Face/Off Face/Off Face/Off is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, written by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, and starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Travolta plays an FBI agent and Cage plays a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume each other's physical appearance. The first Hollywood film in which Woo was given major creative control, "Face/Off" earned critical acclaim for its acting performances (especially Cage and Travolta), stylized action sequences, John Powell's musical score, emotional depth, originality, humor, direction and stunts. It is often cited to be Woo's best Hollywood film. A commercial success, the film grossed
Face/Off and Best On-Screen Duo for Travolta and Cage. "Face/Off" is said to have inspired "Infernal Affairs". However, "Infernal Affairs" director Andrew Lau wanted to have a more realistic situation; instead of a physical face change, Lau wanted to have the characters swap identities. The concept of "bian lian" or "change face", a technique traditionally used in Chinese opera, may have been used here to depict the fluid and seamless morph of Chen and Lau's characters' identities between the "good" and "bad" sides. "Infernal Affairs" in turn has spawned several adaptations, notably "The Departed" directed by Martin Scorsese which won the