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Post by Testudo86 on Apr 18, 2017 12:08:39 GMT
A film that has definite the action genre in the 90s, Hollywood debut of the legendary director John Woo, stylish directing, great action and an A-list cast with two great actors included, Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo.
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Post by doriankray on Apr 22, 2017 17:33:03 GMT
Hardtarget defo one of my favourites. Easily the best jc on screen action ever. Has anyone seen a behind the scenes or special features on Hardtarget? Wud appreciate anyone uploading it here
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Post by Claudia on Apr 22, 2017 18:01:45 GMT
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Post by doriankray on Apr 22, 2017 19:26:06 GMT
Thank u Claudia much appreciated
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Post by Claudia on Apr 22, 2017 20:05:23 GMT
My pleasure.
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Post by Claudia on Jun 2, 2017 12:32:39 GMT
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Post by Replicant on May 15, 2018 12:49:28 GMT
Hard Target (1993) Review Brad Curran May 15, 2018 Summary
Whether you come at it as a fan of John Woo or Van Damme, “Hard Target” is a sublime, ridiculously fun team-up of action legends. Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo make hugely entertaining villains, with the latter especially, eagerly warming up for “The Mummy” years in advance. Woo’s expertise with gun fu meshes marvellously with Van Damme’s martial arts skills, and two decades hence, leaves your mind reeling at what “John Wick 4” would look like if John Woo were given a shot at it. Oh, one can dream!
Read full review here: kungfukingdom.com/hard-target-movie-review/
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Post by Claudia on Aug 7, 2018 8:59:49 GMT
Alamo Drafthouse is showing Hard Target on the big screen: Aug 7 Cedars 7:10PM Aug 8 Las Colinas 9:40PM Aug 10 Lake Highlands 9:00PM Aug 27 Richardson 9:00 PM Age Policy 18 and up; Children 6 and up will be allowed only with an adult. No children under the age of 6 will be allowed.
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Post by Claudia on Aug 25, 2018 9:04:19 GMT
www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hard-target-john-woo-clashing-jean-claude-van-damme-1137208 'Hard Target' at 25: John Woo on Fighting for Respect in Hollywood August 24, 2018 11:17am PT by Pete Keeley
On Aug. 20, 1993, Hard Target, premiered in U.S. theaters. The film — based loosely on Richard Connell's 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game and set in New Orleans — stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreax, a merchant seaman hired by a woman searching for her father, a homeless veteran who, it turns out, has been literally hunted down and killed. The villain, Emile Fouchon — played by a perpetually glistening, characteristically intense Lance Henriksen — makes his living arranging recreational manhunts for wealthy sportsmen in world cities of note. It's fun.
The anniversary could have probably passed unremarked, but for the fact that the film was legendary action director John Woo's first in the U.S., and the first Hollywood studio film to ever be helmed by an Asian filmmaker.
[..]
By the early '90s — with Hollywood still in the midst of a star-driven action film golden age — Woo was being sent scripts from several studios interested in bringing him over to the States. He decided on Hard Target after Van Damme — then at the height of his fame — screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer, and producer James Jacks flew to Hong Kong to plead their case in person.
Woo has said in many interviews that he preferred making films in the U.S. as opposed to Hong Kong, but his first experience wasn't without its unpleasantries. First: the endless meetings and levels of bureaucracy before shooting could begin. Second: the star system, whereby Van Damme could, for instance, insist that one camera be dedicated to capturing closeups of his oiled biceps. Third: Universal was worried enough about Woo's capacity to handle an American crew that it hired Sam Raimi to shadow him on set, instructing him to step in and take over if the director faltered. (Instead Raimi would become Woo's fiercest defender, even getting into a shouting match with execs to defend his autonomy.)
The film performed well at the box office, debuting to $10.1 million, good for No. 2 behind The Fugitive, though reviews were mixed (The Hollywood Reporter's critic, Duane Byrge, was into it, however, calling the film "mesmeric" and even praising Van Damme's acting — twice). But 25 years later, the film's main legacy is its massive action set pieces — including a finale that plays out in a burning warehouse full of retired Mardi Gras floats — which introduced American audiences to the Hong Kong style of munition superabundance and showcased what the father of "gun-fu" could accomplish when given a big budget and all the cameras, jibs and cranes he desired. That, and the scene where JCVD punches a snake in the face (Mr. Woo was kind enough to send over a series of storyboards for an early, punch-less version of this scene. See below).
[..]
Can you talk a bit about how you were recruited to come over to Hollywood. Who made first contact? In one interview you credited Sam Raimi with "giving [me] the opportunity to come to America and make Hard Target." What was his involvement in bringing you to the U.S.?
Before I came to Hollywood I had never dreamed to come to work [here]. I thought it was an impossible dream. At the end of 1991 I was making my last Hong Kong film, Hard Boiled. All of a sudden I got a call from Tom Jacobson, who was [executive vp production at] 20th Century Fox. He was the first one to call me. I was so surprised I didn't know what to do! (Laughs.) He asked me to come over to Hollywood and had very high interest [in producing] a movie for me. And he gave me several scripts and asked to set up a meeting and all that. And the second call was from Oliver Stone. And we [met in Paris during the Cannes Film Festival] and had a great meeting, and he wanted to produce a movie for me. He gave me a script. It was a modern kung-fu movie set in South Asia and Los Angeles — called Kato, or Ballistic — and the star was a Korean-American actor, Phillip Rhee. I liked the script, and I even had an idea for a butterfly scene. The main character is practicing martial arts and a butterfly [lands on him], so he holds the butterfly in his palm and keeps practicing. Many years later, when I met Rhee’s brother, he said, "Mr. Woo, butterfly!" I laughed. "Yeah! Butterfly!" Mr. Stone gave me great respect and also help me to team up with a very good crew, but the film didn't work out. It was a Warner Bros. production. My agent and partner said the studio treated me like a first-time director and didn't give me respectful pay. (Laughs.) I was quite disappointed because I greatly admire Oliver Stone and I really wanted to learn something from him. After that I continued to do my own work, finished Hard Boiled. By then I was getting lots of scripts from other studios like New Line and Universal. And one of the scripts was Hard Target, and I found the idea and the story quite interesting, but I didn't have much desire to make it because I thought it would be a difficult film to make. But then later the producer from [Universal], Mr. Jim Jacks, the writer, Chuck Pfarrer, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, they flew over to Hong Kong to meet me, and push me to do the job. They all loved my movies, liked my style, and they wanted an American action film with a new look. And I found the people from the studio were very sincere, very warm, and made me feel very relaxed about doing the film. So I took the job.
[..]
You originally wanted Kurt Russell for the lead role, but he was booked up. What had you seen Kurt in that made you interested in him as your first American, Hollywood lead?
At the time I really liked Kurt Russell. He's kind of my type of hero. Great energy, lovely smile, strong, and always makes audiences feel comfortable and happy. He felt more like a friend than a movie star. And he had that American boy image. So that was why he was my first choice. But I didn't regret working with Van Damme. I thought he was a quite interesting guy. The only thing I didn't get used to was he was always talking business. Like making deals with other studios or other projects on the set while we were setting up a shot, and we were always waiting for him! He was always talking on his mobile phone, and everyone is waiting for him to finish the call. And the producers and the people from the bond company the were pushing me so hard. "John! You have to shoot!" "I cannot shoot without my star!" The other thing is he was so concerned about his look. I liked to set up four cameras, and he'd want one camera to [focus only on] his arm, muscled arm, you know! (Laughs.) And I know everyone wants to look great onscreen — and that's my job [as director] — but I never liked anybody to tell me how to set up a camera angle, especially a shot for their muscles! But I shot it anyway on set because we were on schedule that day. I shot it, but I never used it.
I read that Chuck Pfarrer set the film in New Orleans as a way to explain JCVD's accent. Is that true? It struck me as odd only because the setting is so integral to the story in other ways — like, the final set piece takes place in the Mardi Gras graveyard!
It's true. [Chuck and the producers] all wanted Van Damme and they all liked him and wanted him to feel comfortable. But I also liked the idea. I love jazz, I love the city. It's a very interesting city. It feels so earthy and dangerous and artistic and romantic.
[..]
I think the Uncle Douvee part was the main great thing from the film. I was overjoyed making those scenes and especially working with Wilford Brimley. Whenever I saw him on set I'd feel so relaxed and happy! I love the character! I always want to bring some humor element to the film and Wilford did it. I also love French film and wanted to have French culture, a French element, in the film. During the shooting I found Van Damme's character, even though he tried so hard, I found his part of the scenes were quite boring. So when the Uncle Douvee part comes in all of a sudden it lights up the whole film and makes the movie look so much different.
You had to submit Hard Target to the MPAA seven times before they gave you an R. Have you ever considered going back and releasing an original cut? I guess there's a bootleg long version that's out there and some of the foreign DVD versions restore some footage but nothing official.
I like the original cut, of course! And I also heard the long version became a cult movie — some people have seen it and liked it a lot, which is so interesting. And I wish the studio would have interest in releasing the movie again. I think it's worth it to do it.
So if Universal were to come to you and say, "Hey, we wanna do this" —
Oh yes! Definitely.
Read full interview here: www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hard-target-john-woo-clashing-jean-claude-van-damme-1137208
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Post by jcstuvd on Apr 13, 2019 14:14:57 GMT
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Post by Claudia on Jun 23, 2019 9:03:42 GMT
It was on TV last night (Saturday). In the 90's they would air a lot of movies on Saturday night, so it's very cool they aired a Van Damme movie on a decent time (20:00 - 22:01 hours) in 2019. I enjoyed it very much, some corny jokes but it's a product from the 90's and you know there is going to be some cheesy moments. I liked the cast and the music so I loved it. Rating: 8/10
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Post by Claudia on Jun 24, 2019 18:44:52 GMT
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scooty
Full Member
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Posts: 431
Location: NSW Australia
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Post by scooty on Jun 24, 2019 23:08:52 GMT
yes this is has always been one of my favorite movies , he is so sexy in this
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Post by Testudo86 on Jun 25, 2019 18:33:12 GMT
yes this is has always been one of my favorite movies , he is so sexy in this Do you find "sexy" seeing a tough man doing kicks and shooting while say macho one-liners in front of bad guys ? JC was very good looking but I wouldn't call him "sexy", at least not from the correct definition of the term, there was nothing sexually appealing in this film.
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scooty
Full Member
Lurking
Posts: 431
Location: NSW Australia
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Post by scooty on Jun 25, 2019 22:53:56 GMT
I do .. lol its a chic thing
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