Hard Target – Kino Lorber (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1993
Director: John Woo
Writer: Chuck Pfarrer
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Pfarrer, Robert Apisa, Arnold Vosloo, Lance Henriksen, Douglas Rye, Mike Leinert, Yancy Butler, Lenore Banks, Willie C. Carpenter, Barbara Tasker, Kasi Lemmons

Release Date: February 22nd, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 33 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

"Chance Boudreaux (Van Damme) is the target of an evil mercenary (Lance Henriksen, Aliens) who recruits combat veterans for the “amusement” of his clients—bored tycoons who will pay a half a million dollars to stalk and kill the most challenging prey of them all: Man. So when beautiful Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler, TV’s Witchblade) hires Chance in search of her missing father, she gets more than she bargained for." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand New 4K Restoration of the Unrated International Cut – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative!"

Hard Target comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 76.3 GB

Feature: 68.4 GB

When compared to Universal Studios' Hard Target Blu-ray, Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD is a noticeable upgrade in every way. Color saturation looks very good, image clarity and shadow detail look solid, there are no issues with compression, and the grain looks organic.

Hard Target comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.6 GB

Feature: 32.2 GB

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Both the audio mixes are in great shape; the dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and range-wise, the action sequences sound appropriately robust. Included with this release are removable English subtitles. It should be noted that the first pressing had an error on the DTS-HD 5.1 track, and Kino Lorber has fixed this error.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a limited-edition slipcover, a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 5 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with stunt coordinator Billy Burton titled Gun Fu and Van Dammage (9 minutes 5 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Yancy Butler titled Hard Times in the Big Easy (14 minutes 36 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Lance Henriksen titled Henriksen vs. Van Damme (8 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director John Woo titled From Hard Boiled to Hard Target (12 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with action film historians Brandon Bentley and Mike Leeder.

Other extras include trailers for No Retreat, No Surrender, Hero and the Terror, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Running Scared, Black Moon Rising, Avenging Force, and Revenge of the Ninja.

Summary:

When discussing 1980’s Hong Kong heroic bloodshed films, one would be hard pressed to name a director who did more for this sub-genre of films than John Woo. By the early 1990's, many Hong Kong filmmakers were already making the move to Hollywood by the time John Woo directed what is arguably his best film, Hard Boiled.

For his first Hollywood film, Hard Target, he would face interference from Universal Pictures and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who didn’t share Woo’s vision for Hard Target. Although a lot of the cinematic flourishes that are synonymous with John Woo’s Hong Kong films can be found in Hard Target. The result is a film that never reaches the level of artistry that makes his most celebrated film, Hong Kong, so special. That said, Hard Target is more of a Jean-Claude Van Damme film than a John Woo film.

If you get a feeling of déjà vu while watching Hard Target, it’s because its premise bears a striking resemblance to The Most Dangerous Game. Fortunately, there are enough new elements added to this scenario that set Hard Target apart from any of its inspirations.

The star and main attraction of Hard Target is Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport) in the role of Chance Boudreaux, whose mullet is a sight to behold. Anyone familiar with Jean-Claude Van Damme knows what to expect from him performance-wise. And what he lacks when it comes to acting, he more than makes up for with his martial arts prowess. 

The rest of the cast are very good in their respective roles, especially Lance Henriksen (Aliens) in the role of Emil Fouchon, the man who arranges the stalk and kill games, and Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) in the role of Emil’s sadistic enforcer.

Of course, one area where Hard Target does not disappoint is its action set pieces. They’re loaded with John Woo’s operatic style. And though all of the action set pieces are solid, Hard Target’s finale is a warehouse shootout, which is its most thrilling moment. This sequence also has a Mexican standoff where Chance Boudreaux and a bad guy are back to back, separated by a wall, before they turn around and shoot each other through the wall.

Hard Target is a film that makes no apologies for the type of film it is, an action extravagance and not much else. That said, Hard Target is a film that you will either thoroughly enjoy or loathe.

Hard Target makes its way to 4K UHD via a solid release from Kino Lorber that comes with an abundance of extra content, recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer