Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Hardcore

  • 1979
  • R
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
12K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,576
2,417
Hardcore (1979)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:22
1 Video
99+ Photos
CrimeDrama

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the 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
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    12K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,576
    2,417
    • Director
      • Paul Schrader
    • Writer
      • Paul Schrader
    • Stars
      • George C. Scott
      • Peter Boyle
      • Season Hubley
    • 99User reviews
    • 66Critic reviews
    • 63Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Hardcore
    Trailer 1:22
    Watch Hardcore

    Photos102

    George C. Scott and Leslie Ackerman in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott and Peter Boyle in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott and Season Hubley in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott and Season Hubley in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott and Peter Boyle in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott in Hardcore (1979)
    Hardcore (1979)
    Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott in Hardcore (1979)
    George C. Scott in Hardcore (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George C. Scott
    George C. Scott
    • Jake VanDorn
    Peter Boyle
    Peter Boyle
    • Andy Mast
    Season Hubley
    Season Hubley
    • Niki
    Dick Sargent
    Dick Sargent
    • Wes DeJong
    Leonard Gaines
    • Ramada
    Dave Nichols
    • Kurt
    • (as David Nichols)
    Gary Graham
    Gary Graham
    • Tod
    • (as Gary Rand Graham)
    Larry Block
    Larry Block
    • Detective Burrows
    Marc Alaimo
    Marc Alaimo
    • Ratan
    Leslie Ackerman
    Leslie Ackerman
    • Felice
    Charlotte McGinnis
    • Beatrice
    • (as Charlotte McGinnes)
    Ilah Davis
    • Kristen VanDorn
    Paul Marin
    Paul Marin
    • Joe VanDorn
    Will Walker
    • Jism Jim
    Hal Williams
    Hal Williams
    • Big Dick Blaque
    Bob Bishop
    Bob Bishop
    • Stud #1
    • (as Michael Allan Helie)
    Tim Dial
    • Stud #2
    Roy London
    • Jim Rucker
    • Director
      • Paul Schrader
    • Writer
      • Paul Schrader
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Rolling Thunder
    6.9
    Rolling Thunder
    Blue Collar
    7.5
    Blue Collar
    The Outfit
    7.0
    The Outfit
    American Gigolo
    6.3
    American Gigolo
    Light Sleeper
    6.9
    Light Sleeper
    Affliction
    6.9
    Affliction
    Paradise Alley
    5.7
    Paradise Alley
    Sisters
    6.9
    Sisters
    Obsession
    6.7
    Obsession
    The Yakuza
    7.2
    The Yakuza
    Daisy Miller
    6.3
    Daisy Miller
    Auto Focus
    6.6
    Auto Focus

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      George C. Scott and director Paul Schrader did not get along, so much that at one point Scott refused to come out of his trailer and threatened to quit the film. Scott only agreed to come out after forcing Schrader to promise that he would never direct again (obviously, Schrader went back on his promise).
    • Goofs
      Panties suddenly appear on Niki's fully nude body in the peep booth. This goof is seen on old video and cable un-matted versions. (On DVD, the portion showing that Nikki has panties is properly cropped out and doesn't show.)
    • Quotes

      Jake VanDorn: Turn it off! Turn if off! TURN IT OFF!

    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: The Brink's Job/Hardcore/The Warriors/Quintet/The Great Train Robbery (1979)
    • Soundtracks
      Precious Memories
      Written by Buck Owens (uncredited)

      Performed by Susan Raye

      Courtesy of Buck Owens Enterprises and Capitol Records

    User reviews99

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Fitting into shoes you never thought you'd bring yourself to own
    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.
    helpful•6
    1
    • StevePulaski
    • Apr 22, 2015

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ1

    • How accurate is this film's portrayal of what the porn industry in Los Angeles was actually like?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 9, 1979 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Sony Movie Channel (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • The Pilgrim
    • Filming locations
      • Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
    • Production companies
      • A-Team
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Hardcore (1979)
    Top Gap
    What is the Japanese language plot outline for Hardcore (1979)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.