Hardcore

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

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.

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.

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.

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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