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Lionheart is a 1990 American martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Rennard, Harrison Page and Lisa Pelikan and Brian Thompson. It also features the acting debut of Ashley Johnson. Van Damme plays a French Foreign Legionnaire stationed in Africa, who must desert to the United States and enter the underground fighting circuit to raise money for his murdered brother’s family.
The film premiered in France on August 1, 1990, and opened in the U.S. on January 11, 1991.
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It received lackluster reviews, but marked Van Damme’s breakthrough as a theatrical leading man in North America. It was released in the United Kingdom as A.W.O.L: Absent Without Leave, and in Australia and New Zealand as Wrong Bet, two early titles considered by the producers.
Principal photography began on November 8, 1989. The majority of the film was shot in the Los Angeles area, including scenes set in New York City. Jean Dry Lake, in the Nevada desert, stood in for Djibouti in the film’s escape scene.
As a first time director, Lettich felt challenged by some members of his crew, and had an especially contentious relationship with cinematographer Robert C. New, whom he came close to firing.
Fight choreography was a joint effort between Van Damme, Michel Qissi and Frank Dux. The tussle with Jeff Langton in the underground car park was originally one of the film’s athletic showpieces, but Van Damme wanted to surprise the audience and suggested ending it quickly with a kick to the groin. Van Damme’s nude scene also came at the actor’s own request during the shoot.