January 16, 2006
Hardware
Year: 1990
Directed by: Richard Stanley
Written by: Steve MacManus, Kevin O’Neill, Richard Stanley & Michael Fallon
Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: High
Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: High
Key Cast Members:
Overview: Of all the movies I uncovered during my research for this list, Hardware far and above tops the list of movies I previously had no knowledge of. Put simply, Hardware is absolutely AWESOME low budget cinema. This cross between Alien and the Terminator is set in a totally weird cyberpunk dystopia. It’s scary as shit, it’s totally weird, and DAMN it’s good!
Filmed for only one million dollars, Hardware takes place in a truly bizarre dystopic future where a nomadic "parts" scavenger goes into a barren wasteland called the "zone" and finds a strange and seemingly valuable robot head and body parts. Through unfortuitous circumstances, this head finds its way back to a hot looking babe named Jill, an artsy-fartsy type (played wonderfully by Stacey Travis) who accepts it as a gift. She decorates the head with cool colors and stuff and sticks it on her shelf.
Unfortunately for her, it turns out this head and body parts make up the bulk of the government’s new prototype Mark-13 droid - a true killer designed to weed out excess population, that’s impervious to almost everything. Once this thing re-assembles itself, this thing begins its killing spree. On top of this, Hardware has some of the most eclectic collection of characters ever assembled. We have a totally slimy pervert that spends his time peeking in on Jill, especially when she’s in the nude; we have a completely shady parts dealer, we have a zen-like unknown nomad, we have a completely weird boyfriend’s sidekick, and some truly bizarre apartment tenants.
The Visuals: Like most cyberpunk films, there is one color that dominates the screen - in this case its orange. We get orange EVERYWHERE, along with a nice few accents of pale yellow. All the set pieces are totally futuristic and hip. We get fun advertisements on the radio, a totally hip atmosphere, and truly, one of the best soundtracks found in movies. Quite simply, Hardware ROCKS!
Now for the bad news - unless you’re in region 2, you’re screwed. I picked up a used VHS for about 17 bucks on ebay but still found it worth it. Unfortunately, this version is panned and scanned and cut. If I had obtained a "real" version of this movie, no doubt it would be sitting in my top 10.
The Bottom Line: Hardware is a terrific, low-budget cyberpunk flick - one of the best low budget cyberpunk movies ever. If you are looking for a great, futuristic terminator-style chase movie that takes place almost completely in a bizarre apartment building, this is your movie!
~See movies similar to this one~
Tags: cyberpunk movie review Hardware
Spread the word
del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Google StumbleUpon Technorati Help
26 Comments on Hardware »
January 31, 2006
SFAM @ 4:09 pm:
BTW, there’s this terrific site about Hardware that has a ton of interesting things about it, including its most awesome and interesting sound track. Check it out:
http://www.everythingisundercontrol.org/soundtrack.html
March 4, 2006
sysscan @ 9:56 am:
Check out Death Machine by the same director.
SFAM @ 1:47 pm:
Hi Sysscan, welcome to cyberpunkreview!
Regarding the Death Machine suggestion, Do you mean Dust Devil by Richard Stanley (Same director) or do you mean Death Machine(1995) by Stephen Norrington?
March 7, 2006
sysscan @ 6:18 am:
My mistake. It is Death Machine by Stephen Norrington. He was on the special effects crew for Hardware. Death Machine is pretty good though. It is one of my favorite cyberpunk movies. I didn’t see a review for it on this site. You should do one.
SFAM @ 12:15 pm:
Hi sysscan, I have about 60-70 movies still to review (there’s a list of them in the Meatspace), including a number of big name ones (Robocop, Matrix sequels, etc.). I haven’t seen Death Machine but I’ve heard of it. Was not really sure it was cyberpunk or not. I’ll give it a go. Thanks for the recommendation!
June 18, 2006
Anonymous @ 8:02 pm:
This movie was the one that started me in the cyberpunk genre, so to say, after Hardware I begun reading PKD, Gibson, finding other movies to watch, it’s one of my all time favorites!
I had a VHS as well, then got a laserdisc, but it’s still pan&scanned. Did it come out on DVD in any country yet? I surely can’t find any info that it did. Too bad!
Lenny Nero @ 8:06 pm:
Whoops, forgot to fill out the name for the above post.
Anyways, the soundtrack is awesome indeed, plus I used a bunch of lines from the movie recorded off an LD in my own compilations of “cyberpunk” music.
“It’s stupid, sadistic, and suicidal to have children these days.”
or
“It’s gona get worse before it gets better, survival of the fittest.”
“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
and the radio news
“The two creators of the population control bill were found dead today in what seemed to be a …” Well it’s long but darkly funny!
SFAM @ 8:18 pm:
Hi Lenny Nero - I agree - the soundtrack is a riot (the download link for the sound track is in the comments above). As for widescreen, I have yet to find this anywhere. The movie has been released in DVD in Europe - but this is pan and scan as well.
July 26, 2006
Isamu242 @ 1:45 am:
Wow, how anyone be talking about the terd that is Death Machine on the Hardware forum is way beyond me.
August 8, 2006
Adam Doub @ 2:04 am:
So many great cameos in this film… namely Iggy Pop (Angry Bob, the radio broadcaster) and Lemmy Kilmiester of Motorhead fame (The tough Taxi Driver). Also the actor who played Alvy was fairly common Streamline anime voice actor. And hey, any soundtrack with early Ministry on it is a winner to me
SFAM @ 3:13 am:
Iggy Pop as Angry Bob with the “Industrial Dick” is totally awesome. ANd yeah, the soundtrack (available online) is terrific.
February 15, 2007
syberberg @ 11:01 pm:
Hardware was released in Mainland Europe as M.A.R.K.13 and slightly edited. It has been released on a limited edition DVD, only 666 copies were made.
I got this on VHS as soon as it was released due to the cameo of (Fields of the Nephilim frontman) Carl MaCoy (The Nomad/Zone Tripper). I was totally blown away and have watched it so many times I end up reciting the entire dialogue. There are many themes explored in the movie, but incase anyone hasn’t seen it yet, I’ll leave you to find them all.
Unfortunately there was a large scene cut from the movie that reveals more about Mo Baxter, how he lost his arm and the relationship between Mo and Jill. It fits between the sex sceen and them going to sleep. This sceen IS NOT in the uncut version. The uncut version is the same as the UK release.
For more Hardware discussion, particularly the framing, goto
http://www.everythingisundercontrol.org/bb/index.php
And for those yet to witness:
http://1000futuristicfilms.net/hardware_info.htm
Enjoy.
February 16, 2007
SFAM @ 12:24 am:
Hi Syberberg, thanks for the great info! You might notice that I’ve linked the everythingisundercontrol.org site up above, regarding the most awesome soundtrack. And I certainly didn’t know that there was a “more” uncut uncut version. Too bad this movie isn’t brought back to DVD. Truly I just don’t understand why. I would guess that many low-end distributors would be fighting over the rights to do this. Any ideas about this?
February 18, 2007
jhanus @ 10:53 pm:
Hi!
Now is 23:52, February 18, 2007, and after 15 years I finally found M.A.R.K.13, thanks to cyberpunkreview.com, I watched this movie when I was 6y old, and only thing I did remember was robot “redish eyes” and somewhat dark scene.
But when I saw the painted skull, I knew that this is it!!!
Thank you, and all the best to cyberpunkreview.com!!!
July 21, 2007
Mihaly @ 8:17 am:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hardware-DVD-Richard-Stanley-Horror-Dylan-McDermott_W0QQitemZ320138694077QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320138694077
The DVD is on Ebay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its like 25 bucks with shipping. It is PAL 2 but that is easily dealt with, with a little program called DVDshrink!
July 24, 2007
SFAM @ 11:45 am:
Hi Mihaly, it’s been out in Region 2 for a while. Let me know how you like it.
July 30, 2007
Enys @ 9:27 pm:
Filmed for ONLY one million dollars? Thats a huge budget ahah !!!
Burnt_Lombard @ 11:59 pm:
$$$$ doesn’t mean anything. Especially if there’s good writing. But a bad movie will turn out crappy with 1 million dollars or 100 million dollars. Michael Bay proves this over, and over, over…
August 10, 2007
SZALENIEC Z HO @ 11:27 pm:
Yes, yes - It’s very good film.
August 30, 2007
Maverick @ 5:42 am:
That reminds me, I haven’t seen this in ages and ages. Good movie. Dust devil was also a good one. If I remember rightly they both had an unusual atmosphere to them.
September 2, 2007
T. F. H. » Burn:Cycle OST @ 10:56 am (Pingback)
[…] listening to the music of Simon Boswell, who not only does the soundtrack for Burn:Cycle but also Hardware and Hackers. […]
SciFi man @ 12:09 pm:
I recently saw this movie and really liked the first 25 minutes. A very nice start with plenty of atmosphere, cool looks and dystopian feel to it. The rest of the movie was disappointing. Largely confined to the apartment and battling the hard-to-kill Terminator like cyborg.
November 14, 2007
noskich @ 1:17 am:
Not bad, but nothing special, I would give it a 5 out of 10. story is very simple, and the “hip” environment has been presented to the viewer only superficially without going into details. This leads to a feeling of like you re just watching a movie rather than getting an idea of an another fictional reality.
January 4, 2008
frankie smales @ 1:00 am:
m.a.r.k 13- hardware 1990
is the most brilliant scfi shocker i have ever seen since bladerunner and alien
and it is excellently visualized with great sets and stae of the art special effects
and great performances from dylan mcdermott and the slitheringley sexy stacy travis
as the kimono laddened heroin and a bright red feeling to the movie and looks good
in electronic 3d and an kick ass soundtrack to boot and i give it a 20/10
frankie smales
(frankie smales movie & tv review uk)
January 15, 2008
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Pilot Episodes @ 12:30 pm (Pingback)
[…] long, lost, forgotten low-budget cyberpunk flick from Richard Stanley has been ripped off here. In Hardware, set in a dystopic future, a guy finds a cool looking robot head which he brings back home to give […]
February 7, 2008
higgins @ 9:29 am:
Hi!
Talking about low-budget aswomes… You don’t have a «Fortress» (1993) review here.
«Fortress 2» (1999) is crap, but if you liked «Hardware», you should REALLY check out «Fortress».
Another low-budget dystopian is «Daybreak» (1993) but I’ve seen it only one a long time ago, so I don’t recall very much of it.