La fin des temps

Arnold Schwarzenegger's first film since Batman et Robin (1997). The reason for the gap was because of his heart surgery after playing Mr Freeze; the studios were anxious about whether or not they could insure him, and despite attempts to convince them he was in perfect health, he couldn't get any work until La fin des temps (1999). Even then, he was amazed when insurance people and executives from Universal came to the set just to watch him, to see if he was still up to the action scenes. They asked Schwarzenegger if he enjoyed this kind of punishment, but he said he was used to it. After the first week of shooting, the insurance guys backed off and not long after, the film offers started rolling in again.

Although we see Satan move into a new body in the film, he goes to great lengths to protect his current one. This is because he's put a lot of effort into this one - he tells Christina that this is the face she's seen all her life, for instance.

Arnie's old body-building friend, Franco Columbu, is credited as a utility stuntman, under the name Dr Franco-Columbo.

Allegedly, test screening versions of the film had the following alternate scenes:

• on the train sequence, before Satan leaps across the carriages, he points and says "Jericho, I will cast you down like my Father did to me at the beginning of time". This was in the test screening, but cut in the final version;
• Jericho impales himself on the statue of the angel, and is believed to be dead, but then opens his eyes and pushes himself off of the sword. His wound is miraculously healed, and then he and Christine walk out of the church.

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Sleepy Hollow/42 Up/The World Is Not Enough/Mansfield Park/Rosetta (1999)