Hard Target (1993)

Director:

John Woo

Writer (WGA):

Chuck Pfarrer (written by)

Release Date:

20 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't hunt what you can't kill.

Plot:

A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her father, who has gone missing. They discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance in the process.

Plot Keywords:

New Orleans | Money | Louisiana | Missing Person | New Orleans Louisiana

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Chance Boudreaux
Lance Henriksen	...	Emil Fouchon
Yancy Butler	...	Natasha 'Nat' Binder
Wilford Brimley	...	Uncle Douvee
Kasi Lemmons	...	Det. Marie Mitchell
Arnold Vosloo	...	Pik van Cleef
Robert Apisa	...	Mr. Lopacki
Chuck Pfarrer	...	Douglas Binder
Douglas Forsythe Rye	...	Frick
Mike Leinert	...	Frack (as Michael D. Leinert)
Lenore Banks	...	Marie
Willie C. Carpenter	...	Elijah Roper (as Willie Carpenter)
Barbara Tasker	...	Waitress
Randy Cheramie	...	Shop Steward
Eliott Keener	...	Randal Poe

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:73 min (cut version) | 116 min (Director's Cut) | 128 min (Workprint Version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) (uncut european version) (1993-2003) (cinema release) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Malaysia:18SG (tv rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

2100 Chartres St, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [John Woo] [slow motion]

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nat goes to file a missing person report at the police station, Officer Mitchell has a pastry with a candle that she puts in the drawer of her desk. As it goes in it looks to be a brand new candle and when she takes it out there is none left. It would be impossible for the candle to burn completely in the period of time.

Quotes:

Emil Fouchon: There's always some unhappy corner of the globe where we can ply our trade.

Movie Connections:

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

A very tight, well made film.

Many people say that this film could be marked down as a cobweb in John Woo's closet. It is far from this, but only if you see the full uncencored version, which is available in the UK for people who own PAL video machines. I think that this is John Woo's best American made work. Better than Face / Off, which was well filmed but lacked the Woo stylised violence to keep your interest up. But Hard Target has plenty. Certain people believe that the end gunfight in the Mardi Gras graveyard is among Woo's best visually. The flurry of quick bloody violence is overwhelmingly adrenaline pumping, Van Damme pumps the bad guys with more bullets in 15 minutes than Desperado did in two hours! The American Version is quite mediocre compared to the UK version, the US version contains less violence and if you look in the goofs section most of the stuff ups are due to the violence being edited out. I do know where you can get your hands on a rough cut of the 116 minute version but it is a bit of a waste of time, due to the fact that there is no colour (except a greeny tone) and most of the 20 minutes extra are just talking.

If you think Van Damme is a bit of a let down, he isn't really. He may not be able to act, but Woo has made him look as cool as ever, seing Van Damme run around with two hand guns is cool, This movie runs on Van Dammes precence.

Give this film a chance, get the UK version for a better time.

I give this 5 outta 5.

John Woo rules the earth.