Striking Distance (1993)

Coming from a police family, Tom Hardy ends up fighting his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom believes the killer is another cop, and goes on the record with his allegations. Demoted then to river duty, the killer taunts Tom.

Director:

Rowdy Herrington

Writers:

Rowdy Herrington, Marty Kaplan

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Det. Tom Hardy
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Jo Christman
Dennis Farina	...	Capt. Nick Detillo
Tom Sizemore	...	Det. Danny Detillo
Brion James	...	Det. Eddie Eiler
Robert Pastorelli	...	Det. Jimmy Detillo
Timothy Busfield	...	Tony Sacco
John Mahoney	...	Lt. Vince Hardy
Andre Braugher	...	Dist. Atty. Frank Morris
Tom Atkins	...	Sgt. Fred Hardy
Mike Hodge	...	Capt. Penderman, River Rescue Commandant
Jodi Long	...	Officer Kim Lee, River Rescue Dispatcher
Roscoe Orman	...	Sid, Eddie Eiler's Partner
Robert Gould	...	Douglas Kesser
Gareth Williams	...	Chick Chicanis

Storyline

A serial killer is back in Pittsburgh to torment the former homicide detective who was on his trail years before. Tom Hardy, who has been relegated to water-way duty, along with new partner Jo Christman, navigate the three rivers looking for clues and discovering bodies. This time the victims are women Tom knows, he must find the killer to prove his innocence.

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Plot Keywords:

river | serial killer | police | chase | river rescue | 

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Taglines:

They shouldn't have put him in the water, if they didn't want him to make waves.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, strong language and a sex scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Three Rivers

Filming Locations:

Hall of Justice - 211 W. Temple Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£1,652,124 (UK) (20 May 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-star Robert Pastorelli accidentally blurted out the big plot twist during an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman long before the film was released.

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Goofs

The dead woman lying upside down in the water, blinks after being turned around.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Newscaster: The search for the Polish Hill Strangler continues in the wake of the discovery of yet a fourth victim early this morning.

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Connections

Edited into Ablaze (2001)

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Soundtracks

"SPIDER'S BLUES (MIGHT NEED IT SOMETIME)"
Written by Paul Barrere, Fred Tackett and Bill Payne
Performed by Little Feat
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Music Group

User Reviews

Predictable suspense-thriller has its moments but overall it's entertaining.

Detective Tom Hardy (Bruce Willis) grows up in the family of cops. Hardy turns against his uncle Captain Nick Detillo (Dennis Farina), since he believes that he's protecting somewhere who's corrupted and fighting him since the death of his dedicated Lt. Vince Hardy (John Mahoney). When Hardy's cousin Jimmy (The late Robert Pastorelli) committed suicide from jumping off a bridge. Since Hardy knew there was something wrong with his cousin. Since Hardy's get fired from his job believing that a cop has murder womens in the streets of Pittsburgh but he can't prove it. Months has passed, now Hardy works for the boat patrol for the city. He's forced to work with a young by the book officer Jo (Sarah Jessica Parker) as his new partner. Which Hardy prefers to be alone. When Hardy is called on the crime scene to the river to discover that the latest murders are woman, which Hardy knew before. Now the killer calls Hardy from his phone and he wants to play of Cat & Mouse with him. He has to find the next victim before it's too late, while the local police especially his uncle thinks that Hardy isn't right in the head.

Directed by Rowdy Herrington (Road House) made an watchable-thriller that tries to be suspenseful but overall the script is quite predictable sadly. The identity of the villain is too easy to guess for most viewers. Since Willis' was quiet disappointed with his experiencing working this forgotten thriller. But it is not boring, thanks to a strong cast that includes Tom Sizemore, The late Brion James, Andre Braugher and more that keeps this far from being boring. Willis tries to do something different with his role. But his scenes with the character Jo slows the movie down, especially when they start a romance. It is quite unintentionally funny at times and way over the top towards the conclusion. Herrington's previous picture "Road House" was much more fun to watch than this failed effort. "Striking Distance" is one of those films that certainly plays better on TV and fans of Willis' work might enjoy this movie much more than others. Check your brain out the door before watching it. (***/*****).