Blu Ray Review: Hard Target (1993)

Director John Woo’s American films are often cited as being discernibly toned down from the movies he helmed in his native China, but Hard Target is a solid, brutal action drama that was considered one of the most violent American films of its time.

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a homeless veteran who his hired by a woman (Yancy Butler) to help find her missing father. When he turns up dead, the two then try to uncover how he died and why.

John Woo became interested in directing American movies after having success in his native Hong Kong. Universal was reticent about hiring an Asian director who couldn’t speak much English, but couldn’t deny his style and success. Sam Raimi was asked to oversee the production and work with Woo, and Raimi eagerly accepted, realizing that Woo’s skills would result in a very good film. After being offered several martial arts scripts, all of which he turned down, Woo accepted this action drama as a departure.

Lance Henriksen, a fan of Woo’s work, signed on as the villain and Yancy Butler made her feature film debut.

Reportedly Woo’s and Van Damme’s egos clashed a bit during filming, and the director’s difficulty with the English language was sometimes a problem, but the result was one of the biggest hits of 1993. The first film by an Asian director to be released by a Hollywood studio, Hard Target’s box office success was second only to The Fugitive, released the same week.

There have been other home video releases of this film over the years, some from the Amderican theatrical release, others from a longer director’s cut. Kino Lorber’s superior blu ray is a restoration of the unrated international cut of the film from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. It’s many special features include new interviews with John Woo, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, stunt coordinator Billy Burton, and film historians Brandon Bentley and Mike Leeder.

The blu ray is available at this link: TARGET