Hardcore (Special Edition)

Much, much superior than the Twilight Time release - starting with amazing 4k restoration. The price is right, too.Paul Schrader’s 1979 film Hardcore is an unrelentingly grim but fascinating look at the sordid world of low-budget pornography and prostitution in California. It is not for all tastes, but it has been brought to Blu-ray by U.K. outfit, Indicator/Powerhouse with outstanding picture and sound. All region!An updated/re-imagining of John Ford's The Searchers (also present in Schrader's Taxi Driver script), Paul Schrader’s 1979 film Hardcore is an unrelentingly grim but fascinating look at the sordid world of low-budget pornography and prostitution in California. It is not for all tastes (like any great film, I guess).Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) is an upright and uptight businessman in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His theology is Calvinism, his business (custom wood furnishings) is successful, and he lives in a nice but unpretentious house with his teenage daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis). Shortly after Christmas, Kristen and other members of her church board a bus to attend a Youth Calvinist Convention in Bellflower, California. The youngsters are thrilled to be leaving snowbound and dull Grand Rapids for sunny and exciting California. A few days later, while having dinner with his sister and brother-in-law, Jake receives a devastating phone call from California. Kristen has disappeared while on a group outing to Knott’s Berry Farm.Jake immediately flies to Los Angeles (the first thing he sees is the "Hustler/Think Pink" billboard adjacent to Larry Flynt's monolithic HQ), where the police have little in the way of leads to go on. Kristen was last seen at Knott’s Berry Farm in the company of a young man, but nobody knows his name. The only encouraging news they have for Jake is that there is no evidence that Kristen has been physically harmed. He turns to a sleazy but seemingly competent private investigator, Andy Mast (Peter Boyle, at his sleaziest), who assures Jake that he has a nose for tracking down people and promises that he will find Kristen. And he does find her – sort of.Back in Grand Rapids, Jake receives an unexpected visit from Mast, who has something important to show him. They proceed to a small screening room which shows X-rated films, a room which Mast has rented for an hour. Jake takes a seat and, in the most powerful scene in the film, his demeanor changes to anguish and anger when he sees Kristen engaging in an expicit sex act with two men - a soundless 8mm "loop" making it all the more "underground" and ominous. Mast (who takes sadistic delight in this development, by the way.) does not know who made the film, or where Kristen is. Finding no clues at home, Jake decides to fly back to Los Angeles, where he fires Mast (one wisecrack to many) and begins searching for his daughter on his own.Pretending to be an investor looking to finance an adult film, Jake immerses himself in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles. He visits strip clubs, adult book stores, peep shows, and the set where a pornographic film is being made. While at the set he meets Niki (Season Hubley of the sleaze classic, Vice Squad), a pretty young woman who carves out a living of sorts by appearing in X-rated films and working at a peep show. Niki knows her way around the sex trade in L.A., and she agrees to help Jake, whose obsession is now punctuated by anger, to find his daughter. (Not unlike John Wayne's, Ethan from The Searchers.) Indeed, at this point rage is the driving force - rather than his daughter's predicament.Paul Schrader wrote and directed Hardcore, and he clearly drew upon his own upbringing in a stern Calvinist household in Grand Rapids, where he was not allowed to see a film until he was 18 years old. His screenplay has two minor drawbacks. The part of Kristen is underwritten, so much so that we scarcely get to know her until the film’s final scene. A quick scene between father/daughter at the beginning could have fixed it. The other drawback is the final scene, which is a wee bit contrived (in fairness to Schrader, in his commentary track he says that the ending was forced upon him by Columbia Pictures president David Melnick). In between, however, there is much to like, including a scene where Niki intuitively concludes that Jake’s wife, who he has claimed is deceased, actually left him and is very much alive. She asks, “What was the problem? Sex? Always is.” In fact, Jake professes to have no interest in sex, and Niki see the irony in this. “I mean,” she tells him, “you think it’s so unimportant that you don’t even do it, and I think it’s so unimportant that I don’t care who I do it with.”George C. Scott turns in a powerful performance as the repressed, humorless Jake, who seemingly has to force himself to smile. Jake’s puritanical ways lead Mast to give him the nickname “Pilgrim.” (a nod to John Wayne, too.) Season Hubley is excellent as the cynical but not entirely jaded Niki, and Peter Boyle is entirely believable as a private eye who is not shy about getting down and dirty. Ilah Davis, who as Kristen has little to do until the end of the film, is interesting in that she never made another film after Hardcore. Supposedly she joined a commune in New York City and later married and was divorced by a man named Ralph Rogers. She developed multiple scleroris and became an advocate for victims of MS before dying in 2007. Fine supporting performances are turned in by Dick Sargent and Leonard Gaines and Shrader regular, Ed Begely, Jr. All minor roles and extras all completely authentic, lending the film a documentary vibe.Although Hardcore contains a fair amount of nudity and strong sexual language, not to mention the terrifying screening of a "snuff film," there little eroticism in it. As a sex scene is being shot in a cheap motel room, the producer and his assistant try to convince themselves that they are doing something artistic because their director is a graduate of UCLA. (Not an uncommon phenomenon, back in the day). Schrader’s message is two-fold: there is no attempt by Schrader to excuse or sanitize the seamy side of the sex trade, but he also is sharply critical of the rigid religious upbringing which he and Kristen were subjected to. Still, as noted it should be apparent that this film is not for all tastes. Colors are muted but accurate/ appropriate in the dreary, Amway owned dump that is Grand Rapids. Trust me. Scenes become bolder and even garish (obviously) when the action moves to California. The picture is consistently sharp, with strong contrast, excellent detail, solid blacks, and fine shadow detail. There is no sign of dirt, speckling, or other anomalies. The gritty cinematography is by Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) and benefits greatly from location filming in Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.Audio: 4/5The English 1.0 DTS-HD MA mono soundtrack has a surprising amount of punch, particularly when the great Jack Nitzsche’s pulsating score (Cruising, Performance) kicks in. Nitzsche was an integral part of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” and worked with The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Neil Young and others. Dialogue is clear and understandable but at times is almost - just almost - overwhelmed by the music. English SDH subtitles are available.A new commentary track by director/writer Paul Schrader is interesting, although he sometimes gets so engrossed in anecdotes that he fails to comment on individual scenes. He talks freely about George C. Scott’s drinking problem, and while he commends Season Hubley for her performance he feels that she was too pretty for the part. He also laments the fact that he had to change the ending of the film in order to placate the studio. The thematic similarities between Hardcore and John Ford’s The Searchers are intentional.Also included: an audio interview (1993) with Schrader that synchs nicely with the film. A novel way to do a commentary track.Shooting Hardcore: a ten minute interview with DP, Michael Chapman - also known for Taxi Driver, 1978s Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, The Wanderers... indeed some of the best films ever made.Hardcore Nitzsche: a twenty-two doc on the great - and ultimately doomed - producer/composer. Features William Friedkin, Milos Foreman, Ry Cooder (slide guitar on The Stone's "sister morphine") and whos contributions to cinematic soundtracks spans decades. I've read that this short is going to be expanded to a full-length film. If nothing else, Jack Nitzsche is the only celebrity to get arrested on TVs "Cops." But I digress....Trailers, stills and isolated soundtrack round this out.A great buy - better (and cheaper!) than the Twilight Time release six or seven years ago.

Movie 9 of 1979 and 69 overall in my journey through films of my lifetime.While I always appreciate both foreshadowing and juxtaposition "Hardcore" lays both on pretty thick. I always think it better to trust your audience's intelligence. Also it is okay to miss something on your first viewing of a film. Today, many years later, Easter eggs and subtleties are still being found in "Fight Club" and this was intentional. A movie can be bigger than what one can experience in a theater. Perhaps that's an issue worth exploring. There was little expectation that a movie would be viewed at home in 1979 I suppose. Could that have been a driving force for why movies were made the way they were then? It's an interesting thought.The revelation that the main character's daughter had descended into the world of adult films didn't come off as entirely genuine to me. I understand that it's better to show than tell in a movie but perhaps the PI could have seen the film then conveyed it to the main character. Why show him the movie? I don't believe a normal person would have done that. The PI, definitely not a normal person, but none the less, should have understood that this guy probably didn't need to actually see his daughter with two men to understand the situation. In fact the PI specifically sets out, prior to asking him to watch the adult movie, to wake this guy up a little so he must have understood lines of appropriate conduct. Now overall the PI's inappropriate decision and motives are well done. In fact the director/writer (Schrader) will tackle the subject of a blurred sense of decency again in his brilliant movie "Auto Focus." However, that problem is not all that well pronounced in the character (Mast the PI). So much so that I'm not sure that's what the film maker actually had in mind. Many times a snag like this could have yielded a more robust story or character had the creative margins been stretched a little. Say the PI told him he saw the movie on a peep show and the Father becomes curious. Although he is warned about the things that go on in LA the Father must see for himself to believe. He becomes ashamed of himself for tracking it down, going into a slimy adult store. Maybe he even over hears someone talking about how much they loved that new girl and new movie. Sure it takes a little longer and the impact of the seedy world invading this man's sheltered life is stretched out some, maybe even dulled, but the emotions and character motivations would be genuine. I want to be clear that making movies is obviously a difficult thing to do. I would be mounting high levels of huberous to pretend that I know better than these film makers. I completely respect their decision to make this movie the way they did. My idea is an after thought and hine sight so I'm not privy to the rigors of the process. I'm just offering an alternative concept as a point of option. The kernal of story here is really good and it's not my intent to down play that. Not only is the plot good the film makers are indeed making good on it as well. Maybe what they did is the best anyone could have done. I was just offering my fantasy scenerio in a perfect world where it's possible to do whatever one wants as a film maker. That's obviously not the case though and much respect to these film makers and I appreciate their efforts.One thing that stands out is the amount of attractive women that were cast as prostitutes. Really there were almost no unattractive women and that deluded the authenticity in my opinion.Although Schrader came from calvinism himself the picture he offers of a Christian is stuffy and non human. It's not as bad as "The Wicker Man" where the Christian cop is a mere prop but it's definitely noticeable.George C Scott in disguise lol.Another great positive of the story is how proactive the main character is. His goal is noble as well. This keeps the movie pacing well and rooted in his experience. On the down side: he's not flawed enough. He's not ever tempted or loses sight of his goal. I consider that another missed opportunity. This could have been a powerful commentary on humanity.(spoiler territory) Unfortunately I found the ending to be pretty weak. I feel like violence is low hanging fruit. Sometimes it's the only resolution and fits perfect but not in this case. Additionally, the movie wasn't about his (Scott) pride. His daughter blames him for her desire to leave and pursue this life. This comes out of the blue and we can't relate to his daughter's pain. Had there been allusions to his pride being a problem, even a little it, would have helped. After a little crying she does an about face and it feels very forced. Anything for a happy ending. The ending of "American History X" did its ending much better where the arch of the main character was completed by his revelation of his own actions. It's not happy but it was meaningful and powerful.Despite what I wanted the movie to be what it is is good. I know it looks like I couldn't accept the film for what it is. The truth is I thought it was quite good. So good it inspired me to want more and that's why I have so many alternative ideas. I actually highly recommend "Hardcore." It was a unique take on a dark subject and it handles it well. Was it at the level of "Requiem for a Dream" as far as serious tone? No. It did handle the subject matter with care and seriousness though.Pros-George C Scott was great it was great casting-a dark subject handled well-clever proactive measures taken by main characterCons-a lot of potential left on the reelThis was my final movie of the 70's. An absolutely worth while effort. The movies that fit my expectations were truly as bad as I thought. However I was way more surprised by how good many of these movies were. I'll now think of the 70's as the decade of horror. This was the great strength of the decade for me as I did this.

I've been dying to watch this movie ever since it came out. I couldn't back then because i was under 18 at the time. I remember the trailer for this movie. specfically the one line George C Scott delivers: "TURN IT OFF!" while sitting in the theater. The trailer was on TV.. so they could not show what he was reacting to but, it gave a strong impression why he said that line. Amazing movie. Great transfer.. Crisp image and sound. The only thing I'm sad about is just the one rather lengthy interview from Paul Schrader. While it does cover most the "making of" stories, I wish this blu ray could have complied more interviews and stories I know exist.Otherwise, great blu ray

La película está muy bien, el audio y la imagen muy bien. Lo único malo es que no trae subtítulos en español. Me gustaría que en todas las ventas de películas pongan los idiomas que vienen y los subtítulos.

This was a great movie for it's time. We see modern versions of these types of movies nowadays i.e. 8 mm but regardless this is still a great movie even in the 2000's...I highly recommend it!

Esta película, dirigida y escrita por Paul Schrader, retrata de forma detallada el submundo un tanto sórdido de la industria pornográfica, pero la de los bajos fondos, la que se respira en la calle, no de la que se elabora con grandes presupuestos (aunque esta tiene también alguna referencia en el film). Por lo tanto, solamente acierta en la radiografía de una sociedad viciada, no en la historia en sí, que se me antoja recargada de moralidad: familia desectructurada en la que la hija de un hombre de negocios sumamente creyente, escapa de su opresión para recibir cobijo en el porno. Scorsese dirige con más nervio esta misma premisa en su aclamado "Taxi Driver", por cierto, con guion de Schrader. Aun así es un film recomendable, aunque el realizador hace una concesión final de cara, previsiblemente, a la aceptación comercial de la cinta. ++++

Peli de culto difícil de encontrar, con lo que eta edición en bluray es más que bienvenida. La película se ve y oye perfectamente

Very good movie but I'm a fan of Paul Schrader. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent and this is a region 1 disc......I played it on my north American Blu-ray player with no problems.