Hard Target is the 1993 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his American debut. Movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an unemployed Cajun merchant sailor who rescues a young woman, named Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), from a group of thugs in New Orleans. Opportunity to know that Binder is looking for his missing father (Chuck Pfarrer), and agrees to help Binder in his quest. Boudreaux and Binder soon learned that Binder's father had died at the hands of rich sportsman Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) who hunted the homeless as a form of recreation. This scenario was written by Chuck Pfarrer and is based on the 1932 film adaptation of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game".
Hard Target is Woo's first American film and also the first major Hollywood film made by a Chinese director. Universal Pictures is nervous about having Woo direct a feature, and sending it to director Sam Raimi to look at film production and make Woo a director if he fails. Woo goes through some script finding mostly martial arts films with which he is not interested. After deciding on Chuck Pfarrer's script for Hard Target, Woo wants to have actor Kurt Russell in the lead role, but finds Russell too busy with other projects. Woo then goes with Universal's initial choice of having Jean-Claude Van Damme's star. Woo hangs out with Van Damme during the filming and increases the amount of action in this movie because he knows Van Damme is ready for it.
After 65 days of filming in New Orleans, Woo had trouble with the Motion Picture Association of America to secure the R rank desired by Universal. Woo made dozens of pieces for the film until the MPAA allowed him to get an R rating. In its initial release, Hard Target was a financial success but received mixed reviews from film critics.
Video Hard Target
Plot
In New Orleans, a homeless veteran named Douglas Binder (Chuck Pfarrer) is the target of the hunt. She was given a belt containing $ 10,000 and was told that she had to reach the other side of town where she would then win her money and life. Chasing him is the hunting organizer Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen), his lieutenant Pik Van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo), an entrepreneur named Mr. Lopaki has paid $ 500,000 for a human hunt, and mercenaries include Stephan (Sven-Ole Thorsen)) and Peterson (Jules Sylvester). Binder failed to reach his goal and was shot by three arrow bolts. Van Cleef took the money belt.
While searching for his father, the long-estranged daughter of Binder, Natasha (Yancy Butler) was attacked by a group of robbers who saw that she had a lot of money earlier. He was rescued by a homeless person with exceptional martial arts skills called Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), former Marine Force Recon. Opportunity initially hesitated to get involved with his mission, but because of the union's dues, he reluctantly allowed Natasha to hire him as his guide and bodyguard during his quest. Meanwhile, Chance's homeless friend, Elijah Roper (Willie C. Carpenter) is the next participant in the Fouchon hunt, and also killed.
Natasha discovers that her father handed out leaflets to a slum recruiter named Randal Poe (Eliott Keener) who has secretly supplied Fouchon with homeless men with war experience and no family ties. Natasha questioned Randal about his father's death, but they were found by Van Cleef who was eavesdropping. Fouchon and Van Cleef beat Randal to punish him for sending them a man with an interested family. New Orleans police detective Marie Mitchell (Kasi Lemmons) was reluctant to investigate the disappearance of the Binder until his charred body was found in the ashes of a shabby building. The death was ruled by chance, but Chance searched for the ruins and found the tag of the Binder dog, which was pierced by one of the arrow bolts. Van Cleef's accomplice suddenly ambushed Chance and drove consciously to frighten him and Natasha out of town. When he recovers, he offers Mitchell's dog tag as proof that Binder is killed. With closer investigation, Van Cleef and Fouchon decided to relocate their hunting business and begin to eliminate "unfavorable problems". A medical examiner who has hidden evidence of hunting is done with Randal. Mitchell, Natasha and Chance arrived moments later at Randal's office and were ambushed by Van Cleef and some of his men. During the shootout Mitchell was shot in the chest and killed. Opportunity to kill some mercenaries and run away with Natasha. Fouchon and Van Cleef assembled their mercenary team and five hunters to continue the pursuit.
Opportunity to bring Natasha to her uncle Douvee's (Wilford Brimley) home deep inside the bayou, and ask her help to defeat the men. Chance, Natasha, and Douvee lead a hunting party to a warehouse of sculptures and a broken old Mardi Gras statue, called the Mardi Gras cemetery, and even kill the Fouchons one by one. Van Cleef was eventually shot down by Chance in a shoot-out. In the end only Fouchon is left, but he holds a chance at bay by taking the Natasha hostage and stabbing Douvee in the chest with an arrow. Chance accused him, attacked with a flurry of punches, and then dropped a grenade in his pants. Fouchon tried to unload the grenade, but failed and burned in the blast. Chance, Natasha, and Douvee are now out of the warehouse.
Maps Hard Target
Cast
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, a Cajun Corps Navy Reconnaissance veterans veteran who is not working overseas. After Boudreaux rescues Natasha Binder, she is hired by her to help find her missing father.
- Lance Henriksen as Emil Fouchon, a wealthy sportsman who hunts down former homeless soldiers for sport. Upon discovering that he is being investigated by Chance and Natasha, Fouchon sends his gang led by Pik Van Cleaf to ambush them.
- Arnold Vosloo as Pik Van Cleef, a collaborator of Fouchon who took part in his hunting sports. He leads the crew of people sent to the murder of Chance and Natasha. The Van Cleef family name is a reference to actor Lee Van Cleef.
- Yancy Butler as Natasha "Nat" Binder, a young woman who came to New Orleans looking for her father, whom she had not seen since she was seven years old. When Natasha is attacked by thugs, she is saved by Chance Boudreaux who agrees to help her find her father.
- Kasi Lemmons as May Mitchell, a police detective who works in the office when the police are on strike. Mitchell helps Natasha by ordering another autopsy when they show the tag of the pierced dog whose father he has.
- Chuck Pfarrer as Douglas Binder, Natasha's father who moved to New Orleans. After Natasha discovered that three weeks had passed since she heard from her father, she went to New Orleans to find that she had become homeless and had been killed by Emil Fouchon's crew.
- Willie C. Carpenter as Elijah Roper, a friend of Chance Boudreaux who is also homeless.
- Wilford Brimley as Uncle Douvee, Chance Boudreaux's uncle who lives far away in Bayou. Chance and Natasha took shelter at his home and asked for his help during the final filming.
- Sven-Ole Thorsen and Jules Sylvester as Stephan and Peterson, Fouchon mercenaries.
- Eliott Keener as Randal Poe, a shabby recruiter for Fouchon finds a former homeless soldier to hunt.
- Robert Apisa as Mr. Lopacki
- Douglas Forsythe Rye and Mike Leinert as Frick and Frack
- Marco St. John as Dr. Morton
- Joe Warfield as Zenan
Production
Development
After making Hard Boiled in Hong Kong, director John Woo decides to take up an offer to work in the United States, where he will find himself happier as a filmmaker with better pace of work and working hours which is more reasonable.. Woo first offered this job in the United States by Universal Pictures chairman Tom Pollock after he saw the movie Woo The Killer . Universal does not want to have Woo direct all the features and only agree after what producers called James Jacks as "hard times convincing". Universal is worried about having an Asian director on a set that has limited command of English on a large-scale project. They hired American Sam Raimi to oversee the production of the film and put him on standby if Woo could not fulfill his role as director. Raimi is very excited to work with Woo because he is a fan of Hong Kong's films. Raimi is also confident in Woo's director's skills, stating that "Woo in 70% will still fly most of America's action directors working at 100%."
Upon his arrival in the United States, Woo went through several scripts before deciding on Hard Target . Describing the script he received, Woo stated that "Some of them are good - some of them are very good - but the rest is just martial arts films and I tell producers that I'm not interested in doing that kind of movie anymore.I've done a lot of them. "One of the scripts offered to Woo during this period was for Face/Off , which he rejected at the time, was turned off by the science fiction aspect of the story. The script for Hard Target was written by Chuck Pfarrer. Director Andrew Davis was interested in the script, but ultimately rejected it. Woo reads the Pfarrer script for Hard Target which appreciates that it's "a simple but powerful story, with a lot of feelings underneath.For a good action movie, you need a solid structure. Chuck gives me that". Woo also states that his story is "lacking John Woo" but his visual aspect will be "very John Woo". Pfarrer wrote a script originally based on the movie The Naked Prey . After the script does not turn out Pfarrer works on a script that is influenced by the film Aliens which is the basis for his comic Virus . The last attempt is a script based on the 1932 movie The Most Dangerous Game. The story of Pfarrer took place in New Orleans to provide an explanation of Jean-Claude Van Damme's accent.
Pre-production
Before a director was tied to Hard Target , Universal Pictures saw the film as a potential vehicle for actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme is already a big fan of Woo's movies and arranges to meet him in Hong Kong where the two get along even though Woo and Van Van are having trouble with their English. Woo originally wanted actor Kurt Russell for the lead role, but found Russell to be booked for two years with other film projects. While working with Van Damme, Woo declares that he is "confident in [my] ability and I know how to make the actor look good on the screen, make it look like a hero, I think I can do the same for Van Damme". Despite the initial misgivings of working with Van Damme, Woo alters many action scenes in the movie to make them more spectacular in discovering that Van Damme is ready for it. When working with Van Damme, Woo declares that Van Damme has a "sizeable ego, but he is still a professional and always strives to do a good job." Woo has control over casting films including minor character casting and finding cinematographers. Actress Yancy Butler plays Natasha Binder in her film debut. The role took Butler to another starring role in action films such as Drop Zone and Fast Money . Actor Lance Henriksen accepts the role of Emil Fouchon who claims he is a fan of Woo, because his previous films were "very creative, very balletic, and have a remarkable philosophy in them, violence is just a container for philosophy."
Filming
Hard Target had 74 days of production time and was shot at a location in New Orleans, including a barrage of shots in the French Quarter. Hard Target is included in Universal's strict schedule allowing only 65 days of filming time. It puts a lot of pressure on Woo. Woo is also pressured by Universal to reduce the violence and body count they see in his Hong Kong films. Since Woo has not mastered English, it takes time for the cast and crew to get used to working with him. When Woo can not explain what he wants with a shot to Russell Carpenter's cinematographer, he will use a simple statement like "this will be Sam Peckinpah's shot" to deliver his message to Carpenter. Actor Lance Henriksen recalls that this is a gradual process that gets everyone involved to start watching this movie as a John Woo movie rather than Jean-Claude Van Damme's movie. Producer James Jacks remembers that Woo is not "the most powerful person on set, but as far as I'm concerned, he's definitely the most respected".
The firearms on the set were considered dangerous, which caused the crew to build new bulletproof glass shields that could be bolted to the camera. This shield is especially useful for one sequence in the Hard Target where Van Damme emptied an ammunition magazine into the camera. This doll camera is dubbed by the crew as "Woo-Woo Choo-Choo". Russell Carpenter finds it difficult to film a big shoot-out scene. Carpenter specifically notes the Mardi Gras paradehouses recalling that "only lighting for such space, with all the shapes and odd shadows is quite difficult, but John then adds further complexity that wants the scene to be shot from several angles at once - -Replace with more than one camera is moving ". Producer James Jacks supports this movie-making style, finding the most economical way to record such action scenes.
Postproduction
The film was edited by Bob Murawski on set using a sophisticated computerized editing unit that allows users to edit movies while movies are being recorded. The film was later printed by Graeme Revell who used drummer Kodo from Japan. Woo is under contract to release R ratings by Universal Pictures. When submitting the film to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), it was rated too hard and intense for the R rating and received the NC-17 rating. Woo re-edited the movie six times for the MPAA because they never indicated what specific scenes they deem inappropriate. During this editing period, Van Damme went with his own editor to make his own film. The Van Damme version takes out all the characters to include more scenes and close-ups of his character, Chance. When asked about this editing, Van Damme replied that "People pay their money to see me, not to see Lance Henriksen". The MPAA received the movie after Woo made 20 pieces of the movie. Scenes cut includes the opening opening sequence and the Mardi Gras warehouse sequence. The non-action scenes that were cut from the movie were romantic scenes between Chance and Natasha.
Release
Theatrical run
Hard Target is scheduled to open in July 1993. Hard Target released August 20, 1993 in the United States made it the first film by Asian director to be released by a Hollywood studio.
Hard Target succeeded at the box office, becoming the second best-selling film of the week at the American box office at its initial release. Hard Target also became the 49th best-selling film in the United States in 1993. Hard Target made domestic ticket sales of $ 32,589,677 (worldwide sales were $ 74,189,677).
Home media
Hard Target was released on Laserdisc and VHS in 1994. In the United States, the film is the 14th highest selling laserdisc and the 46th most frequent VHS film of 1994. Hard Target was released on DVD for Region 1 on July 1, 1998. A DVD Region 2 of the film was released on March 20, 2000. The American DVD has also been released with a DVD bundle package, which includes other films starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. This DVD includes Hard Target , as well as Timecop , Street Fighter , Lionheart , Sudden Death and The Quest .
Another copy of the 116-minute film that has not been released officially, but has been found as pirated. This copy is a poor quality video cassette and has a time code burned in a corner indicating that the movie is not intended for public viewing. However, the DVD releases of Europe, Japan and Australia returned three minutes of recorded violence from the DVD Region 1 (cut to R rating), making it the version closest to the original Woo cut.
Reception
Van Damme then said "Target Hard is a bad script, but we have some great action scenes, and John Woo makes me look like a samurai with oily hair."
Critical reception
Hard Target received mixed reviews in its initial release praising the action scenes of the movie but noting the bad story and acting ability of Jean-Claude Van Damme. On the film review show Siskel & amp; Ebert , Roger Ebert states that Hard Target is "not very clever and it's not very original, but well-made on a technical level." Stunts are very impressive... as an action image, it made well, but never became more of a competent action and I can not recommend it for it ". Gene Siskel also gave the film a thumbs down on the show stating that "John Woo is a good filmmaker... Van Damme is pretty woody... you see the style in the movie because there's not much substance". Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "Van Damme still has not broken his empty attitude habits, even though Mr. Woo filmed it in the most legendary style". In Variety , Emanuel Levy writes that Hard Target is "a brilliant, sometimes brilliant, snapshot starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but obstructed by the B-script with flat , standard characters, and repeated editing of violent sequences to win R ratings, the pic does not endure the unique vision posted on the recent Woo " The Killer and" Hard-Boiled "Van Damme and the director's reputation must ensure an early commercial kick on the way to an unspectacular solid box office". Desson Thompson of The Washington Post wrote that "When Van Damme did not write it off in English, scriptwriter Chuck Pfarrer fills Henriksen's mouth with pseudo-evil genius, even in second-rate action, images like this, and though Henrysen's creative endeavor, they are sick to listen... Creative presence of Woo is practically paralyzed There are several flashes of his delirial wild style - slow motion moments here, a well-chosen freeze-frame there.He also introduced American audiences to the taste of stunts unique and very, very loud car boom, but Wooisms is disappointing minimal ". Lance Henriksen received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Emil Fouchon in the film. In 1997, Woo looked back at Hard Target stating that it was "in some ways, a pretty inconvenient movie to make, but I was quite happy with how the action scene changed." Viewers surveyed by CinemaScore gave this movie an average value of "B" on a scale up to F. box office
The film premiered in theaters on August 20, 1993, in wide release throughout the US. During the opening weekend, the film opened in second place with a gross income of $ 10,106,500 in a business exhibition at 1,972 locations. The Fugitive movie, was in first position over the weekend with grossed $ 18,148,331. Hard Target decreased 50% in the second week of release, earning $ 5,027,485. For the weekend, the film fell to third place, even with an increase in the number of screenings of 1,999 theaters. The Fugitive , remains unrivaled in the top-selling spot of $ 14,502,865 in box office revenue. During the last week of release, Hard Target opened in eleventh place away with $ 1,270,945 in revenue. For that particular weekend, the Striking Distance starring Bruce Willis debuted, opening in first place with $ 8,705,808 in revenue. The film went domestically domestically for $ 32,589,677 in total ticket sales through a 5-week theater drama. Internationally, the film took an additional $ 41.6 million in the box office business for a combined total of $ 74,189,677. For the entire year 1993, films worldwide will cumulatively rank in the 23rd box office performance.
Sequel
Scott Adkins finished photographing the sequel to the movie in December 2015. The sequel stars Robert Knepper, Rhona Mitra, Ann Truong, Temuera Morrison, Adam Saunders, Jamie Timony, Peter Hardy, Troy Honeysett, Sean Keenan and Boajakanakit.
See also
- American film 1993
- Hunting man
- List of action movies of the 1990s
Note
References
- Hall, Kenneth E. (1999). John Woo: The Films . McFarland. ISBNÃ, 0-7864-0619-4.
- Hear, Christopher (1999). Ten Thousand Bullets: The Sinematic Trip of John Woo . Doubleday Canada. ISBNÃ, 0-385-25731-7. Ã,
- Elder, Robert K. (2005). John Woo: Interview . University Press Mississippi. ISBN: 1-57806-776-6.
- Sharrett, Christopher (1999). The mythology of violence in the postmodern media . Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-2742-7.
External links
- Official website
- Hard Target on IMDb
- Difficult Target in AllMovie
- Difficult Target in the TCM Movie Database
- Hard Target at Rotten Tomatoes
- Difficult Goals in Box Office Mojo
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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