Hunting to the Death When the Prey Is Human

************這篇影評可能有雷************

很少看動作片，即便是John Woo的。

瘋狂的熬夜和顛倒日月的作息，讓我開始對動作片產生了如對咖啡和香菸般的癮，除了欲罷不能的尚格·雲頓和被他解救的美女之外，最讓我痴迷還是影片中既通俗又好聽的九十年代電影配樂，把雲頓大叔「西部牛仔」式的硬漢的形象雕刻得完美無暇。到imdb看了一眼，沒有soundtrack listing，索性也就不再費力找了[1]，看完電影了事。

值得一提的是Cinematography和Editing，前者是羅素·卡朋特(Russell Carpenter)後來給《泰坦尼克》也是他攝影的，後者是前幾年《蜘蛛人》系列的Editing,Bob Murawski(代表作品還有 The Evil Dead)。

編劇 Chuck Pfarrer曾經是美國海軍特種部隊海豹特遣隊(Navy SEAL)隊員。

PS: 男主人公 Chance Boudreaux的姓氏來源不明，並不像威廉,Bush,華盛頓這樣有歷史淵源，可能是編劇自己造的，或者是從「錯誤的發音」中借過來的，但是我注意到我們的中文字幕給這部電影裡的雲頓先生一個很有意思的名字 -- 包意外；比利時人Jean-Claude Van Damme，綽號The Muscles from Brussels。


以下是《紐約時報》影評：Hunting to the Death When the Prey Is Human

Swishing, whooshing, lovingly photographed weaponry. Nasty gurgles from the wounded. The clonking sound of a head hitting wrought iron. A bullet in the eye. These are the cornerstones of "Hard Target," one of this summer's few super-bloodthirsty action films, and the one that actually stood a chance of rising above its genre.

"Hard Target" was an opportunity for both John Woo, the Hong Kong-born action-film director with an ardent cult following, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, the self-appointed Muscles From Brussels, to reach a mainstream audience. "Hard Target" had a hard time getting past the Motion Picture Association of America's rating board without an NC-17 rating. But even in this somewhat adulterated form, Mr. Woo's film remains overwhelmingly violent and not always stylish enough to give its excesses the appearance of wit. Not even when its star bites the tail off a rattlesnake and then slugs the snake for good measure.

Mr. Woo's obvious gusto and his taste for myth making are readily apparent. But so is his fondness for the slow, lingering death scene coupled with sickening sound effects. Presenting Mr. Van Damme as reverentially as Sergio Leone did the young Clint Eastwood, Mr. Woo displays a real aptitude for malignant mischief, which is this story's stock in trade.

Derived from the 1932 film "The Most Dangerous Game," from a story by Richard Connell, "Hard Target" tells of wealthy thrill-seekers who pay large sums of money to stalk human prey. Right after it opens vividly with one such hunt-to-the-death, the film presents a perfect B-movie conversation. "It's like a drug, isn't it -- to bring a man down?" observes the entrepreneur who arranges this blood sport. "Was it worth it?" he asks his client. "Every nickel," the client solemnly replies.

The screenplay by Chuck Pfarrer (who appears in this sequence as the ill-fated victim) concentrates most of its creativity on the characters' names, which include Pik Van Cleaf (Arnold Vosloo), Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) and Chance Boudreaux (Mr. Van Damme). The film does have one first-rate rejoinder, when Mr. Henriksen's rich, jaded entrepreneur asks Chance why he insists on spoiling all the fun. "Poor people get bored, too," Chance replies.

Speaking of bored, Mr. Van Damme has still not broken the habit of his own blank-faced posturing, although Mr. Woo films him in the most aggrandizing style imaginable. From the first tight close-up of the star's brooding eyes to the loving images of his feet kicking various faces, "Hard Target" does what it can to present Mr. Van Damme in a bold new light. Curiously, the film's neo-Peckinpah taste for slow motion gives Mr. Van Damme's stunts a balletic quality that diminishes their spontaneity. It's necessary for Mr. Woo to place his star standing on the seat of a moving motorcycle, for instance, and send him catapulting over the hood of an oncoming van to create the requisite high excitement.

Mr. Van Damme's Chance (who is said to have been "raised in the bayous," in this latest on-screen effort to explain his accent) is supposed to be a derelict, which allows Mr. Woo the opportunity for occasional flashes of social commentary. The film's glimpses of the homeless are sharp and unexpectedly substantial, which makes its frivolous ugliness that much more unfortunate. The plot involves Chance's being recruited by long-haired, wide-eyed Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) to find her father, who is of course well past finding.

"Hard Target," which is set in 紐奧良, also includes a warehouse full of Mardi Gras floats and Wilford Brimley, who rides a horse and tries out a conspicuous Louisiana accent. Clearly, Mr. Woo's sense of humor is as perverse as his other talents.

"Hard Target" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It is extremely violent.

Hard Target
Directed by John Woo; screenplay by Chuck Pfarrer; director of photography, Russell Carpenter; edited by Bob Murawski; music by Graeme Revell; production designer, Phil Dagort; produced by 詹姆士 Jacks, Sean Daniel, Mr. Pfarrer and Terence Chang; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 92 minutes. This film is rated R.


POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS
The Cayman Islands 36』21
This is New Oreleans, not Beirut.53'
Note:
[1] Soundtrack
1993 Varese Records Released VSD-5445
Music Composed and Produced by Graeme Revell
Music Conducted by Tim Simonec
Orchestrations by Tim Simonec and Graeme Revell
Music Mixed by Dan Wallin
Featuring Musicians : Kodo

01. Hunting Season Opens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDnpa54qJIs
02. Natasha

03. Chance and Carmen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FYYsdkqfWI
04. Streetfighting Van Damme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYwsKEmVQSM
05. Friends

06. Lark Descending

07. Won't You Let Me Go? - Buckwheat Zydeco

08. Dove and the Garotte

09. Motorcycle Chase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70uYr_XSlY4
10. 紐奧良 Mission

11. On the Docks

12. Mardi Gras Graveyard

13. Miles to Go

14. Fouchon's Death

15. Epilogue
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