Hardcore

****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.

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

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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.

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.

Now that George C. Scott has passed away, many of my on-line acquaintances were citing selections from the movie "Patton" as their favorite on-screen quotes from the late actor.

My personal favorite, however, comes from what was the turning point of Scott's character in this movie. I pitied what Jake Van Dorn saw (then couldn't bear to see) as he watched his daughter coupling with the stringy-haired porn actor. Then I pitied him more as he unsuccessfully tried to crash the porn world in search of his only child. Finally, Scott made Van Dorn's final desperation palpable as he sat in the dimly lit motel room, head in his hands (although the toupee WAS hilarious) after "interviewing" the parade of hapless "actors" and "actresses".

When Van Dorn raises his tired eyes to see that the individual who just entered his room is the stringy-haired actor ("Jism Jim"), Scott's acting, the camera flashbacks and the music made me lean very close to the screen. As Van Dorn showed his little girl's picture to Jim, who thereupon throws a tantrum ("That BI***, do I have to act with HER? She made my c*** so...") I found myself very happy to watch Van Dorn beat the stuffing out of Jim with the table lamp.

And the quote? Van Dorn's, in George C. Scott's comforting, whiskey-cured voice as he prepares to shove Jim into a cold shower for some interrogation:

"CHEER UP, YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

R. I. P. Mr. Scott.