Hardware (1990)

Director:

Richard Stanley

Writers:

Steve MacManus (story) and
Kevin O'Neill (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It activates it exhilarates... it exterminates

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Sculpture | Future | Scavenger | Apartment Building | Syringe

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Carl McCoy	...	Nomad
Iggy Pop	...	Angry Bob
Dylan McDermott	...	Moses Baxter
John Lynch	...	Shades
Mark Northover	...	Alvy
Stacey Travis	...	Jill
Paul McKenzie	...	Vernon
Lemmy	...	Taxi Driver
William Hootkins	...	Lincoln Wineberg Jr.
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)
Fred Leeown	...	Chinese Family
Mimi Cheung	...	Chinese Family
Sebastian Chee	...	Chinese Family
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Stanley	...	Talking elevator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Stanley

Writing credits
Steve MacManus		(story "SHOK!") and
Kevin O'Neill		(story "SHOK!")
Richard Stanley		(written by)
Michael Fallon		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Ray Corbett	....	associate producer
Elizabeth Karlsen	....	supervising producer
Nik Powell	....	executive producer
JoAnne Sellar	....	producer
Paul Trijbits	....	producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer
Stephen Woolley	....	executive producer
Trix Worrell	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Steven Chivers

Film Editing by
Derek Trigg

Casting by
Karen Lindsay-Stewart

Production Design by
Joseph Bennett

Art Direction by
Max Gottlieb

Set Decoration by
Addi Cohen-Ziv		(as Addi Cohen-Zif)

Costume Design by
Michael Baldwin

Makeup Department
Lisa Boni	....	hair stylist
Lisa Boni	....	makeup artist: Stacey Travis
Kirstin Chalmers	....	make-up & hair designer
Shaune Harrison	....	special makeup effects artist
Little John	....	special makeup designer
Bob Keen	....	makeup effects consultant
Tracey Lee	....	makeup artist
William Petty	....	makeup effects designer
John Schoonraad	....	makeup effects mold designer

Production Management
Elizabeth Carlsen	....	production supervisor
Stephen Earnhart	....	post-production supervisor (as Steve Earnhart)
John Gavin	....	post-production supervisor
Peter Holt	....	post-production supervisor
Peter Spencer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ray Corbett	....	first assistant director
Clem Nice	....	assistant director: second unit
Lloyd Stanton	....	third assistant director
Roger Thorpe	....	second unit director
Patrick Tidy	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sarah Blunt	....	property buyer
Michael Carlin	....	construction manager
Chris Consall	....	constructor
Christopher Cowsill	....	carpenter
Matthew Davies	....	constructor
Daz Edwards	....	art department runner
Annie Gregson	....	stand-by props
Barbara Herman-Skelding	....	set dresser
Michael Houseman	....	construction manager
Graham Humphreys	....	conceptual designer
Graham Humphreys	....	storyboard artist
Trudie McCallum	....	assistant art director
Leon McCarthy	....	art department assistant
Robert McFarlane	....	graphic designer
Antoine Robert	....	constructor
Peter Smith	....	sculptor
Becky Tanner	....	painter
Adrian Thatcher	....	assistant art director
James Wadeson	....	property master
Martin Weiss	....	plasterer

Sound Department
Ronald Bailey	....	second sound recordist (as Ron Bailey)
Ronald Bailey	....	sound mixer
Michelle Baughi	....	boom swinger
Mike Dowson	....	sound mixer
Kate Hopkins	....	sound effects designer
James Mather	....	dialogue editor
Jonathan Miller	....	sound effects designer
Tim Owens	....	adr editor
Brian Saunders	....	sound mixer
Joanne Stephens	....	boom swinger
Mark Stevens	....	special sound effects engineer
Marin Walker	....	footsteps editor
Erick Jolley	....	audio restoration (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Paul Catling	....	second unit special effects director
Paul Catling	....	special robotics designer
Neal Champion	....	floor special effects (as Neil Champion)
Chris Cunningham	....	special robots technician
Jim Francis	....	floor special effects
Matthew Horton	....	floor special effects (as Matt Horton)
Barney Jeffrey	....	special effects coordinator
Dave Keen	....	special robotics chief engineer (as David Keen)
Stephen Norrington	....	special robotics technician (as Steve Norrington)
Steve Patton	....	floor special effects (as Steve Paton)
Bill Pearson	....	floor special effects
Paul Spateri	....	special robotics technician
Andrew Stone	....	droid suit operator
Peter Stone	....	droid suit operator
Jon Tucker-Bull	....	special robotics assistant (as John Tucker-Bull)

Visual Effects by
Steven Begg	....	matte artist (as Steven Beggs)
Robert Courtney	....	model supervision stand-by carpenter
Neil Culley	....	matte photography
Evan Davies	....	computer graphics animation programmer
Alan Marques	....	computer graphics consultant
James Pritch	....	additional model maker

Stunts
Tim Condren	....	stunt arranger (as Tim Condron)
Sarah Franzl	....	stunt double: Stacey Travis

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Beechy	....	rigger
Bob Brock	....	electrician (as Rob Brock)
Gerry Floyd	....	additional photographer: second unit
Paul Grech-Ellul	....	focus puller
Kenny Ingram	....	rigger
David Lee	....	gaffer
Hudd Levien	....	assistant camera: second unit
Tim Maurice-Jones	....	camera operator
Rick Morgan	....	rigger
John O'Donnell	....	video operator
John Parker-Rees	....	assistant camera
Rob Pye	....	electrician
Donul Rodan	....	video operator
Andy Shuttleworth	....	Steadicam operator
Kate Stark	....	clapper loader
Rob Stewart	....	electrician
Rob Stewart	....	lighting technician
Karl Watkins	....	lighting camera operator: second unit
Jay Williams	....	grip
John Williams	....	electrician
Clive Wise	....	rigger

Casting Department
Betsy Fels	....	casting: USA
Cynthia Lole	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chris Loizou	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Wendy Edgar-Jones	....	second assistant editor (as Wendy Edgar)
Edward Marnier	....	assembly editor
Gabrielle McNamara	....	post-production trainee

Music Department
Ian Hierons	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Gillon Jacoby	....	driver
Richard Mason	....	driver

Other crew
Polly Beaumont	....	assistant to producer
Lesley Broderick	....	production accountant (as Leslie Broderick)
Maggie Choyce	....	script supervisor
Francesca Cicci	....	production secretary
Robin Coe	....	floor runner
Michael Garland	....	post-production accountant
David Golden	....	floor runner
Mark Lucas	....	production runner
Katy McGuiness	....	legal advisor
Gerald McMorrow	....	floor runner
Anthony Morland	....	production runner
Bo Shaw	....	production assistant
Dom Shaw	....	location manager
Andrew Stone	....	operator

Thanks
Nicky Bell	....	special thanks
Immo Horn	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Palace Pictures (as Unlimited Palace Productions)
• British Screen Productions (as British Screen)
• British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB)
• Wicked Films

Distributors

• Millimeter Films (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• Palace Pictures (1990) (UK) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1991) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sinfonia Films (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1990) (Canada) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA (1990) (Canada) (VHS)
• Optimum Releasing (2009) (UK) (DVD)
• Optimum Releasing (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Palace Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• Severin Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Severin Films (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1991) (Argentina) (VHS)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (199?) (Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Bayly, Martin & Fay International  insurance
• Filmoptic  opticals
• Guinness Mahon and Company  banking services
• Peter Watson Associates  titles
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Still Moving Music  music supervision
• Westbury Design  matte painting facilities provided by

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 (MGM channel rating) | New Zealand:R18 (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | USA:X (original rating) | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Palace Pictures

Trivia:

Sinéad O'Connor was originally supposed to play the riverboat cab driver.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the droid rebuilds itself, it picks up a circular saw. When it uses that circular saw as a weapon later, it is completely different design, with an all different cutting disk.

Quotes:

Alvy:Smells like apple pie...

Movie Connections:

Features A Bitter Message of Hopeless Grief (1988) (V)

Soundtrack:

Cold Metal

The Richard Stanley show

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.