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 | cyberpunk | christmas | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

Welcome To The 21st Century!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Hootkins improvised a lot of the foulest and most obscene lines of his character.

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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] This is Angry Bob, the man with the industrial dick, coming to you loud and clear on W.A.R. Radio with the good news and the bad news. Bad news is the heatwave's not going to let up. It's expected to hit ninety downtown before nightfall, although weather control keeps promising that rain is on the way. The foul up on the launch pad at terminal eight doesn't look like it's gonna clear for another half hour and holiday air traffic is still stacking up over the CBD and all outlying ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The film was heavily cut to receive an M rating for its Australian theatrical run. The cuts were later restored for the R rated video release.

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Connections

Edited into Brave (1994)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

This movie is not as bad as it sounds

This is a very cool little sci-fi flick. OK, it's no Aliens, but it has a lot of really interesting things happening. First off it has a slick look, filmed very well by first time director/writer Richard Stanley, a lot of strobes and brilliant colour give it a perfect setting for the `robot goes crazy' plot. I also liked the post-apocalyptic landscape, which I think worked well along with Iggy Pop's narration as `Angry Bob'. It takes a little while to build, but the ending packs a decent punch, along with just enough gratuitous violence to keep me happy. There are also plenty of religious references and imagery to look for, all centering around the `MARK 13 Cyborg.' So, if you like sci-fi, I think you should give this movie a try, it's a pretty cool ride with some very cool imagery.

Details

Official Sites:

Severin Films

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hardware

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,381,285, 16 September 1990

Gross USA:

$5,728,953

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,728,953

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