Product Details

• Actors: Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, John Capodice
• Directors: John Badham
• Writers: Daniel Pyne, Lem Dobbs, Michael Kozoll
• Producers: D.J. Caruso, Keith Rubinstein, Peter R. McIntosh, Rob Cohen
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: November 17, 1998
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783230060
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,260 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Hard Way" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In this raucous, high-energy action thriller from 1991, Michael J. Fox plays a spoiled Hollywood movie star who wants to bring vivid authenticity to his latest role as a big-city cop, so he recruits the real thing (James Woods) as his experienced mentor. This unlikely partnership doesn't sit too well with Woods, a hot-headed New York street cop who's a magnet for action-packed trouble. But that makes him just the right guy for Fox's research, which goes so far as to include Woods's girlfriend (Annabella Sciorra) and participation in some death-defying crime work. Fast, vulgar, and cranked at high volume, this is the kind of movie that contributed to the destruction of quality storytelling in mainstream Hollywood movies, but the screenplay scores bonus points for its lively characters and even livelier dialogue. Director John Badham is no slouch when it comes to action scenes, either, so if you buckle up and hold on tight, doing things The Hard Way can be surprisingly entertaining. To display the action in full widescreen glory, the DVD presents the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Its action-packed laughs as a tinseltown actor hits the rough new york city streets to research his next role. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 09/28/2004 Starring: Michael J. Fox James Woods Run time: 111 minutes Rating: R Director: John Badham

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hard Way, March 25, 2008

By	Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Nick Lang is a very popular actor starring in big blockbuster films, but he is not happy with his success, there is a role he covets, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. After seeing Lt. John Moss in an interview, Nick is convinced that if he spent time with him the role would be his. Using his considerable tinsletown clout, he arranges to be his temporary partner. Moss is angry about his new "assignment" taking him away from his big case of the Party Crasher. This guy has attached himself to Moss by calling him before he commits his next crime. Moss is determined to ditch Nick Lang, so he can concentrate on what is really important.

As these two men spend time together, the inadvertently learn life lessons from each other that help them in ways they couldn't imagine. I really liked this movie! I have always been a huge James Woods fan, and Michael J Fox was surprisingly good.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hillarious, James Woods proves to be quite a comedian., November 21, 1999

By	Bradley Tobin (Penrith, Sydney NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

Mixing Comedy and Action always makes the greatest movies in my books. the Beverly Hills Cop movies, Stakeout, Tango & Cash, 48 hours. These are all brilliant comedys that mix comedy and action perfectly. The Hard Way is no exception. Micheal J Fox is as hilarious as ever, James Woods proves what a brilliant and Versetile Actor he is. This film has all the elements, but it falls short of five-star fare because of a couple of flat spots. But its a worthy addition to any self-respecting film fans video library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much more entertaining than I expected, February 18, 2006

By	Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's not one of the more prominent feathers in Michael J. Fox's cap, but The Hard Way is a perfectly entertaining film with plenty of action and more than a few laughs. The plot certainly doesn't break any new ground, there aren't any real surprises along the way, and the ending definitely qualifies as over-the-top, but the whole thing works pretty darn well - thanks largely to the performances of Fox and James Woods.

Michael J. Fox plays box-office sensation Nick Lang, star of The Smoking Gunn movies; he has it all, but he wants more. He's tired of playing Indiana Jones clones and yearns for a more serious role - such as the part of tough cop Ray Casanov in an upcoming film. He wants it so badly that, after seeing a television interview with Detective Lt. John Moss (James Woods) of NYPD, he uses his star power clout to get himself riding shotgun with Moss for two weeks in order to prepare himself for the audition. Moss, as you might imagine, is none too happy about having to baby-sit a movie star he doesn't even like - especially since it takes him off a big case. The Party Crasher (Stephen Lang) has been killing indiscriminately, and the whole case has become personal for Moss. The guy calls in his crimes before he commits them, and he's been eyeball to eyeball with Moss, yet he keeps getting away. Moss is determined to get rid of his new partner "Ray Casanov" as soon as possible so that he can get back to the case he considers his own.

The new partners get into a number of situations, as you might expect, with Casanov always getting in the way or - worse yet - actually trying to play the part of a real cop. Moss can't even shake the guy away from work, as Lang tries to spend every moment studying the cop's life firsthand - including Moss' flailing relationship with his girlfriend Susan (Annabella Sciorra). It's easy to predict how everything will turn out in the end, yet the journey to that ending turns out to be surprisingly entertaining.

I'm not sure how successful this film was at the box office - heck, I don't even remember hearing about this film back in 1991. It's sort of a sleeper, though - the kind of film that appears to be too buried in clichés and predictability to really succeed, yet succeed it does. Maybe it's Woods' intense performance that never crosses the fine line between realism and farce, or Fox's energetic performance as the spoiled actor who really wants to learn the ropes from a cop he genuinely admires (no matter how badly Moss treats him). Whatever it is, The Hard Way is a surprisingly enjoyable romp of a film.