Hardware (1990)

The head of a cyborg reactivates, rebuilds itself, and goes on a violent rampage in a space marine's girlfriend's apartment.

Director:

Richard Stanley

Writers:

Steve MacManus (story "SHOK!"), Kevin O'Neill (story "SHOK!")

Stars:

Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis, John Lynch

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

In the future, a nuclear war has transformed the Earth into a radioactive wasteland where the sea has dried up leaving it as a post-apocalyptic desert. In the desert, A desert scavenger named Nomad discovers a robotic head, arriving in New York City, A space marine named Moses Baxter buys the robotic head from Nomad as a Christmas present for his girlfriend Jill Grakowski, who decides to use it for one of her sculptures. But all hell starts breaking loose, when the robotic head is activated and begins to rebuilt itself. When Alvy, a junkyard dealer discover the robotic head is a Mark 13, a military cyborg of a project that was abandoned. Moses learns Jill's life is in danger, as the Mark 13 cyborg goes on a violent rampage in Jill's apartment as Jill has become the the prime target for extermination.

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | cult film | woman on top | based on comic | based on comic book | 

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Taglines:

In the 21st century there will be a new endangered species...man.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Severin Films

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

M.A.R.K. 13

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,381,285, 16 September 1990, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,728,953

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palace Pictures, British Screen Productions, British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Lydon, the frontman of Public Image Limited, was rumored to be in talks to provide the nasal squeak for Angry Bob, the insane DJ of W.A.R. Radio Channel. The part eventually went to Iggy Pop, yet Lydon is still heard in the film's soundtrack in the PIL track "Order of Death". Ironically enough, the cast listing in the back cover of the Japanese laserdisc credits Lydon for the part.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Angry Bob: [on radio] Kill! Kill! Kill! Today's death count is 578.

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Alternate Versions

Originally was given an X-rating. Some extreme violence and sex was trimmed so that it could be given an "R".

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)

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Soundtracks

Stabat Mater
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
New arrangement by Simon Boswell
Licenced courtesy of Atmosphere Music Ltd.

User Reviews

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.