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:

frame up | alcoholism | serial killer | river | police | 

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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)

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

The movie was filmed in 13 weeks in the summer of 1992, in Pittsburgh. Its working title was "Three Rivers", and was scheduled to be released on May 21, 1993. But after the original cut was shown to a test audience that hated it, extensive re-shooting was done in Los Angeles. Story changes, and removal of some plot points, were done to try and and make the movie better. Because of this, release date was pushed from May to September 17th.

According to articles and reports at the time, reasons for why the test audience hated the initial cut of the film, were, confusing parts of the story, which were added into director Rowdy Herrington's and Marty Kaplan's original script by Bruce Willis. One source mentioned how the original cut was like "Hudson Hawk (1991) without the laughs." One of the veteran production members said that Willis "called the shots like he did on (Hudson) Hawk, and like he used to do on Moonlighting (1985). He had scenes rewritten. He did what he wanted to do. We were working with Orson Willis."

When news about re-shoots were reported, Columbia chairman Mark Canton went and said in interview that he "couldn't be more enthusiastic" about the film and how he predicted it's going to be a "beyond-sizable hit." But in order to do so, the movie had to make thirty million dollars plus turn a profit at the box-office. Canton was also known for being heavily involved in several other films in earlier years which were known for having very troubled productions and receiving bad receptions from audience during test screenings, some of them include Wes Craven's sci-fi horror Deadly Friend (1986), one of Willis's earlier box-office flops The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), and John McTiernan's Last Action Hero (1993). Just like he did with this film, Canton also kept the news and rumors about problems on the sets of those films and bad responses from test audiences, from the public and demanded heavy changes to be done on the films, which only ended up hurting the films and studios more.

In this case, for example, all the love/intimate scenes between Hardy and Jo were re-shot to make them sexier. Several dialogue scenes, like the scene in the bar between Hardy and Detillo, were also cut to make the film quicker paced. The change in tone of the film also made Columbia change the title from "Three Rivers" to "Striking Distance", as it now focused more on the action/thriller elements. Although it was his interference in the script and huge ego during filming that were the cause of problems with the production and the original cut, Bruce Willis was still very angry because he had to return for re-shoots, so much so that he blamed Herrington for it, despite the fact that Herrington still defended Willis, in interviews, regarding the problems with the film. According to the cast and crew, Willis treated Herrington very badly during both initial filming and re-shoots.

Striking Distance ended up being a box-office failure, earning only 24 million dollars on the budget of thirty million dollars.

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Goofs

When the two cars go off the road and crash at the end of the first car chase, it is broad daylight, yet, when Bruce Willis' character is recovered from under the car, it is completely dark.

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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

References The Simpsons (1989)

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Soundtracks

LIL' RED RIDING HOOD
Written by Ronald Blackwell
Performed by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Markets

User Reviews

Yes, This Has Been Done, But It Is NOT As Bad As Critics Say!

A cop receives phone calls wherein he hears the murders of young women perpetrated by a wily serial killer. Okay, the premise is not new. It is a bit reminiscent of the Zodiac killer, but only a bit. The truth is, only a big star like Willis could pull this one out of the $1 bin and set it upon the eye-level shelves. Fortunately, Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker manage to do just that.

This film is highly underrated and under-appreciated, and wrongly so. The performances by even the supporting cast (actors who are known for lesser films and lesser performances) are wonderful. No, I'm not trying to say this film is Oscar-worthy, but it IS highly entertaining. It properly generates atmosphere, and delivers upon generation.

All in all? I found this work entertaining and enjoyable.

It rates an 8.3/10 from...

the Fiend :.