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Extras : Scene index, Cast and Filmmakers' Notes, Trailer, Production Notes
Director:
John Woo
(A Better Tomorrow, Blackjack, Broken Arrow, Bullet in the Head, City on Fire, Face/Off, Hand of Death, Hard Target, Heroes Shed No Tears, Just Heroes, The Killer, Mission: Impossible 2, Once A Thief, Rich And Famous, Violent Tradition
)
Producers:
James Jacks and Sean Daniel
Screenplay:
Chuck Pfarrer
Cast:
Chance Boudreaux: Jean-Claude Van Damme (A.W.O.L., Bloodsport, Cyborg, Death Warrant, Desert Heat, Double Impact, Double Team, Hard Target, Legionnaire, Knock Off, Maximum Risk, Nowhere To Run, The Quest, Streetfighter, Sudden Death, Timecop,
Universal Soldier, Universal Soldier: The Return)
Emil Fouchon: Lance Henriksen (Dead Man, Hard Target, House 3, Jennifer 8, Johnny Handsome, No Escape, The Quick and the Dead, The Right Stuff, TV: Millennium, Tales From The Crypt)
Natasha Binder: Yancy Butler (Drop Zone, The Ex, Fast Money, Hard Target, The Hit List)
Pik Van Cleaf: Arnold Vosloo (Darkman 2 & 3, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Hard Target, The Mummy, The Progeny, TV: American Gothic, Nash Bridges)
Uncle Douvee: Wilford Brimley (Borderline, Cocoon 1 & 2, The Firm, Hard Target, The Progeny, Tender Mercies)
Fat man: "I was only joking when I said I wanted cosmetic surgery done quickly !"
Hard Target
is one of Jean Claude Van Damme's biggest films to date and certainly
one of his most enjoyable, but for my money there's only really this and
the original Universal Soldier which I could watch more than once.
The basis of the plot was ripped from a French film, if I recall correctly,
the name of which I don't know, but I presume it wasn't meant to feature the
'Muscles from Brussels' getting his lips badly twisted around some dodgy
dialogue albeit a script that does contain some clever one-liners.
In a game of cat-and-mouse Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) sets up games
for bored tycoons to play. It involves strapping a huge wodge of cash round
the waist of a Vietnam veteran who has nothing left to live for, then telling
them to run. All they have to do is get to the perimeter of the game area
first and they keep the money. Sounds simple - but not when you're being
chased by very rich men with very big guns, since you're more likely to die a
horrible, violent death than to escape with the loot.
For reasons that don't really matter, drifter Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude
Van Damme) sticks his foot in and intends to pick off the bad guys one by
one. You know he'll start with the small fry and end up with Henriksen at the
end. This was John Woo's first action film for Hollywood and his
double-handed bullet-ballet techniques come into play several times very
violently as a result, not to mention his exceptional slo-mo shots.
It's fun to compare this film with the heavily-censored version that BBC1
occasionally show. On there, men die after three bullets a piece rather than
the 300 they seem to absorb here.
There's also a love interest in the form of Denise Richards-wannabe Yancy
Butler who couldn't act her way out of a paper bag and as most of the main
characters want to pretend to be French, it's anything but a French accent that
Wilford Brimley puts on as Chance's Uncle Douvee.
While Henriksen makes for a fine adversary, there's an even better performance
with even better one-liners from Arnold Vosloo as his right-hand man
Pik Van Cleaf, one of his show-stealing scenes being in the car scene pictured above
and below this section.
Pik: "I've almost perfected the 'Daniella Westbrook' nose-job."
The picture is presented in the original 1.85:1 ratio with no obvious artifacts, but
it is not anamorphic, which is a great shame as the Region 1 DVD is and it
could've made a brilliant action film look at its best. The average bitrate is
a superb 7.91Mb/s, often peaking over 9Mb/s.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 for English and French languages, while the
rest get short-changed. Whatever sound format you use, make sure it's loud
and throughout every part of the film it never fails to impress. The neighbours
had better not be light sleepers!
The attempt to recreate Smith & Jones head-to-head sketches was laughable.
Extras :
Chapters :
Only 16 chapters, the usual Universal-via-Columbia offering, so could
use more.
Languages/Subtitles :
Dolby Digital 5.1 in English and subtitles for the same language.
And there's more... :
But it's the standard fare - a Theatrical Trailer, a few pages of
Production Notes and the Cast and Filmmakers' Notes are brief
biogs and filmogs for director Woo and the other cast members listed atop
apart from Vosloo.
Menu :
A static and silent menu with a shot of Van Damme looking mean and moody
on the front cover, plus the basic options. No alarms and no surprises.
If you ever have a grenade down your trousers and this happens when you
try to disable it... you've got problems!
Overall, Hard Target was never going to win any Oscars for best
adapted screenplay or acting ability, but for sheer entertainment value on a
Friday night it's very hard to beat, even seven years on.
It was one of the first PAL Laserdiscs I ever bought and now I'm glad to have
it in my DVD collection. Just a shame it isn't anamorphic and wasn't treated
to any more extras than the standard fare dished out by back catalogue
Universal releases, published via Columbia TriStar.
DVD Trivia: Early posters for this film credited the directorial
efforts to one "John Wood" (!)
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
