The Hard Way (1980 film)

This article is about the 1980 TV film The Hard Way. Several other films have the same title: The Hard Way (1916), The Hard Way (1943), The Hard Way (1991) and The Hard Way (2019).

The Hard Way
Cover of the 2009 DVD release (Network)
Directed byMichael Dryhurst
Screenplay byKevin Grogan
Richard Ryan (as Richard F. Tombleson)
Produced byJohn Boorman
StarringPatrick McGoohan
Lee Van Cleef
Edna O'Brien
CinematographyHenri Decaë
Edited byPeter Tanner
Music byBrian Eno
Tommy Potts
Production
companies
Black Lion Films (as Jack Gill Presents)
Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
Distributed byITV - Independent Television (1980) (UK) (TV)
Release date
  • 19 February 1980 (1980-02-19) (UK)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Hard Way is a 1980 made-for-TV action film directed by Michael Dryhurst and starring Patrick McGoohan, Lee Van Cleef and Edna O'Brien.[1] A hitman (McGoohan) completes his final assassination and retires, but is then persuaded to take one final assignment.

Plot

Professional hitman John Connor carries out his final assassination and then retires. Subsequently his handler McNeal wants him to perform one more execution, which he promises will be the final one. Connor insists he is retired and refuses to take the assignment, until coerced by McNeal, who threatens to harm his estranged wife. Connor appears to cooperate in the preparations for the hit, but suddenly aborts the mission and flees, taking with him the custom rifle engineered for the assassination. McNeal's men pursue Connor but he kills them. At the climax of the film, Connor confronts McNeal.

Cast
  • Patrick McGoohan as John Connor
  • Lee Van Cleef as McNeal
  • Edna O'Brien as Kathleen
  • Donal McCann as Ryan
  • Ronan Wilmot as Flynn
  • Kevin Flood as Duval
  • Joe Lynch as Devane
  • Derek Lord as Casey
  • Michael Muldoon as Hogan
  • John Cowley as Graveyard Caretaker
  • James A. Stephens as 1st Mercenary
  • Richard McAdoo as 2nd Mercenary
  • Peter Brayham as French Hitman
  • Mesag Muruko as Father Cressy

Production

Co-writer Richard Ryan was the initial director, but was replaced early in production by Michael Dryhurst.[2][3]

The film was made at The National Film Studios of Ireland (renamed Ardmore Studios in the early 1980s) in Bray, Ireland and on location. Connor's white cottage "Trapper" is on the Luggala Estate in Roundwood, County Wicklow. Kathleen delivers her monologue at St Kevin's Kitchen, Glendalough, County Wicklow.[4] A collection of location stills and corresponding contemporary photographs is hosted at reelstreets.com.[5]

Soundtrack
  • "Events in Dense Fog" and "Patrolling Wire Borders" (the latter incorrectly listed in the film's credits as "A Measured Room") from the album Music for Films by Brian Eno (EG Records, 1978).
  • "The Dear Irish Boy" performed by Tommy Potts (solo violin) from the album The Liffey Banks (Claddagh Records, 1972).

Reception and releases

In his book British Crime Film: Subverting the Social Order, critic Barry Forshaw writes: "Dryhurst’s paring down of narrative, dialogue and performance to a bare minimum pays dividends and the film has a cold, affectless sheen which commands attention".[6] In the Radio Times, film critic David Parkinson awarded the film 2/5 stars, writing: "The scenery is breathtaking, but that scarcely compensates for the dour story and the lacklustre performances".[7]

The film was included in the 2010 Edinburgh Film Festival "Retrospective: After the Wave" season,[8][9] and was released on DVD by Network in 2009.[10]

References
  1. "The Hard Way". IMDb. Retrieved 27 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Duane, Paul. "The Hard Way". Letterboxf. Retrieved 27 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Flynn, Arthur (2004). The Story of Irish Film. Currach Press. pp. 141–2. ISBN 9781856079143.
  4. "The Unmutual Reviews: The Hard Way (DVD)". The Unmutual. Retrieved 27 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Hard Way, The". ReelStreets. Retrieved 27 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Forshaw, Barry (2012). British Crime Film: Subverting the Social Order. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 146–7. ISBN 9781137005038.
  7. Parkinson, David. "The Hard Way". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Carrelll, Severin. "Edinburgh film festival to screen 'lost and forgotten' British movies". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Dale, Paul. "EIFF launches its 2010 programme". Edinburgh Festival, The List. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  10. "Hard Way, The". Network on Air. Retrieved 1 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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