Hard Rain (1998)

The nephew of an armored-truck driver tries to prevent three million dollars from being taken by a local rival gang during a catastrophic flooding caused by a severe storm.

Director:

Mikael Salomon

Writer:

Graham Yost

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Jim
Christian Slater	...	Tom
Randy Quaid	...	Sheriff Mike Collins
Minnie Driver	...	Karen
Edward Asner	...	Uncle Charlie
Michael A. Goorjian	...	Kenny (as Michael Goorjian)
Dann Florek	...	Mr. Mehlor
Ricky Harris	...	Ray
Mark Rolston	...	Wayne Bryce
Peter Murnik	...	Phil
Wayne Duvall	...	Hank
Richard Dysart	...	Henry Sears
Betty White	...	Doreen Sears
Ray Baker	...	Mayor
Lisa Fuhrman	...	Mayor's Wife

Storyline

In Huntingburg, the armored truck with three million dollars driven by Tom and his Uncle Charlie gets stuck in the flooding and realizes that the town has been evacuated since the dam does not have capacity to hold the storm. While waiting for the National Guard, they are attacked by Jim and his gang formed by Kenny, Mr. Mehlor and Ray and the clumsy Kenny kills Charlie. Tom flees with the bags of money and hides them in the cemetery. Then he is hunted down by Jim and his gang and he hides in a church. Out of the blue, he is knocked out and awakes locked in a cell. Soon he learns that the restorer Karen believed he was a looter and hit him. Sheriff Mike Collins and Deputy Wayne Bryce go to investigate Tom' story while Officer Phil takes Karen out of the town by boat. However she escapes with the boat and goes to the church. Meanwhile Tom is trapped in the cell full of water and Karen rescues him. He decides to return to the armored truck to retrieve a shotgun but he is captured by Jim...

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Plot Keywords:

flood | reference to swamp thing | rogue cop | renegade cop | money | 

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Taglines:

A simple plan. An instant fortune. Just add water.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The morning after the film's L.A. premiere, Christian Slater reported to Ventura City jail to begin a 90-day prison sentence for drug offenses, assault and battery. He would be released after 57 days and enrolled in an anti-addiction program immediately after.

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Goofs

Actually, firearms and ammunition will function wet, even underwater. What could keep a semi-auto from functioning eventually would be washing away of lubrication, if the water itself did not provide enough lubrication. Revolvers, pumps, bolt actions would not be affected immediately. In a matter of days, rust might keep them from functioning.

For ammunition, water would need considerable time to seep in around the primer and bullet. Many primers use a sealant after insertion to prevent this. Deactivation would be a matter of days or weeks.

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Quotes

Tom: I was looking for a place to hide it.
Wayne Bryce: From what? Swamp Thing?

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Crazy Credits

The Paramount mountain is seen in much worse weather than normal; the camera pans down from the logo to scenes of flooding.

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Connections

References The Killer (1989)

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Soundtracks

Flood
by Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark (as Mark Odmark), Stephen Mason,Charlie Lowell & Tim Smith
Performed by Jars of Clay

User Reviews

Morgan Freeman as an armoured car robber?

Though Morgan Freeman is an absolute legend, I can't see him being the bad guy robber at the beginning. After his stellar performance in "The Shawshank Redemption," he has left himself too open to being seen by fans as a "nice guy." True, he did play a convict in that movie, but you never saw him commit the crime that landed him there. Therefore casting him as an armoured car robber didn't sit right with me.

Christian Slater did a "Michael J. Fox" (The Concierge/Secret of My Success) by copycatting his own performance in "Broken Arrow" (same screenplay writer...).

The ending is too abrupt, but, overall, I did enjoy the movie all the same. For action fans only...

Details

Country:

USA UK Denmark France Japan New Zealand Germany Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Flood

Filming Locations:

Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,009,024, 19 January 1998

Gross USA:

$19,870,567

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,870,567

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Television, H2L Media Group, Marubeni

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1