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:

Money | Human Prey | New Orleans Louisiana | Louisiana | Missing Person

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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
Lenore Banks	...	Marie
Willie C. Carpenter	...	Elijah Roper
Barbara Tasker	...	Waitress
Randy Cheramie	...	Shop Steward
Eliott Keener	...	Randal Poe
Robert Pavlovich	...	Detective
Marco St. John	...	Dr. Morton
Joe Warfield	...	Ismal Zenan
Jeanette Kontomitras	...	Madam
Ted Raimi	...	Man on the Street
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Stephan
Tom Lupo	...	Jerome
Jules Sylvester	...	Peterson
David Efron	...	Billy Bob
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Codie Scott	...	Reporter

Directed by
John Woo

Writing credits (WGA)
Chuck Pfarrer		(written by)

Produced by
Terence Chang	....	co-producer
Sean Daniel	....	producer
Moshe Diamant	....	executive producer
James Jacks	....	producer
Daryl Kass	....	line producer
Chuck Pfarrer	....	co-producer
Sam Raimi	....	executive producer
Robert G. Tapert	....	executive producer
Eugene Van Varenberg	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Graeme Revell
Tim Simonec

Cinematography by
Russell Carpenter

Film Editing by
Bob Murawski

Production Design by
Phil Dagort

Art Direction by
Philip Messina

Set Decoration by
Michele Poulik

Costume Design by
Karyn Wagner

Makeup Department
Anne Hieronymus	....	makeup artist
Donna Spahn	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Daryl Kass	....	unit production manager
Patricia Serafina Madiedo	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nancy Blewer	....	second second assistant director (as Nancy Blewer-Mahaffey)
William H. Burton	....	second unit director (as Billy Burton)
John E. Gallagher	....	second assistant director
James Lansbury	....	first assistant director: second unit
Dennis Maguire	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Stuart Auld	....	camera scenic artist
Jack Blanchard	....	set dresser
Randall S. Coe	....	carpenter
Michael Hendrick	....	set dresser
Michael A. Johnson	....	set dresser
Monroe Kelly	....	assistant art director
Dave Kelsey	....	scenic artist
P.K. MacCarthy	....	storyboard artist
Patrick McGuire	....	leadman
Steven B. Melton	....	property master
Gordon Peck Jr.	....	signwriter/scenic
David Schlesinger	....	key set dresser
Nick Spetsiotis	....	art department production assistant
Kent State	....	props
Chuck Stringer	....	carpenter
Brad Lokey	....	on-set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ron Bartlett	....	sound editor
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin Bartnof	....	foley artist
Matthew C. Beville	....	sound transfer
James Bolt	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jim Bolt)
Michael C. Casper	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Dunn	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Faba	....	boom operator
Stephanie Flack	....	sound editor
Donald Flick	....	sound editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Lou Kleinman	....	sound editor
Steve Kohler	....	sound
Elliott Koretz	....	sound editor
Cliff Latimer	....	adr editor
Oscar Mitt	....	assistant sound editor
Josephine Nericcio	....	first assistant sound editor
John Pospisil	....	supervising sound effects editor
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound editor (as Geoffrey Rubay)
Curt Schulkey	....	supervising adr editor
Curt Schulkey	....	supervising dialogue editor
George Simpson	....	supervising sound editor
Mary Ruth Smith	....	foley editor (as Mary R. Smith)
David A. Whittaker	....	dialogue editor
Rick Mitchell	....	foley editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Dale Jones	....	special effects technician
Gary Jones	....	special effects technician
Dale L. Martin	....	special effects coordinator (as Dale Martin)

Visual Effects by
Joseph Armand Fedele	....	optical effects supervisor
Don Lee	....	digital compositor
Doyle Smith	....	wire removal (uncredited)

Stunts
Tobi Allyn	....	stunts
Pete Antico	....	stunts
John Borland	....	stunts
Chris Branham	....	stunts
Jophery C. Brown	....	stunts (as Jophery Brown)
Heather Burton	....	stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt coordinator (as Billy Burton)
William H. Burton	....	stunts
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Gilbert B. Combs	....	stunts (as Gil Combs)
Mitchell Dean	....	stunts
Richard Epper	....	stunts
Dane Farwell	....	stunts
Randy Hall	....	stunts
Dick Hancock	....	stunts
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Harry Harris III	....	stunts (as Harry Harris)
John Hateley	....	stunts
Tommy J. Huff	....	stunts (as Tom Huff)
Henry Kingi Jr.	....	stunts
Eddie Matthews	....	stunts (as Ed Mathews)
Vinita McClennon	....	stunts
Bill McIntosh	....	stunts
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts
Dan Owen	....	stunts (as Daniel R. Owen)
Steve Picerni	....	stunts (as Steve Percerni)
Joe Quinlivan	....	stunts
Glynn Rubin	....	stunts
Mark Stefanich	....	stunt double: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Blumes Tracy	....	stunts (as Blumes J. Tracy)
Rudy Ugland	....	stunts
Ric Roman Waugh	....	stunts (as Ric Waugh)
Heather Burton	....	stunt double: Yancy Butler (uncredited)
Mark Stefanich	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kirk Bloom	....	second assistant camera
Billy Bragg	....	director of photography: second unit
Kirk Douglas	....	assistant camera
Kirk Douglas	....	camera operator: Second unit
Edward A. Gutentag	....	assistant camera
Frank M. Holgate	....	aerial director of photography (as Frank Holgate)
Jeffrey A. Johnson	....	grip
Bret Lanius	....	assistant camera
Philip Lee	....	camera operator
Michelle Madison	....	second assistant camera
Jeff Mart	....	Steadicam operator
Chris Milani	....	electrician
Lloyd Moriarity	....	key grip
Melissa Moseley	....	still photographer
Randy Nolen	....	Steadicam operator
Andrew Rawson	....	electrician
Steven Scaffidi	....	camera operator
Tony Varuola	....	best boy electric
Randy Walsh	....	camera operator
Vojislav Mikulic	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Wells A. Smith	....	key grip: second unit (uncredited)
Samuel Webb	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marisa Aboitiz	....	costume supervisor
Margaret Lancaster	....	wardrobe assistant
Dena Matranga	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Sandy Brundage	....	negative cutter
Kevin Henry	....	negative cutter
Chris Lechler	....	apprentice editor
William Pine	....	color timer (as Bill Pine)

Music Department
Dick Bernstein	....	music editor
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor (as Sandy De Crescent)
George Doering	....	musician
Ken Kugler	....	orchestrator
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Graeme Revell	....	conductor
Graeme Revell	....	orchestrator
Tim Simonec	....	conductor
Tim Simonec	....	orchestrator
Philip Tallman	....	assistant music editor
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Roy A. Grace	....	driver
Earl R. Hurst Sr.	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Sallie Jones Arata	....	production assistant
Jennifer Birchfield-Eick	....	assistant production coordinator
Batou Chandler	....	set production assistant
Faith Conroy	....	script supervisor
Todd Fischer	....	assistant to script supervisor
Cliff Fleming	....	helicopter pilot
Gerrit V. Folsom	....	location manager
Charlie French	....	medic
Robert 'Rock' Galotti	....	weapons specialist
Craig Hosking	....	helicopter pilot
Gary Huckabay	....	assistant location manager
Jay Johnson	....	main title design
Petra Jorgensen	....	script supervisor: second unit
Stephanie Meyer	....	producer asst
Don Orlando	....	production accountant
David Pollison	....	assistant: John Woo, Los Angeles
Tom Prince	....	senior production executive
James Roque	....	office production assistant
Michelle Schluter-Ford	....	production coordinator (as Michelle Schluter)
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator
Edwin Stalter	....	assistant: John Woo
Jonathan Giles Zimmerman	....	completion bond representative
Kenny Rivenbark	....	remote head technician (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)
• Alphaville Films
• Renaissance Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993-1994) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993) (Spain) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993) (UK) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1993) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (199?) (Australia) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1996) (USA) (TV)
• Pioneer (1994) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (digital composites)

Other Companies

• Chapman Equipment  cranes and dollies supplied by
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color timing (as Deluxe)
• K.N.B. Effects Group  special thanks
• New Orleans Film Commission, The  film commission
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Panavision  camera and lenses
• Universal Studios Sound Facilities  sound re-recording (as Universal City Studios Sound Facility)
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack
• Weddington Productions  sound effects

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for a great amount of strong violence, and for language

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:

Dolby Stereo

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:

Vacherie, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [John Woo] [motorcycles]

Goofs:

Continuity: When first fight started there were 4 chairs in front of restaurant's window. After Chance broke thug's arm he felt down and toppled down one of then. But after the fight was finished there were four chairs in line again.

Quotes:

[after blasting Stephan]
Chance Boudreaux:Sorry about your shirt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dogma (1999)

Not Woo's best here, but it could've been worse (and better)

John Woo, after striking gold in action cinema in Hong Kong, came to Hollywood in the early 1990s in search of success here. His first film, Hard Target, came out in 1993, to minimal critical and popular success. Many criticized Woo, and it took him over 3 years to put out another movie, Broken Arrow (1996). It wasn't all Woo's fault. For one, during filming, Jean Claude Van Damme wouldn't listen to his directing. Yancy Butler once said: "John would tell him to use the guns, but Jean would just go back to kicking." Woo found interesting ways to counteract this, and invented a awesome combo of martial arts and gunplay. Woo finished principle photography, then the movie was edited and submitted to MPAA for rating. The movie was issued a NC-17. Woo wasn't happy, but agreed to trim down some of the violence, and that he did. The movie was reissued, but still not refused. Universal Studios then took the film, cut it themselves, not trying to fight the MPAA, and released it. Some violence was trimmed (more arrow hits in Binder's death and some people being shot more than shown), and a sex scene was removed as well. The movie is still Jean Claude's best and one of Woo's best. The martial arts scenes are excellent, as is the gunplay. Jean Claude has one of the greatest stunts in history involving a truck, a motorcycle, and a flip. As for the plot, nothing special, just a new version of "The Most Dangerous Game." Good acting from Van Damme (!), Butler, and Lance H. make it easier to swallow as well. All in all, it gets

Seven outta Ten.

P.S. Here's to hoping they release a director's cut DVD!