Hardcore (1979)

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Stars:

George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George C. Scott	...	Jake VanDorn
Peter Boyle	...	Andy Mast
Season Hubley	...	Niki
Dick Sargent	...	Wes DeJong
Leonard Gaines	...	Ramada
Dave Nichols	...	Kurt (as David Nichols)
Gary Graham	...	Tod (as Gary Rand Graham)
Larry Block	...	Detective Burrows
Marc Alaimo	...	Ratan
Leslie Ackerman	...	Felice
Charlotte McGinnis	...	Beatrice (as Charlotte McGinnes)
Ilah Davis	...	Kristen VanDorn
Paul Marin	...	Joe VanDorn
Will Walker	...	Jism Jim
Hal Williams	...	Big Dick Blaque

Storyline

Jake Van Dorn is a businessman from the American heartland who shares strong Calvinist convictions with most of his countrymen. His teenage daughter is missing from her church youth convention trip to California and Van Dorn hires a private investigator to find her. The result of the investigation is his daughter is spotted in a cheap X-rated movie. Van Dorn decides to bring her back personally and during the quest he becomes familiar with the pornographic underworld.

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Plot Keywords:

runaway | deli | porno theater | san francisco california | perversion | 

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Taglines:

"Oh my God, that's my daughter."

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1979 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

¿Dónde está mi hija?

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-Team, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The city of Grand Rapids, MI. voiced concern about what was perceived as an "unfavorable depiction of middle America" in its early scenes and the Van Dorn character's overly repressive and harsh nature.

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Goofs

When Jake has returned to L.A. and fires his detective, he creates a list of establishments to do his own research and that evening and drives around visiting places on his list. The first place he visits has a street number of 739 (visible in frame) but in looking at address detail in the long shot of the list itself, there are no references to a street number of 739 anywhere.

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Quotes

Tod: You talking about... REAL excitement?

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Connections

Referenced in Sex: The Revolution: Tainted Love (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Precious Memories"
Performed by Susan Raye
Courtesy of Buck Owens Enterprises and Capitol Records

User Reviews

Both Sides of the Moral and Immoral

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.