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Hardcore

Play trailer Poster for Hardcore R 1979 1h 48m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
80% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
When Michigan businessman Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) lets his teenage daughter go on a church trip to California, she never returns. Jake hires Los Angeles investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle) to look for her, and Mast turns up a pornographic film she's recently appeared in. Both stunned and increasingly disappointed with the police, Jake travels to California where he poses as an adult-film producer in hopes of finding someone who's seen his little girl.

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Hardcore

Hardcore

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Critics Consensus

Director Paul Schrader's preoccupations with alienation and faith are given a compelling avatar in George C. Scott's superb performance, although some audiences may find Hardcore too soft to live up to its provocative promise.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 09/08/2023
Schrader’s directorial manner is tightly restrained, spare and unshowy, not even conspicuous in its austerity, but marked by a sleek and fragile tension that suggests a volcano that’s ready to blow just beneath the surface. Go to Full Review Budd Wilkins Slant Magazine 09/06/2023
Paul Schrader’s film chronicles a man’s harrowing descent into a netherworld of total depravity. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
4/4
Hardcore, flawed and uneven, contains moments of pure revelation. Go to Full Review Mitchell Beaupre Paste Magazine 06/24/2024
9/10
Each scene reveals something new about this world and its inhabitants. Go to Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages 06/06/2024
Jake’s quest reveals the broken and modern world, but also the failure of the old values that empower men to face themselves as they are, rather than as they should be. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 09/09/2023
3/4
Hardcore is a mess, but it’s a fascinating mess, and it’s held together by a galvanizing performance from George C. Scott, an actor so intense that one feels he might bust a blood vessel or 12 in any given scene. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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thiago S @Thiagostone Mar 11 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Blu B @RT43513976 Dec 3 A Deep Cut 70's Classic. Really well made all around. It does a great job exploring themes of faith/religion, porn, trauma, and at the end of the day people who we think we have nothing in common well we aren't that different. It poses lots of interesting ideas. Honestly the best part is when Scott & and the girl go on the road together and you see these two fasinating characters interact with each other. I wouldn't have minded if the film would've been a road movie with the two of them together. Such a interesting opportunity. It's a very interesting window into seeing what the porn industry was like in the 70's pre internet era. It does a great job immersing you in the world of sleaze with a character who acts as our anchor. Very good direction also. If there are areas it struggles is outside of Scott who is excellent in this especially at the end, no one else really gets much in the way of character arcs. See more Brian M @Bmizzle Oct 7 Alot better than I thought it would be. I like George C Scott. Good performance. See more Christian K @ckacar Jul 9 A grimy descent into the porn underworld, it honestly could of gone a lot wilder and expansive, but it plays its cards tight and keeps its leads motive and performance focused. See more john h @RT11274104 06/02/2025 A well-written work by Paul Schrader and one of the best examples of "rabbit hole" movies. Hardcore portrays a subtle subtext and theme of the relationship between a daughter and father and the lengths one will go to bring a loved one back from a dark present. See more Stephen C @bob25009 05/27/2025 1 hour and 48 minutes of drama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Read all reviews
Hardcore

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Cast & Crew

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Paul Schrader

Director

George C. Scott

Jake VanDorn

Peter Boyle

Andy Mast

Season Hubley

Niki

Dick Sargent

Wes DeJong

Leonard Gaines

Bill Ramada

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Hardcore

Hardcore (1979) Hardcore (1979) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When Michigan businessman Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) lets his teenage daughter go on a church trip to California, she never returns. Jake hires Los Angeles investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle) to look for her, and Mast turns up a pornographic film she's recently appeared in. Both stunned and increasingly disappointed with the police, Jake travels to California where he poses as an adult-film producer in hopes of finding someone who's seen his little girl.
Director
Paul Schrader
Producer
Buzz Feitshans
Screenwriter
Paul Schrader
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
A-Team, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 9, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 15, 2010
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)