Hard Time (film)

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Hard Time
Hard Time (film).jpg
Written by David S. Cass Sr.
Steve Wesley
Directed by Burt Reynolds
StarringBurt Reynolds
Charles Durning
Robert Loggia
Billy Dee Williams
Mia Sara
Roddy Piper
Buck Taylor
Music by Snuff Garrett
Clarke Rigsby
Kevin Stoller
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Robert Halmi Jr.
Scott Garen
Producer David S. Cass Sr.
CinematographySuki Medencevic
Editor Glenn Farr
Running time90 minutes
Production company Larry Levinson Productions
Original release
Network TNT
ReleaseDecember 13, 1998 (1998-12-13)

Hard Time is a 1998 American made-for-television action crime film directed by and starring Burt Reynolds. [1] [2] [3] This film premiered on TNT on December 13, 1998.

Contents

It is followed by two sequels, The Premonition and Hostage Hotel (both in 1999). It was always envisioned as a trilogy. [4]

Plot

Logan McQueen, a Vietnam War veteran and Miami police officer, chases two briefcase thieves down an alley. One of the thieves knocks him down, steals his gun and shoots the other thief Pepe with it. Logan is put in prison pending investigation but his bail is provided by the mob, who expect him to return money that is missing from the stolen briefcase. Logan begins to suspect that someone in his own police department is framing him for the crimes but the mob has now given him an opportunity to seek the truth.

Cast

Production

Burt Reynolds made the film after starring in Boogie Nights . [5]

TNT approached Reynolds with the offer to star in three television films, one of which he would direct. [5]

The films were all set in Florida but shot in Los Angeles because it was cheaper. [6]

Reynolds said he liked the film because he liked the idea of watching someone who had strong views on capital punishment change his mind. Reynolds said the character was like his father Burt Sr. [6]

Reynolds changed his character's name from Conrad Logan (as it was originally written) to Logan McQueen as a nod to the "very complicated, very underrated" Steve McQueen. [5]

Reynolds enjoyed directing the film. [7]

Home media

The film was released on DVD on August 3, 2004. [8]

Hard Time: The Premonition

Hard Time: The Premonition is a 1999 sequel to Hard Time. It was directed by David S. Cass Sr.

Plot

A serial bomber terrorizes the city. [9]

Cast

Hard Time: Hostage Hotel

Hard Time: Hostage Hotel is a 1999 American film. It is the third and last in the Hard Time series. It was also known as Hide and Seek. It was the last film to be directed by Hal Needham before his death in 2013.

Plot

Though they have not yet made up with each other, Detective Charlie Duffy convinces Detective Logan McQueen to help him catch fugitive Sy Harkin. The rescue goes wrong, ending in a gunfight and leaving Flynn and Duffy seeking another paying job.

As Congressman Robert Sinclair is giving a speech in the ballroom of an old hotel that is being renovated, his wife Susan and daughter Justine are taken hostage by Vietnam vets Corporal Arlin Flynn and Kenny, who blows up the ballroom and kills the audience, though Sinclair escapes. Flynn demands to negotiate through Duffy, who helped him out of jail in the past.

The FBI attempt to rescue Sinclair's family but are killed by various booby traps in the hotel. Duffy safely follows instructions from Flynn to the meeting point but is knocked out when Flynn discovers that he is wearing a wire. Logan arrives to see Susan's aide Ricki Stewart thrown to her death from a hotel window. Higgs obtains weapons and he and Logan infiltrate the hotel through a basement window, but are overheard by the FBI and the criminals as they are communicating with Captain Waters on a walkie-talkie channel.

Logan breaks into the room as Flynn is about to throw Justine out the window. Duffy shoots Kenny and Logan chases Flynn through the tunnels under the hotel, navigating a series of booby traps marked in Vietnamese. Logan offers to get Flynn help for his trauma from war but Flynn refuses and blows himself up, though Logan manages to dive and save himself and Justine.

Cast

References

  1. ↑ Ray Richmond (December 10, 1998). "Review: 'Hard Time'". Variety . Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ Steven Linan (December 12, 1998). "Reynolds' 'Hard Time' Gives Viewers a Rather Difficult Time". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Hard Time". Turner Classic Movies . Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ CABLE ON THE ATTACK BIG, AMBITIOUS PROGRAMMING RIPPLES ACROSS CABLE: Staci D. Kramer. Special to the Tribune.. Chicago Tribune 27 Sep 1998: 5.
  5. 1 2 3 "Burt Reynolds sounds amazed when he talks about the audience Heldenfels", R. D., The Charleston Gazette, 12 Dec 1998: 5C.
  6. 1 2 Burt's back, doing 'Hard Time' Jefferson, Graham. USA Today , 10 Dec 1998: 03D.
  7. ↑ REYNOLDS IS DAD SOLID PERFECT, Givens, Ron, New York Daily News, 11 Dec 1998: 160.
  8. ↑ "Hard Time". Amazon.com . Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ Brothers Clash in 'Summer's End', Martie Zad, Washington Post Staff Writer, 8 Feb 1999: BR4.
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