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 (as Martin 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

Tom Hardy (Bruce Willis) is a maverick cop in pursuit of a sadistic serial killer. Demoted to river patrol after suggesting to the press the killer may be a police officer, he initiates an unauthorized investigation with his new partner (Sarah Jessica Parker).

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Loyalty above all else, except honour.

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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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,705,808, 19 September 1993, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$23,798,623

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theatrical trailer shows lot of deleted, extended and alternate scenes, probably ones which were decided to be cut or changed after bad test screening of the original cut. There are also lot of promotional stills which show several other deleted scenes, like Tom and Jo pulling some man out of the water while group of people watches them or deleted part from the ending showing Tom kneeling over Nick's body.

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Goofs

When Sarah Jessica Parker's character begins searching through Hardy's news clippings on his boat one of the headlines in the paper reads, "City Paralized ..." misspelling paralyzed.

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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

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Striking Distance/Into the West/The Age of Innocence/Household Saints/Baraka (1993)

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Soundtracks

THINGS HAPPEN
Written by Paul Barrere, Fred Tackett and Bill Payne
Performed by Little Feat
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Music Group

User Reviews

Not Your Ordinary Action Film, Very Underrated

More than any film I can remember in a long time, I have never understood why this film hasn't gotten higher ratings than it has. The plot, while not ingenious (and even somewhat predictable) is still exciting and will keep you engrossed.

The film's creators get a lot of points in my book for locale creativity. Instead of setting the film in some predictable location such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami or San Francisco they set it in Pittsburgh, PA, definitely not your ordinary movie location. It's one that adds a wonderful freshness to the movie however.

The location shooting is outstanding. The scenery is different and excellent, the photography is great, even spectacular in places and the action is on a par with some of the best action films ever, including Bullitt. Who would normally think to expect extensive boating and water action in a state as synonymous with mountains as Pennsylvania is? That alone is worth taking a look at this movie.

I do not usually care much for Bruce Willis. I thought he was very well cast in this movie however and Sara Jessica Parker added extra special chemistry. The cast is much better than average overall and includes such outstanding actors as Andre Braugher, of the outstanding tv series "Homicide". I thought that the casting in general, as well as the photography, location and action very adequately made up for any possible deficiencies in the plot itself.

I would warn that there is extensive foul language in this film, more than is necessary even for a film of this genre in my opinion and probably it's biggest drawback. I would still say that the film is well worth watching when your in the mood for some escapist fun and action fare. As I said earlier, I think the film deserves higher ratings than it's gotten so far. I've watched it twice now (it was just as good the second time, in fact even better) and that definitely won't be the last time I watch it.