Hard Target (1993)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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 | New Orleans Louisiana | Missing Person

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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

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:

French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [John Woo] [doves]

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the scene right after the medical examiner is shot through the peephole of his front door, the main character checks himself in the mirror. The mirror is half covered in blood splatter from the shooting. The location of the mirror being 25 feet away and at a 90 degree angle to the shooting, and the blood splatter pattern that looks like it is come from above, makes this an unlikely if not impossible location for blood splatter.

Quotes:

Emil Fouchon: [his last line] Whoops!

Movie Connections:

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Guns, blood, Woo, Van Damme, oh my!!

This is basically raw John Woo: bullets flying, fire blazing, good guys, bad guys, this movie has the whole ball of wax! In Woo's 1st American flick, Jean Claude Van Damme high-kicks and shoots as many baddies as he can trying to find the killers of the father of Yancer Butler's character right in the heart of the deep South.



Van Damme is as physically fit as ever. He sports a Kurt Russel-style hairdo in this movie, but his voice is as incoherent as always! His Belgium accent was really "hard" to understand, and it got to my nerves throughout the whole film!!

But, he busts up the good guys with real finesse. Arnold Vosloo and Lance Henrikson also light up the screen with their sleazy yet very believeable villain performances. The fight and shootout scenes in this film are amazing. Watching "Hard Target" was really a great experience, and it was worth the $2.10 rental! Watch the gunfight behind the wall between Van Damme and Vosloo. It might remind you of a good "Face/Off"!!