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For other meanings of "point of no return", see Point of no return (disambiguation).

Point of No Return
U.S. "Point of No Return" poster
Directed by	John Badham
Produced by	Art Linson
Starring	Bridget Fonda Gabriel Byrne Dermot Mulroney
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Editing by	Frank Morriss
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	March 19, 1993
Running time	101 Mins.
Language	English/French/Italian
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Point of No Return, known as The Assassin in some markets, is a 1993 film directed by John Badham and starring Bridget Fonda. It is a remake of Luc Besson's 1990 film Nikita.

Maggie Hayward (Bridget Fonda), a drug addict found guilty of murdering a police officer during a burglary, is sentenced to be executed after several violent outbursts before and during her trial. With the help of Bob (Gabriel Byrne) and Amanda (Anne Bancroft) she is reluctantly reincarnated as Claudia Anne Doran, an assassin for the American government. Her code name is Nina, named after the singer Nina Simone; it is to Simone's music that she listens when she is upset, as did her late mother. Nina performs her assignments well but makes the mistake of falling in love. When she tries to quit her work as a professional killer it is all she can do to escape with her life.

Upon release, the film grossed approximately $30,038,362 (USD) and received mixed reviews.

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• Originally called The Specialist, but this title was reserved for another film (The Specialist (1994). Later it was renamed Girl No. 5 (mentioned briefly during the gun range sequence) and finally Point of No Return. Fonda reportedly hated the title and wouldn't mention it in interviews. Internationally the film was known as The Assassin.
• John Cusack was considered for the part of Fonda's boyfriend, but producer Art Linson preferred Dermot Mulroney.
• The look of The Cleaner Harvey Keitel appears to be based on a character who lurks in the background of the execution scene in the original film.
• The film was the first major release to be made with Kodak 96 stock, which allowed shooting with less light than normal without losing clarity.

The main character of the movie (played by Bridget Fonda), has a fascination for the singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. Throughout the movie various songs of Nina Simone are used, namely:

• "Here Comes the Sun"
• "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl"
• "Feeling Good"
• "Wild Is the Wind"
• "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair"

Together with the earlier re-release of "My Baby Just Cares for Me" in 1982, this movie helped bring back Nina Simone into the public limelight and make her better known with a younger audience.

• Assassinations in fiction
• Nina Simone

• Point of No Return at the Internet Movie Database
• Point of No Return at Rotten Tomatoes
• Point of No Return at Box Office Mojo

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