110 reviews
Hardcore is Paul Schrader's lurid odyssey into the seedy underbelly of pornography and prostitution in 1970's California. George C. Scott stars a conservative midwestern businessman who searches every street corner and dirty back alley in search of his missing teenage daughter whose started appearing in porno films.
Coming off the success of writing Martin Scorsese's masterpiece Taxi Driver, this film is essentially a B movie companion piece. Hardcore is a well written slow burn that has become slightly dated, but still manages to retain its potent commentary on the dark side of the City of Angels.
George C. Scott gives a tour de force performance as the religious calvinist Jake Van Dorn, Scott gives an earnest performance as a man willing to bend his moral compass in the slim hopes of finding his daughter. Whilst in the process of finding his daughter he hires the expertise of a slimy private investigator played Peter Boyle. Boyle once again gives an excellent understated performance, it's a shame Boyle never got the leading roles his talent deserved.
Hardcore is an excellent thriller which has some pacing issues and it also occasionally tonally riffs off Taxi Driver, especially in the last act. Other than that Hardcore is an uncompromising thriller that's supported by excellent writing a wonderful central performance from George C. Scott.
Coming off the success of writing Martin Scorsese's masterpiece Taxi Driver, this film is essentially a B movie companion piece. Hardcore is a well written slow burn that has become slightly dated, but still manages to retain its potent commentary on the dark side of the City of Angels.
George C. Scott gives a tour de force performance as the religious calvinist Jake Van Dorn, Scott gives an earnest performance as a man willing to bend his moral compass in the slim hopes of finding his daughter. Whilst in the process of finding his daughter he hires the expertise of a slimy private investigator played Peter Boyle. Boyle once again gives an excellent understated performance, it's a shame Boyle never got the leading roles his talent deserved.
Hardcore is an excellent thriller which has some pacing issues and it also occasionally tonally riffs off Taxi Driver, especially in the last act. Other than that Hardcore is an uncompromising thriller that's supported by excellent writing a wonderful central performance from George C. Scott.
- Ben-Hibburd
- Oct 29, 2017
- Permalink
****SPOILERS**** George C. Scott, Jake Van Dorn, gives one of his best acting performances in "Hardcore". It's every bit as good as his role in "Patton" in this modern day version of the great John Ford Western "The Searchers" as the distraught and angry father searching for his missing and runaway daughter Kristen, Llah Davis.
Powerful and riveting film builds up to a fever pitch as Jake goes into the bowels of hell in his desperate and emotional quest for his daughter in the dangerous and sleazily world of the legal as well as illegal porn industry. The scene, in an empty and darkened porno theater, where Jake was shown by private investigator Andy Mast, Peter Boyle, a clip of his daughter preforming sex acts on the screen was so powerful that it made you forget that you were actually watching a movie, not the real thing. An unsuspecting Jake, who had never seen a porno film before, went from bewilderment shock outrage and then became sickened and nauseated by what he saw, all this in just under two minutes of screen time, ranks right up there with the greatest and most unforgettable moments in motion picture history!
Jake ends up finding his daughter but she was emotionally destroyed not only by the porno world that she was living in and was part off but also by her detachment and alienation from her very religious father's feelings for her. Jake is also faced with the fact that the world outside of his small and cloistered community in Grand Rapids Michigan is as different as the Earth is from the planet Pluto.
After Jake's daughter Kristen disappeared from a trip with her classmates and members of the local Dutch Reformation Church Jake with the help of private investigator Andy Mast and local L.A hooker and part time porno actress Niki, Season Hubley, track her down in the red-light district of San Francisco. Jake is then shocked to find out that she left him because of his possessiveness and restrictions that he had on her and the friends that she choose.
Even though the movie "Hardcore" is now a bit dated and the ending is a bit too pat and contrived in order for it to pull all the loose ends in the movie together and give the film a happy ending George C. Scott's Academy Award caliber acting in the film is good enough to make you overlook the movies many faults.
Both Peter Boyle and Llah Davis are also very effective as the hired PI and Jake's missing daughter. I feel that the most sensitive as well as tragic acting in the film, on par with Mr. Scott, was that of Season Hubley, Niki, as the hooker who lead Jake to, in the end, find his daughter. Feeling that she had a chance of, with the help of Jake, leaving the life that she had in the porno world Niki sadly learned in the end of the movie that hope was nothing but a pipe dream. Knowing her helpless situation Niki sadly accepted the reality of her life in it. I feel that Jake's very emotional and truly touching final scene with Niki was far more gripping and heart-wrenching then the final scene that Jake had with his daughter Kristen and almost as good as the scene of Jake in the theater when he broke down from watching Kristen in a porno movie.
Powerful and riveting film builds up to a fever pitch as Jake goes into the bowels of hell in his desperate and emotional quest for his daughter in the dangerous and sleazily world of the legal as well as illegal porn industry. The scene, in an empty and darkened porno theater, where Jake was shown by private investigator Andy Mast, Peter Boyle, a clip of his daughter preforming sex acts on the screen was so powerful that it made you forget that you were actually watching a movie, not the real thing. An unsuspecting Jake, who had never seen a porno film before, went from bewilderment shock outrage and then became sickened and nauseated by what he saw, all this in just under two minutes of screen time, ranks right up there with the greatest and most unforgettable moments in motion picture history!
Jake ends up finding his daughter but she was emotionally destroyed not only by the porno world that she was living in and was part off but also by her detachment and alienation from her very religious father's feelings for her. Jake is also faced with the fact that the world outside of his small and cloistered community in Grand Rapids Michigan is as different as the Earth is from the planet Pluto.
After Jake's daughter Kristen disappeared from a trip with her classmates and members of the local Dutch Reformation Church Jake with the help of private investigator Andy Mast and local L.A hooker and part time porno actress Niki, Season Hubley, track her down in the red-light district of San Francisco. Jake is then shocked to find out that she left him because of his possessiveness and restrictions that he had on her and the friends that she choose.
Even though the movie "Hardcore" is now a bit dated and the ending is a bit too pat and contrived in order for it to pull all the loose ends in the movie together and give the film a happy ending George C. Scott's Academy Award caliber acting in the film is good enough to make you overlook the movies many faults.
Both Peter Boyle and Llah Davis are also very effective as the hired PI and Jake's missing daughter. I feel that the most sensitive as well as tragic acting in the film, on par with Mr. Scott, was that of Season Hubley, Niki, as the hooker who lead Jake to, in the end, find his daughter. Feeling that she had a chance of, with the help of Jake, leaving the life that she had in the porno world Niki sadly learned in the end of the movie that hope was nothing but a pipe dream. Knowing her helpless situation Niki sadly accepted the reality of her life in it. I feel that Jake's very emotional and truly touching final scene with Niki was far more gripping and heart-wrenching then the final scene that Jake had with his daughter Kristen and almost as good as the scene of Jake in the theater when he broke down from watching Kristen in a porno movie.
George C. Scott stars in this Paul Schrader vehicle as Jake VanDorn, a man of a different, more simple era whom finds himself thrust into the seamy underbelly of the pornography business after his daughter, Kristen, goes missing. The police are no help and the sleazy private investigator he hires (played superbly by Peter Boyle) is not much better. Jake tries hopelessly to keep his unvarnished soul intact as he looks for his daughter. This is a well-acted, well written, well directed film that kept me riveted...to a point. That point being the horrible studio required cop-out ending that forces the film to tie everything up in a neat little bow at the detriment of what could have otherwise been a classic. Tis a shame.
My Grade: B
Eye Candy: Linda Morell shows her heavy hangers; Season Hubley shows everything; Ilah Davis provides T&A; Gigi Vorgan, Leslie Ackerman, & Serena get topless as well
My Grade: B
Eye Candy: Linda Morell shows her heavy hangers; Season Hubley shows everything; Ilah Davis provides T&A; Gigi Vorgan, Leslie Ackerman, & Serena get topless as well
- movieman_kev
- Apr 17, 2007
- Permalink
Paul Schrader's celebrated collaborations with Martin Scorsese will unfortunately always overshadow his own directorial efforts. His own movies have been variable to say the least ranging from the truly forgettable (e.g. 'Light Of Day' and 'Witch Hunt', both from the "what on earth was he thinking?!" category), to the truly unforgettable ('Mishima', and 'Light Sleeper', both sadly overlooked). 'Hardcore' is one of his best efforts in my opinion, but MUST be watched taking into consideration WHEN it was made, and the censorship prevalent at the time (something a few of the other comments here fail to do). Over twenty years later certain scenes seem way too tame and almost unintentionally humorous to our jaded "sophisticated" movie-going eyes, but even so to me overall it is still a very powerful and impressive film. And for those who think it too dated and "safe" just compare it to Schumacher's lame '8MM', a movie which is almost an uncredited remake of 'Hardcore' in some ways, but one that despite the relaxation in depicting sex, violence and profanity in mainstream moviemaking, fails to pack the punch that Schrader's movie does. 'Dr Strangelove's George C. Scott is solid as a straight-laced and in many ways unworldly man who finds himself in the alien (to him) urban world of sleazy strip joints, sex shops and pornography. Season Hubley (John Carpenter's 'Elvis') plays the streetwise hooker who becomes his guide. Peter Boyle ('Taxi Driver', 'Young Frankenstein')) is a stand out as a crafty low life private detective. Buffs will also get a kick out of small roles by Tracey Walter ('Repo Man') and Ed Begley Jr ('Meet The Applegates') as a clerk in a dirty book store and a porn actor respectively. 'Hardcore' is a very fine movie, one of the most underrated of the 1970s, and highly recommended viewing.
In short; I did like the movie but still had plenty of problems with it.
The premise of the movie is really good and interesting and also lets this movie sound like it is a great and powerful movie, about some previously unseen and very ugly, dirty things. But the movie just isn't quite it. It never gets confronting or shocking enough and in the long run, the movie fails to make a true emotional or dramatic impact.
That is the real problem with this movie; it's lacking any good emotions and dramatic developments. The search for George C. Scott's daughter just never feels intense enough and he doesn't always make a very desperate or depressed impression at all.
The movie also gives you the feeling it really isn't delving deep enough into things. This could had been an interesting exploration into the darker and ugly side of the porn business but the movie just never quite goes there. You could blame it all on the writing but perhaps you should also blame it a bit on the approach that the movie is taking.
The approach just never makes the movie a real interesting one really. It's lacking a good buildup to certain things and situations, which also causes the movie to fail to make a true great impact with anything.
Some moments are still being made great by George C. Scott's performance. But unfortunately he himself also can't really ever make his character a compelling enough one. He isn't even all that likable and his character is also making some odd and very unlikely choices throughout the entire movie.
There still is plenty to like about this movie. I for instance loved it how it was taking a real typical '70's approach with its film-making, even though not everything about it worked out all that well. And like I also said before, the movie does still definitely has its moments and it besides still remains a original movie to watch, thanks to its main concept and premise.
Definitely good enough but it all had far more potential in it really.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
The premise of the movie is really good and interesting and also lets this movie sound like it is a great and powerful movie, about some previously unseen and very ugly, dirty things. But the movie just isn't quite it. It never gets confronting or shocking enough and in the long run, the movie fails to make a true emotional or dramatic impact.
That is the real problem with this movie; it's lacking any good emotions and dramatic developments. The search for George C. Scott's daughter just never feels intense enough and he doesn't always make a very desperate or depressed impression at all.
The movie also gives you the feeling it really isn't delving deep enough into things. This could had been an interesting exploration into the darker and ugly side of the porn business but the movie just never quite goes there. You could blame it all on the writing but perhaps you should also blame it a bit on the approach that the movie is taking.
The approach just never makes the movie a real interesting one really. It's lacking a good buildup to certain things and situations, which also causes the movie to fail to make a true great impact with anything.
Some moments are still being made great by George C. Scott's performance. But unfortunately he himself also can't really ever make his character a compelling enough one. He isn't even all that likable and his character is also making some odd and very unlikely choices throughout the entire movie.
There still is plenty to like about this movie. I for instance loved it how it was taking a real typical '70's approach with its film-making, even though not everything about it worked out all that well. And like I also said before, the movie does still definitely has its moments and it besides still remains a original movie to watch, thanks to its main concept and premise.
Definitely good enough but it all had far more potential in it really.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
- Boba_Fett1138
- Feb 8, 2012
- Permalink
This is an extremely sordid movie, but one you never forget. I saw it in the theater almost 20 years ago and it was shocking then, so much so that I've only seen it once since and have no desire to see it again. It just left such a bad taste in my mouth.
This is a frightening picture of the pornography business 20 years ago featuring about everything you can think of in that seedy world. Unfortunately, the story centers around finding a girl from a "religious" family and the father, played by George C. Scott, is painted as something of a fanatic. He's portrayed as a cold and violent figure. (Hey, Hollywood isn't going to portray a Christian father as kind and loving.) Yet, Scott is not all that bad because he still is extremely dedicated father who went to all lengths to get his daughter back.
This movie really shows the sleazy side of the entire porno business and, thankfully, it doesn't glamorize any of it. Peter Boyle is good as the detective and Season Hubley is interesting as the prostitute who gives you her ideas on life in the business. This is a fascinating film in parts but also very tough to view in a number of areas. This may sound naive, but when I saw this in 1979, I was stunned that this type of sick-underbelly of a society existed....at least to this degree. I can't imagine what's out there today.
In summary, a very powerful but brutal movie to watch, especially if you have kids of your own.
This is a frightening picture of the pornography business 20 years ago featuring about everything you can think of in that seedy world. Unfortunately, the story centers around finding a girl from a "religious" family and the father, played by George C. Scott, is painted as something of a fanatic. He's portrayed as a cold and violent figure. (Hey, Hollywood isn't going to portray a Christian father as kind and loving.) Yet, Scott is not all that bad because he still is extremely dedicated father who went to all lengths to get his daughter back.
This movie really shows the sleazy side of the entire porno business and, thankfully, it doesn't glamorize any of it. Peter Boyle is good as the detective and Season Hubley is interesting as the prostitute who gives you her ideas on life in the business. This is a fascinating film in parts but also very tough to view in a number of areas. This may sound naive, but when I saw this in 1979, I was stunned that this type of sick-underbelly of a society existed....at least to this degree. I can't imagine what's out there today.
In summary, a very powerful but brutal movie to watch, especially if you have kids of your own.
- ccthemovieman-1
- Jun 24, 2006
- Permalink
Hardcore is the mirror image of Boogie Nights. Whereas Boogie Nights the pornography industry is seen from the participant's point of view, Hardcore shows it from the outside. It's not a pretty picture.
Though the film itself doesn't come off in many ways, no question that George C. Scott's performance in the lead is strong dynamic stuff. He's a Midwest businessman of conservative values from Grand Rapids, Michigan whose daughter runs off during a church youth convention out in Southern California.
It would have been very easy to have made Scott's character something of ridicule. This was right around the time of the founding of the Moral Majority and Scott's church seems just the kind to have signed up for that. Instead Scott creates a sympathetic and totally believable character as the father who dominates the film.
In order to accomplish his mission he has to invade a world he hasn't a clue about, but he proves surprisingly resourceful.
Also look for a good performance by Peter Boyle as a private detective who operates on both sides of the moral and immoral.
Hardcore is not a great film, but it's a great performance by George C. Scott.
Though the film itself doesn't come off in many ways, no question that George C. Scott's performance in the lead is strong dynamic stuff. He's a Midwest businessman of conservative values from Grand Rapids, Michigan whose daughter runs off during a church youth convention out in Southern California.
It would have been very easy to have made Scott's character something of ridicule. This was right around the time of the founding of the Moral Majority and Scott's church seems just the kind to have signed up for that. Instead Scott creates a sympathetic and totally believable character as the father who dominates the film.
In order to accomplish his mission he has to invade a world he hasn't a clue about, but he proves surprisingly resourceful.
Also look for a good performance by Peter Boyle as a private detective who operates on both sides of the moral and immoral.
Hardcore is not a great film, but it's a great performance by George C. Scott.
- bkoganbing
- Jun 25, 2007
- Permalink
George C. Scott gives one of his best performances as a respected, religious, businessman who sees his daughter off for a church camp and is shocked when she turns up missing. His search leads him to the seedy world of pornography where scummy private detective Peter Boyle finds her in a porno movie. The search leads on as Scott enlists the aid of a hooker.
A moving, powerful look at morality and the wrong turns some of us take - whether we know it or not.
This is a great drama save for an abrupt conclusion (writer/director Paul Shrader also abruptly ended his equally superb "Blue Collar") that is not for those easily offended.
A moving, powerful look at morality and the wrong turns some of us take - whether we know it or not.
This is a great drama save for an abrupt conclusion (writer/director Paul Shrader also abruptly ended his equally superb "Blue Collar") that is not for those easily offended.
I'm not a big fan of Paul Schrader, but I really dug this film! Personally, I think `Hardcore' is Schrader's best film, as it successfully mixes effective social drama with compelling tension. George C. Scott is truly magnificent as the hardworking, Midwesterner Jake Van Dorn who individually searches for his lost preteen daughter. At first, he cooperates with a private-detective (a very convincing Peter Boyle) who discovers that his offspring is now active in the hardcore porn-industry. Later, Van Dorn forms a partnership with a poor whore who brings him into contact with the right persons in the business. The first hour of this film is really good and works on many levels. Not only does Schrader mixes different social mentalities and religious convictions, he also gives a perfect portrayal of how someone is driven to complete distraction. The sequences in which Van Dorn witnesses his own flesh and blood feature in a sexfilm are truly intense and vindictive. Of course, the pornography shown isn't real (or even explicit) but you can easily imagine what a father's reaction would be. And please keep in mind that the film is now 25 year old and the censorship has changed a lot since then. Unfortunately, Van Dorn's private investigations aren't always credible (Scott dresses up as a stereotypical adult film-director and organises a cast-session) and the ending is rather abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, `Hardcore' is a dreadfully overlooked film and one of the most efficient thrillers of the late seventies. George C. Scott is truly brilliant and I personally think this was his best period as an actor. A year later, he starred in the unforgettable horror-chiller `The Changeling' and gave away an equally brilliant performance. If you appreciate good thrillers, you have to give `Hardcore' a chance. Highly recommended.
After seeing 8 mm I decided to check this out- Scott does a good job of portraying the distraut father who a detective has found showing up in porno flicks. A believable portrait of the lengths a dad will go to save his daughter from what he perceives is a life of depravity. Peter Boyle is a good addition to this- making the world seem real... all its players and the picture given of "the life" is seamy and real- especially how he dumps the girl who helped him find his daughter. One scene that really got to me was when Scott had to watch the scenes with his daughter in the movie- how he squirmed in his seat- revolted but attracted to the lurid details...a movie that uncovers and disturbs
Paul Schrader's Hardcore features a rare performance that tows the fine line between believable lunacy and cartoonish behavior that never crosses over and subjects itself to the latter. The performance is that of George C. Scott, who plays Jake Van Dorn, a Calvinist businessman working in Michigan and serving as a single-parent to his eighteen-year-old daughter Kristen. While presumably on a church retreat to Bellflower, California, Kristen never arrives at the event, leading Jake to hire a private investigator (Peter Boyle) to try and find her whereabouts. Eventually, the investigator finds an 8mm film of his daughter and two other men around her age; it's clear just from the first frame of the film, which Jake sees at a local seedy theater, his daughter is now a porn star.
Jake loses it, with enough questions, assumptions, judgments, and miscalculations racing through his mind to cripple the psyche of a dozen men. He comes to the conclusion that his daughter had to have been kidnapped to join such an underworld, and becomes dedicated to bringing her back home. He dives into California's sleazy, pornographic underworld, venturing through brothels, adult bookstores, and peep shows to find her, eventually meeting Nikki (Season Hubley), a porn star and hooker.
Hardcore is the classic case of a character being immersed in a world he had no conception of and would've rather gone on pretending as if the world and all of those affected by it never existed. His tunnel-vision, conservative mindset has made it seem that since everything in his own life was perfect and completely free of any trouble, that there's no way anyone else's life could be troubled. He doesn't see problems, therefore none exist.
Jake's rude awakening becomes more alarming with what he has to witness. To many audience members, presuming their braveness to already seek out such a peculiar film, the content in Hardcore isn't particularly jolting, but to Jake, it's some of the most revolting stuff he's seen in his entire life. Consider the discomfort and anxiety felt by Jake as he walks into a low-lit brothel, with pulsating, blood-red lights and wallpaper decorating the rooms and meets a young stripper, with a thick piece of glass separating them. The stripper plants both of her heels on the glass whilst sitting down, exposing her whole body for Jake's pleasure, as they communicate through the glass. Jake is beyond uncomfortable and is simply trying to get his daughter back, but in order to do so, he must subject himself to worlds he never thought could've existed.
This kind of relativism makes for a deeply fascinating film, and in Schrader's screen writing and directing hands, Hardcore beams with life. Schrader includes a barrage of must-have locations for this kind of film, and captures them in a way that adheres to the principles of realism. Never does Schrader seem to go overboard in his depictions of this underworld, nor does he compromise Jake's character by making him unlikable. This is one of the first times I've seen such a close-minded, holier-than-thou, judgmental character on screen that I didn't detest; it's not entirely his fault he's been closeted to his own set of beliefs for so many years. He thought all was well and good.
Scott captures this character so intensely that even his freakouts and mental breakdowns don't feel forced nor over-the-top. Scott eventually learns how to get ahead in this business, at one point going undercover as a director and interviewing male porn stars that could've perhaps had contact with his daughter. These scenes, when Scott dawns a wig, a fake mustache, and shag clothing, are completely transforming for his character, and we see a man's own personal ethics and values degrade throughout the entire film, in a slowburn fashion.
Hardcore sizzles on screen, creating characters that exist, a fascinating underworld captured in details rather than in essences, and an impending sense of dread as time marches on and Jake's daughter's fate becomes more and more questionable. Much has been made about the finale, which is said to have been taken over by cautious studio executives rather than accurately reflecting the original vision of Schrader. For me, it works as a way to simmer down the film's explosiveness that it carries throughout, especially towards the end, as things intensify. The bittersweetness of the entire affair, in addition, compliments the film's nature of nothing ever totally being right or in place; not even in the beginning, as Jake is still so deeply lost in his own mannerisms.
Starring: George C. Scott, Season Aubrey, and Peter Boyle. Directed by: Paul Schrader.
Jake loses it, with enough questions, assumptions, judgments, and miscalculations racing through his mind to cripple the psyche of a dozen men. He comes to the conclusion that his daughter had to have been kidnapped to join such an underworld, and becomes dedicated to bringing her back home. He dives into California's sleazy, pornographic underworld, venturing through brothels, adult bookstores, and peep shows to find her, eventually meeting Nikki (Season Hubley), a porn star and hooker.
Hardcore is the classic case of a character being immersed in a world he had no conception of and would've rather gone on pretending as if the world and all of those affected by it never existed. His tunnel-vision, conservative mindset has made it seem that since everything in his own life was perfect and completely free of any trouble, that there's no way anyone else's life could be troubled. He doesn't see problems, therefore none exist.
Jake's rude awakening becomes more alarming with what he has to witness. To many audience members, presuming their braveness to already seek out such a peculiar film, the content in Hardcore isn't particularly jolting, but to Jake, it's some of the most revolting stuff he's seen in his entire life. Consider the discomfort and anxiety felt by Jake as he walks into a low-lit brothel, with pulsating, blood-red lights and wallpaper decorating the rooms and meets a young stripper, with a thick piece of glass separating them. The stripper plants both of her heels on the glass whilst sitting down, exposing her whole body for Jake's pleasure, as they communicate through the glass. Jake is beyond uncomfortable and is simply trying to get his daughter back, but in order to do so, he must subject himself to worlds he never thought could've existed.
This kind of relativism makes for a deeply fascinating film, and in Schrader's screen writing and directing hands, Hardcore beams with life. Schrader includes a barrage of must-have locations for this kind of film, and captures them in a way that adheres to the principles of realism. Never does Schrader seem to go overboard in his depictions of this underworld, nor does he compromise Jake's character by making him unlikable. This is one of the first times I've seen such a close-minded, holier-than-thou, judgmental character on screen that I didn't detest; it's not entirely his fault he's been closeted to his own set of beliefs for so many years. He thought all was well and good.
Scott captures this character so intensely that even his freakouts and mental breakdowns don't feel forced nor over-the-top. Scott eventually learns how to get ahead in this business, at one point going undercover as a director and interviewing male porn stars that could've perhaps had contact with his daughter. These scenes, when Scott dawns a wig, a fake mustache, and shag clothing, are completely transforming for his character, and we see a man's own personal ethics and values degrade throughout the entire film, in a slowburn fashion.
Hardcore sizzles on screen, creating characters that exist, a fascinating underworld captured in details rather than in essences, and an impending sense of dread as time marches on and Jake's daughter's fate becomes more and more questionable. Much has been made about the finale, which is said to have been taken over by cautious studio executives rather than accurately reflecting the original vision of Schrader. For me, it works as a way to simmer down the film's explosiveness that it carries throughout, especially towards the end, as things intensify. The bittersweetness of the entire affair, in addition, compliments the film's nature of nothing ever totally being right or in place; not even in the beginning, as Jake is still so deeply lost in his own mannerisms.
Starring: George C. Scott, Season Aubrey, and Peter Boyle. Directed by: Paul Schrader.
- StevePulaski
- Apr 21, 2015
- Permalink
This film stars Geoge C Scott as Jake Van Dorn , whose family leads a church-oriented life in their home in Grand Rapid , Michigan . When the church sponsors a youth trip to California , Van Dorn's daughter Kristen (Ilah Davis) is allowed to go . She disappears , so Van Dorn goes to Los Angeles and learns she's now making pornography in California . And there Van Dorn hires a private investigator (Peter Boyle) to find her , and later a prostitute (Season Hubley) ."Oh my God, that's my daughter". ¨Life doesn't always go as planned'' . Forget you ever had a daughter !. ¨There are some doors that should never be opened''. A man chases his daughter in the pornographic underworld !.
A thrilling and strong film about an unsettling father who undertakes a merciless crusade to look for his runaway teenage daughter who's making sex and mags films in California's porno pits , and he'll stop at nothing to get it and at whetever cost. It is rated R , but is closer to a highest rating : x . It results to be a powerful , unflinching glimpse into the dark, bizarre world of the pornography industry. It is rather reminiscent of those old sleazy movies that were advertised as sex-education flicks. As usual in Paul Schrader films , he takes recurring theme of isolation and self-loathing and their effects on the psyche . Stars George C Scott who gives a very good acting as Jake Van Dorn , a businessman from the American heartland who shares strong Calvinist convictions with most of his countrymen when suddenly his teenage daughter is missing from her church youth convention trip to California . He's well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Peter Boyle , Season Hubley , Dick Sargent , Leonard Gaines, Dave Nichols , Gary Graham, Larry Block, Bibi Besch , Ed Begley Jr , among others.
It contains a strange but emotive at times musical score by Jack Nitzsche composed by meansof synthesizer. As well as evocative and dark cinematography by Michael Chapman. The motion picture was well directed by Paul Schrader , though being really ugly and sordid. Paul has frequently written about characters who are lonely, isolated, surrounded by the seedy side of sex and his roles usually have traumatic and deeply troubled pasts with a propensity for self-destruction which they are constantly trying to escape from . Stablishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script Taxi Driver (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films -which he and many others regard as his best- was the Japanese co-production Mishima (1985) and following a lot of pictures as writer or director such as : Blue collar , Hardcore , Gigolo , Light sleeper , Autofocus , Affliction , Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2012) . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average. The pic will appeal to George C. Scott fans.
A thrilling and strong film about an unsettling father who undertakes a merciless crusade to look for his runaway teenage daughter who's making sex and mags films in California's porno pits , and he'll stop at nothing to get it and at whetever cost. It is rated R , but is closer to a highest rating : x . It results to be a powerful , unflinching glimpse into the dark, bizarre world of the pornography industry. It is rather reminiscent of those old sleazy movies that were advertised as sex-education flicks. As usual in Paul Schrader films , he takes recurring theme of isolation and self-loathing and their effects on the psyche . Stars George C Scott who gives a very good acting as Jake Van Dorn , a businessman from the American heartland who shares strong Calvinist convictions with most of his countrymen when suddenly his teenage daughter is missing from her church youth convention trip to California . He's well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Peter Boyle , Season Hubley , Dick Sargent , Leonard Gaines, Dave Nichols , Gary Graham, Larry Block, Bibi Besch , Ed Begley Jr , among others.
It contains a strange but emotive at times musical score by Jack Nitzsche composed by meansof synthesizer. As well as evocative and dark cinematography by Michael Chapman. The motion picture was well directed by Paul Schrader , though being really ugly and sordid. Paul has frequently written about characters who are lonely, isolated, surrounded by the seedy side of sex and his roles usually have traumatic and deeply troubled pasts with a propensity for self-destruction which they are constantly trying to escape from . Stablishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script Taxi Driver (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films -which he and many others regard as his best- was the Japanese co-production Mishima (1985) and following a lot of pictures as writer or director such as : Blue collar , Hardcore , Gigolo , Light sleeper , Autofocus , Affliction , Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2012) . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average. The pic will appeal to George C. Scott fans.
- rmax304823
- Aug 3, 2016
- Permalink
- Condom-full-of-Hatred
- Feb 18, 2010
- Permalink
- PimpinAinttEasy
- Sep 5, 2015
- Permalink
When I saw this film the first time I lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan where some parts of this film were made. It was very insightful and interesting. I was young to the USA and I was not aware what a difference there was between Midwest and LA for example. I thought that all of the USA was uniform and that there were not so many difference between mentioned parts. Was I wrong!
Plot is very interesting. Porn in the 1970*s in LA! Extremely interesting! Although porn industry has changed tremendously, some of the things said about it in this film are written in stone. Story*s which are similar to this one happen all the time.
Acting was excellent, especially by Mr. Scott. Other actors are good too.
Camera and cinematography typical for those times.
Plot is very interesting. Porn in the 1970*s in LA! Extremely interesting! Although porn industry has changed tremendously, some of the things said about it in this film are written in stone. Story*s which are similar to this one happen all the time.
Acting was excellent, especially by Mr. Scott. Other actors are good too.
Camera and cinematography typical for those times.
- petarmatic
- Oct 17, 2014
- Permalink
During the VHS revolution back in the 80's I remember the box cover for this movie on the video store shelves but back then it just wasn't interesting enough to take much notice. And so this is one of those movies I'd never seen until now, perhaps due to the adult themes portrayed, it never appeared on British television, at least as far as I know.
So I dialled it up online and being someone who prefers older movies and the aesthetic of celluloid finally got around to viewing this rather downbeat TV style movie. Although the director Paul Schrader also wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver, this movie has none of the surreal fantasy aspects of that movie. Hardcore just feels like the sort of humdrum social drama you would find on TV except with an A list Oscar winning actor in it.
Don't get me wrong, this movie does have its moments, some moments comedic and some sleazy sequences which aim to raise the excitement just a bit. And there are times when this kind of movie hits the right notes, perhaps when you're in a somewhat more thoughtful and relaxed mood.
George C Scott does look a bit out of place in this movie, not entirely comfortable I thought and perhaps took the role thinking that Schrader's previous involvement with Taxi Driver might help reset his career in a more upward trajectory. Sadly it didn't!
So I dialled it up online and being someone who prefers older movies and the aesthetic of celluloid finally got around to viewing this rather downbeat TV style movie. Although the director Paul Schrader also wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver, this movie has none of the surreal fantasy aspects of that movie. Hardcore just feels like the sort of humdrum social drama you would find on TV except with an A list Oscar winning actor in it.
Don't get me wrong, this movie does have its moments, some moments comedic and some sleazy sequences which aim to raise the excitement just a bit. And there are times when this kind of movie hits the right notes, perhaps when you're in a somewhat more thoughtful and relaxed mood.
George C Scott does look a bit out of place in this movie, not entirely comfortable I thought and perhaps took the role thinking that Schrader's previous involvement with Taxi Driver might help reset his career in a more upward trajectory. Sadly it didn't!
- photoscots
- Oct 20, 2017
- Permalink
- manuel-pestalozzi
- Jul 10, 2005
- Permalink
Not going to waste my time comparing Paul Schrader to Marcantonio Scorcese because that's a lot like comparing Paul Auster to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but in 1982, at Cannes, film artist Jean-Luc Godard uttered these words: "The porno movie is a pretext to invite over a girl and it avoids the real work of talking to her about love." Now I'm going to paraphrase philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche because I can't exactly remember the quote, "You can't go off fighting monsters without the risk of becoming a monster yourself." Link those two ideas up and you have a conceptual summary of Paul Shrader's, Hardcore (1979).
Hardcore is one of those travel-to-the-heart-of-darkness-and-confront-your-worst-fear movies popular in late 1970's American Cinema. These movies inherently "other-ize" and isolate before victimizing a particular minority group such the United States adult entertainment industry. One also finds, for better or worse, in films like Hardcore, a reproduction of the Vietnam War narrative. In this instance, Schrader brings it back home to the streets of LA.
So really when you approach this picture you're required to think about the guys up in Washington that look and act not unlike George C. Scott; guys who harbor a similar right-wing system of beliefs as they all converge around a large roundtable to debate kicking the crap out this marginal group-nation "over here." Think about how these men will all arrive at a legerdemain-justification for war that's usually in the name of preserving innocence. But as we learn in the final moments of Hardcore, just like out here in reality, you can't rid the world of terrorists and you can't exactly rid the world of pornographers either. Conclusion: "there's nothing you can do (George)" but "go home."
Yet with all, there are a lot of daughters out there doing that and why? One notices an attempt to answer that question in that George C. Scott, who can't seem to find the precise locus of the set, must necessarily wait until the scene is over (a roll of 8mm only last about two and a half minutes) before he screams, "Turn it off. Turn it off!" Oh, and how about that? Did old George C just a just pay a hundred dollars to watch a snuff film that seemed pretty tangential to the discovery of his daughter's whereabouts? Not that a guy like George, the number one customer, really needs an excuse to kick it with prozzi's and seek-out Snuff; but he'll always have one. Won't he? George is on a mission. You know why it is: it's because he can't stop watching. And that's what keeps this money wheel rollin' my friends round and round we go: the Lookielookiewatchiewa. So why not just let the girl have her life out there in LA?
Hardcore is one of those travel-to-the-heart-of-darkness-and-confront-your-worst-fear movies popular in late 1970's American Cinema. These movies inherently "other-ize" and isolate before victimizing a particular minority group such the United States adult entertainment industry. One also finds, for better or worse, in films like Hardcore, a reproduction of the Vietnam War narrative. In this instance, Schrader brings it back home to the streets of LA.
So really when you approach this picture you're required to think about the guys up in Washington that look and act not unlike George C. Scott; guys who harbor a similar right-wing system of beliefs as they all converge around a large roundtable to debate kicking the crap out this marginal group-nation "over here." Think about how these men will all arrive at a legerdemain-justification for war that's usually in the name of preserving innocence. But as we learn in the final moments of Hardcore, just like out here in reality, you can't rid the world of terrorists and you can't exactly rid the world of pornographers either. Conclusion: "there's nothing you can do (George)" but "go home."
Yet with all, there are a lot of daughters out there doing that and why? One notices an attempt to answer that question in that George C. Scott, who can't seem to find the precise locus of the set, must necessarily wait until the scene is over (a roll of 8mm only last about two and a half minutes) before he screams, "Turn it off. Turn it off!" Oh, and how about that? Did old George C just a just pay a hundred dollars to watch a snuff film that seemed pretty tangential to the discovery of his daughter's whereabouts? Not that a guy like George, the number one customer, really needs an excuse to kick it with prozzi's and seek-out Snuff; but he'll always have one. Won't he? George is on a mission. You know why it is: it's because he can't stop watching. And that's what keeps this money wheel rollin' my friends round and round we go: the Lookielookiewatchiewa. So why not just let the girl have her life out there in LA?
- jkhuysmans0
- Mar 10, 2008
- Permalink
When I first read the summary for this movie I found it really peculiar that Jake was a Calvinist. Calvinism is a pretty strict view of Christianity and I think that is the reason this movie is partly so brilliant. I think few movies have dealt with the mentality of a strict Christian upbringing and the "surprising" rebellion of the child that is subject to it as realistically or as seedy as "Hardcore." First of all it totally is in the same vein, as far as setting goes, as Taxi Driver (also written by Schrader). The movie is not afraid to show the peculiar and sometimes deranged side of seventies pornography. It creates an overall uncomfortable feeling, but in the way that is enlightening and eye opening. It is not only carefully respectful of Jake's orthodox beliefs, but it carefully depicts the young girl as being independent as well as very vulnerable. The further down she gets into the scene the more dangerous and the more malicious the pornographers become. The movie is never preachy in either direction and honestly shows humanity in all of the characters. Mainly Jake as he realizes he doesn't really see who his daughter is. He has overlooked her because he's been preoccupied with rules instead of feelings.
If you love wood paneled walls and Peter Boyle then Hardcore is for you.
If you love wood paneled walls and Peter Boyle then Hardcore is for you.
- skizzoidkittie
- Jun 19, 2005
- Permalink
- CitizenCaine
- Sep 5, 2009
- Permalink
Reading the reviews back when this was released, it is fair to say that Hardcore is anything but.
Poor George C. Scott. he's a Middle America, quiet family values man who loses daughter and finds out she has been lured into the underworld of adult porn.
So, George goes under cover in seedy urban areas to find his child. Even when he loses the mid America look and wears the loud "I'm a pervert" shirt, he still looks and feels like Patton. There is no transformation. It becomes comical when he adds the fake mustache and wig.
The on-set tension between Schrader and Scott is palpable. I can just picture George C. Scott screaming " I look like an idiot!!" Scott looks as though he would rather have joined a typing pool for three months than have made this poor excuse for a movie.
Couldn't Schrader have casted someone in 1979 who could make the plausible shift to urban low life? Why does every low life in this movie feel comfortable offering Scott any and all information on where to find his daughter??? He looks like a cop and always looks out of place.
The script is laughable. You never get a sense of either Scott's hometown values or the underbelly of porn. Everything just scratches the surface and the characters are all two dimensional.
Horrible. Schrader's biggest embarrassment.
Poor George C. Scott. he's a Middle America, quiet family values man who loses daughter and finds out she has been lured into the underworld of adult porn.
So, George goes under cover in seedy urban areas to find his child. Even when he loses the mid America look and wears the loud "I'm a pervert" shirt, he still looks and feels like Patton. There is no transformation. It becomes comical when he adds the fake mustache and wig.
The on-set tension between Schrader and Scott is palpable. I can just picture George C. Scott screaming " I look like an idiot!!" Scott looks as though he would rather have joined a typing pool for three months than have made this poor excuse for a movie.
Couldn't Schrader have casted someone in 1979 who could make the plausible shift to urban low life? Why does every low life in this movie feel comfortable offering Scott any and all information on where to find his daughter??? He looks like a cop and always looks out of place.
The script is laughable. You never get a sense of either Scott's hometown values or the underbelly of porn. Everything just scratches the surface and the characters are all two dimensional.
Horrible. Schrader's biggest embarrassment.