Hard Target

"Don't hunt what you can't kill."

1993 1h 39m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

63%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 1,403🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●63Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 60,434

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.

“Don't hunt what you can't kill.”

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Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Chance Boudreaux
Arnold Vosloo
Pik van Cleef
Lance Henriksen
Emil Fouchon
Yancy Butler
Natasha Binder
Sven-Ole Thorsen
Stephan
Wilford Brimley
Uncle Douvee
Ted Raimi
Man on the Street
Kasi Lemmons
Det. Marie Mitchell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Woo
Writers: Chuck Pfarrer, Doug Lefler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Hard Target Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Woo, shot by Russell Carpenter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bob Murawski shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Vosloo and Lance Henriksen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't hunt what you can't kill.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Woo directs. Russell Carpenter behind the camera. Graeme Revell scores. Bob Murawski cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Hard Target Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by John Woo, shot by Russell Carpenter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Bob Murawski shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Vosloo and Lance Henriksen carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Don't hunt what you can't kill.".
9IMDB entry: tt0107076 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "martial arts", "showdown", "psychopath", "new orleans, louisiana".

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Carpenter
Original score: Graeme Revell
Editing: Bob Murawski
Production design: Phil Dagort
Costume design: Karyn Wagner
Makeup / hair: Donna Spahn
Sound: James Bolt
Stunt coordinator: William H. Burton Sr.
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $74,189,677
Return: 412% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hard Target (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 63/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 60,434 votes
MPAA: NC-17

Awards

1 win & 5 nominations total

Part of

Hard Target Collection

Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his American debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, named Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), from a gang of thugs in New Orleans. A sequel, Hard Target 2 is a direct-to-video martial arts film starring Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Rhona Mitra, and Temuera Morrison.