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Hardware (1990)
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Overview
Tagline:
It activates it exhilarates... it exterminates morePlot:
A wandering soldier finds a robot head in the post-apocalyptic desert. He brings it back to his girlfriend for use in one of her sculptures... more | full synopsisAwards:
3 wins & 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
The Richard Stanley show moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Dylan McDermott | ... | Moses Baxter | |
| Stacey Travis | ... | Jill | |
| John Lynch | ... | Shades | |
| William Hootkins | ... | Lincoln Wineberg Jr. | |
| Iggy Pop | ... | Angry Bob | |
| Carl McCoy | ... | Nomad | |
| Mark Northover | ... | Alvy | |
| Paul McKenzie | ... | Vernon | |
| Lemmy | ... | Taxi Driver | |
| Mac McDonald | ... | Newscaster | |
| Chris McHallem | ... | Premier Boelgaxof | |
| Barbara Yu Ling | ... | Chinese Mother | |
| Oscar James | ... | Chief | |
| Arnold Lee | ... | Chinese Family | |
| Susie Savage | ... | Chinese Family (as Susie Ng) |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language. (also edited version)Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
93 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
New Zealand:R18 (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 (MGM channel rating) | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (also edited version) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario)MOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The nomad who unearths the MARK-13 robot is played by Carl McCoy, lead singer of the goth rock band Fields of the Nephilim, for whom Richard Stanley had previously directed two music videos and designed an album cover. According to him, McCoy's character in "Hardware" is basically the same as it was in the Nephilim work. The character, then titled Preacher Man, had a prostethic hand, yellow contact lenses and wore an old black coat with a cowboy hat. moreSoundtrack:
Cold Metal moreFAQ
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I must admit I am a huge fan of this under-estimated, enigmatic South African director.
Like his magnificent masterpiece, Dust Devil, Hardware deals with similar themes - the desert, the Old Testament, and sexual violence.
I first saw this movie many years ago when still basically a kid before I went to film school and certain sequences have stayed with me forever.
Watching it again in 2005 the movie seems a little dated or rather post-rock video in places, but when it was made in 1990, this was all cutting-edge stuff. I am not giving anything away by saying that the plot is in many ways a re-working of The Terminator or Alien, when Dylan McDermott gives his girlfriend Jill (played by Stacey Travis)what he thinks is a load of unusual scrap metal salvaged from the desert. She is an artist and welds these robot parts to a sculpture she is making...
This is an extremely visceral movie, laced with religious iconography (mark-13 often adopts crucifixion poses and in the shower scene at the end, appears to be in a prayer position) and boosted by an extremely eclectic and unusual cast. Motorhead singer Lemmy crops up playing a sort of ferryman, Iggy Pop plays DJ Angry Bob, and John Lynch is excellent as my favourite character from this film, Shades.
The narrative is essentially straight-forward but what makes this movie different and memorable is Stanley's vision. The mise-en-scene is bleached red (post-appocalypse), the use of montage is often extremely effective and nightmarish and I was frequently reminded when watching it of Renaissence paintings, just in glimpses here and there (hell, maybe that's just me..!) There is also some American comment in this movie; mark-13 is adorned with a stars-and-stripes, and the deadly toxin it employs is described as 'smelling like apple pie'. This of course is akin to Dust Devil, where the demon is simply called 'Texas' by Wendy.
So, to conclude, if you haven't seen this movie or heard of this director before I urge you to seek him out. Anyone with a love for avant-garde and challenging cinema (like me) should have heard of this guy (proper auteur by the way) and his thematically-consistent visions.
This is still a fine film but probably hasn't aged as well as it might have done - it's strength is that it is far more complex than it first appears to be.