Hardcore

Hardcore (1979)

Runtime: 108 minutes

Directed by: Paul Schrader

Starring: George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines

From: Columbia

George C. Scott served up some great looks in this movie.

I've known of Hardcore for years now yet despite it sounding like something I'd consider to be my jam, Wednesday night was my first viewing of this Paul Schrader joint. Shame on me for not checking it out sooner and only knowing of its general plot and such random moments as an adult star calling himself BIG DICK BLAQUE appearing in one scene. I knew I was in good hands when I saw that John Milius was an executive producer and Jack Nitzsche did the score... and what a score it was, sometimes electronic and sometimes disco-riffic.

Scott is the patriarch of a Calvinist family in Grand Rapids, Michigan; he does well and even runs his own furniture-making business. Then disaster strikes as his daughter vanishes in Southern California while attending a religious convention and after hilariously sleazy PI Peter Boyle is unable to track her down but discovers that she is in a stag movie, George C. heads on over to trashy Los Angeles and what a change that character goes through. Religion is neither praised nor demonized; rather, it is used as a way to compare an incredibly conservative (and naive) person to the horrors of real life that he finally gets to witness after leading a sheltered life, or the dialogues he has with some of the people in the industry or other sex workers. This doesn't demonize the sex workers themselves, but it sure as hell does so for those who run the industry and takes advantage of them.

George C. Scott is fantastic in the lead role; his character goes on quite the journey where he goes through a litany of changes as he is obsessed over the search for his daughter. This is a serious drama with some serious themes and some rough or intense scenes, directed & shot well... but of course I did enjoy the tawdry nature of this harsh look into such a seedy scene. There is some dialogue that is so vulgar, it made me howl with laughter. So did the modern-at the time-clothing that Scott eventually wore to blend in; of course, late 70's clothing is pretty wild and usually has the most ferocious patterns. One scene as George C. sporting a toupee and a fake porn 'stache; it is even more astonishing than it sounds. There are also unexpected moments, such as there being a valid comparison to the Kool-Aid Man. I also have to give credit for Season Hubley's role as a prostitute; what interesting conversations she and Scott had where they compared their drastically different lives that in a way were both phony and naive, no matter the contrasting reasons.


This was a film I hoped I would dig; it was better and more engrossing than I expected. As I said, shame on me for not giving this a shot well before this week.