Hardware [DVD]

Does anybody remember Richard Stanley? That erratic South African director / screenwriter responsible for the mini-classic "Dust Devil" and notorious for being booted off "The Island Of Doctor Moreau" by John Frankenheimer? Oh yes, and let's not forget the rumours of him returning to the latter's set and attempting to sabotage it... Which is probably why no film studio will touch him with a barge pole nowadays. Anyway, his first movie has finally gotten the go-ahead for release - "Hardware" (1990) and by God, if any movie needs more attention lavished on it...

Known intimately by only the hallowed few through late-night viewings on old-school Channel 4 and currently the Zone Horror channel, the film details how scavengers Mo Baxter (Dylan McDermott) and Shades (John Lynch)come across the M.A.R.K. 13 droid in a heavily polluted 21st Century landscape and attempt to make use of it - Mainly by giving the remains to Baxter's estranged girlfriend Jill (Stacey Travis) to turn into an art project. As the name of the robot states (Mark 13 is a New Testament gospel verse that states "no flesh shall be spared") it's out to fulfil it's programming, which entails slaughtering Jill and taking it from there. Everyrobot needs to start somewhere, right? Cue mayhem and Future Shock on a low budget, which you won't mind to tell the truth. And how Stanley managed to persuade Lemmy from Motorhead, Carl McCoy from Fields Of The Nephilim and Iggy Pop's voice masquerading as a radio DJ to feature is beyond me.

The DVD (as well as the Blu Ray) is a lavish affair, which is a sight to behold in this Age where four-quid re-issues are the norm. Look, you even get conceptual art cards with it by Gawd! Expect commentary from Stanley himself, deleted scenes and a documentary, "Voices Of The Moon". Apocalyptic film always get's me in a lather, and "Hardware" is right up there with the greats. OKay, maybe not "Def Con 4", but close. That was a joke.

Ultra low budget yet hugely inventive, Hardware is a real a gem and a must own for sci-fi/horror fans. Director Richard Stanley, on the evidence of this and Dust Devil, is a genuine creative talent and its a real shame he's not more prolific. For its tiny budget the film boasts style, inventivness, excitement and ideas. Its also got a great genre cast. Dylan McDermott and Stacey Travis are interesting leads whilst the late, great William Hootkins is simply wonderful in a fabuously sleazy role. The Blu Ray transfer does the film Justice with a superb picture that shows every bit of grain and detail in the original print, although admittedley the sound is not 5:1. Still, a great film, a good transfer and an entertaining commentary make this a real treat for fans.

It's a measure of the complex nature of Richard Stanley's career that his lesser-known and less successful work, Dust Devil, made it onto DVD a few years before Hardware, his early cult hit. Indeed, at the same time as this Region 2 release from Optimum, there is also now a Region 1 DVD from another new print with different extras and different commentaries. Suddenly we're spoilt for choice!

Which is the better release I cannot say, but having only ever seen this film on a pan and scan VHS, this version from Optimum is a revelation. Apart from some graininess in the opening desert shots, the picture is crisp and detailed, and the colours much more balanced than ever before. The audio is good too, but although it was touted as being a 5.1 mix it only seems to be available as Pro Logic Surround (a little disappointing but not the end of the world).

The film itself has survived the passage of the years and of my memory, and was even better than I remembered. The claustrophobic confines of Jill's apartment and the low-fi dystopian future setting mean that the film's low budget feel remains vibrant where major Hollywood sfx films of the same era now look incredibly tacky. More than any other sci-fi since, it builds on Blade Runner's legacy without diminishing it - dark, confined spaces, decay mixed with technology , rain and neon. The sound effects and music are used in the classic horror style, building tension and creating atmosphere, then pounding you when the action starts. The lead performances are solid without overshadowing the real star, the Mark-13, who looms in and out of frame and is still genuinely scary.

I've resigned myself to the reality that I'll probably never see a full film from Richard Stanley again - the fragmented and incomplete Sea of Perdition available as an extra on this DVD suggests he's now a long way away from the business end of the film industry. But this release (and the companion Blu Ray) means that at least we can enjoy the existing films in some style.