Hardware (1990 film)
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| Hardware | |
|---|---|
 Hardware movie poster |
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| Directed by | Richard Stanley |
| Produced by | Ray Corbett Nik Powell |
| Written by | Steve MacManus Kevin O'Neill Richard Stanley |
| Starring | Dylan McDermott Stacey Travis Iggy Pop |
| Music by | Simon Boswell Paul Barker Al Jourgensen Motörhead |
| Cinematography | Steven Chivers |
| Editing by | Derek Trigg |
| Distributed by | Palace Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 11, 1990 |
| Running time | 93 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,500,000 (estimated) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Hardware (1990), also known as M.A.R.K. 13 is a post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Richard Stanley and starring a young Dylan McDermott.
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[edit] Overview
The 21st century world is a radioactive wasteland as a result of a nuclear war. A travelling scavenger comes across the remains of a cyborg named Mark 13 in the desert; He salvages pieces of it. The cyborg head ends up with a metal sculptress, who is unaware of the cyborg's infamy as a governmental killing machine project that was scrapped due to its defects. Mark 13 reconstructs itself utilising household appliances and metal parts, and goes amok.
Advertised as The Terminator for the nineties, the film immaculately follows the genre tradition of technophobia. Its soundtrack features music from Iggy Pop, Motörhead (whose lead singer, Lemmy, has a cameo as a taxi driver), Ministry and Public Image Limited. Special effects were provided by Image Animation (Hellraiser, Highlander and Nightbreed).
[edit] Mark 13
M.A.R.K. 13 is a prototype killer combat droid. Its name is a reference to the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Bible, part of which reads "no flesh shall be spared".
The robot, capable of reconstructing itself if damaged in combat, can augment and rebuild its body using nearest available machinery and metal parts. It also comes equipped with an anti-personnel chemical weapon in the form of an injectable cytotoxin, that causes sensory distortion before death.
Its Achilles' heel is a faulty insulation system, highly sensitive to moisture and humidity. Although built for fighting in arid terrain, this huge flaw in the cyborg caused its governmental project funding to be suspended.
[edit] Shok!
The film is based on a 2000 AD comic called SHOK! Walter's Robo-Tale. In the comic version, the robot head part is recovered from the bloody aftermath of the Cursed Earth Saga (almost making Hardware the first Judge Dredd movie ever). The original theatrical release did not mention the comic book despite heavily plagiarizing its storyline. Following legal action a notice was added to later versions and the strip's creators, Steve MacManus and Kevin O'Neill, now get full writers' credits.
It is now considered to be the first 2000 AD movie spin-off, followed by the better-known Judge Dredd.
[edit] Cast
- Dylan McDermott — Moses "Hard Mo" Baxter
- Stacey Travis — Jill
- John Lynch — Shades
- William Hootkins — Lincoln Wineberg Jr.
- Iggy Pop — Angry Bob
- Carl McCoy — Nomad
- Mark Northover — Alvy
- Paul McKenzie — Vernon
- Lemmy Kilmister — Water Taxi driver
[edit] External links
- Hardware at the Internet Movie Database
- An early draft of the film's screenplay
- 2000 AD's film adaptations page which includes Hardware
- The Shok! strip, requires (free) registration to view online. (Navigate to "One-off Thrills.")
