wields a South African Armscor BXP before being killed. Troy/Archer picks it up and fires it as he flees from Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), who is firing at him.
During the shootout in Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) apartment, some of the FBI agents can be seen with Colt Model R0635 submachine guns fitted with C-More red-dot sights. Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon) uses one as well.
Heckler & Koch MP5A2s are used by the FBI agents that raid Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) apartment. At one point, Dietrich also uses one captured from an FBI member.
Heckler & Koch MP5A3s are used by the FBI agents that raid Dietrich's (Nick Cassavetes) apartment. At one point, Sasha (Gina Gershon) takes one dropped by a dead agent and uses it for some of the fight.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingHeckler & Koch MP5SD3 - 9x19mmError creating thumbnail: File missingClose-up on the muzzle of a Heckler & Koch MP5SD3 firing. Note the large muzzle flash, which implies the suppressor is fake (as all film prop gun suppressors are) as a real suppressor would dampen the muzzle flash significantly.Error creating thumbnail: File missingAn FBI agent shows off his advanced combat training skills by firing his MP5SD3 from the hip. Again, note the large muzzle flash.
IMI Mini Uzi
Escaping the shootout in the apartment building, Dietrich (Nick Cassavetes) chambers a Mini Uzi, but doesn't have a chance to fire it before he is shot. Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) then picks it up and fires at Castor Troy/Sean Archer (John Travolta) as he runs around the room.
One of the thugs during the apartment raid briefly uses an AKMS before being killed. It appears to be custom fitted with a side-folding stock usually fitted to a paratrooper model Sa vz. 58 V assault rifle.
The police patrolling the sea fire Colt Sporter II Carbines mocked up as XM177E2 Commando carbines by adding a mock XM177E2 flash-hider to them. Since the lowers have a full-auto selector switch (which the semi-auto Sporter II lower lacks), it is assumed that the guns are either converted semi-auto lowers or fitted with GAU/A5 or M16A1-style lowers. Agent Loomis (Matt Ross) also uses one with an A2-style upper receiver and fitted with an M203 grenade launcher during the shootout at Dietrich's apartment.
The FBI agents in the film sometimes carry actual Colt Sporter II Carbines, noted by their collapsing stocks, A1-style upper receivers, forward assists, and 16" barrels. They do not feature the large XM177 muzzle brakes.
Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) uses a Remington 700PSS sniper rifle fitted with a suppressor, Harris bipod, and heavy stock and barrel to try to assassinate Sean Archer (John Travolta) while he rides the merry-go-round with his son Michael (Myles Jeffrey). The bullet passes through Archer's chest and fatally wounds Michael, leading to Archer's relentless pursuit of Troy in the film's story.
The prison guards on the oil drill platform are armed with Ruger AC556 assault rifles, noted by their fire selectors, flash-hiders, and bayonet lugs. During the prison break scene, Ivan Dubov (Chris Bauer), the inmate that helps Archer/Troy (Nicolas Cage) escape from the electroshock chamber, picks up an AC556 rifle from one of the incapacitated guards and kills several guards before Archer/Troy stops him.
During the shootout in the airport hangar, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) takes a Benelli M1 Super 90 shotgun fitted with a Benelli pistol grip stock and a Surefire dedicated forend weaponlight from an FBI agent and uses it to kill several FBI agents before discarding it.
Dietrich Hassler (Nick Cassavetes) uses an Ithaca 37 "Stakeout" shotgun with an aftermarket Choate synthetic stock to defend against the FBI agents raiding his apartment building.
During the apartment raid, FBI Special Agent Loomis (Matt Ross) uses an XM177E2 (mocked up from a Sporter II Carbine) fitted with an underslung M203 grenade launcher. He fires it at Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) and somehow manages to fire off two shots from a single tube without reloading.
When escaping from the oil drill platform prison, a helicopter with a door-mounted M60 machine gun chases down Sean Archer/Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) just before he jumps off the platform.
