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 | 1990s | serial killer | river | 

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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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Pittsburgh Police badges are plastic resin casts of actual Pittsburgh PD badges. The props crew was given four badges to use, and thus all of the badges are one of only four numbers. This was done with the agreement that all casts and molds had to be returned to Pittsburgh PD, so they could be destroyed once filming was complete.

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Goofs

At the court sentencing, the bailiff announces the case as "State vs. Jimmy Detillo." Criminal cases in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are referred to as "Commonwealth vs. (defendant name)."

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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 MythBusters: Road Rage (2014)

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Soundtracks

WALK RIGHT NOW
Written by Andrew Shaw, Nicholas Kenny, Simon Kenny, Paul Leslie Disley and Charlie Francis
Performed by 2 Die 4
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Music Group

User Reviews

Two key cast members make this movie

Great support cast. Dialogue between Farina & Willis is as real as it gets. Irish vs Italian is always interesting. Needed more of those scenes. Some cliché movie lines but storyline hides the cheese. Location, Location, Location. All things being equal, I'd rather be in Philadelphia (right: Willis from Die Hard). I prefer Philly movies, but Pittsburgh is a great setting. Not NY. Not LA. I'll take it and it works. Every other profession has been glammed up by Hollywood so river police was a refreshing change.

Getting back to the cast, most of them are interchangeable with other actors. But there is no substitute for Dennis Farina as tough cop. He ad libs in his own way as well as Hackman & Matthau. If he's a non-smoker in real life, he should have won an Oscar for this role. This is one of those movies where the pre-quels would be just as action packed. Yeah I know the Episode IV thing has been done before in a galaxy far far away. But these characters would be interesting in their younger years.