Long before pornography of every kind was but a thumb-swipe away, the industry was defined as scuzzy video stores and grimy peep shows; low-budget productions headed by open-shirted, bling-covered gangsters who were out to make a fast buck. Written and directed by Taxi Driver scribe Paul Schrader, Hardcore, also known as The Hardcore Life, forces its God-fearing hero into a repulsive world of sleaze, prostitution, and, most ridiculously, murder. Now almost 40 years old, Hardcore's portrayal of an industry that can now be discussed without such social stigma attached has certainly dated, but still packs a punch thanks to a terrific central performance.Dutch Calvinist Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) leads a well- respected life as a prosperous business man in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A single father, he lives alone with his daughter Kristen (Ilah Davis) and surrounds himself with his Church-going friends, working hard to establish himself as a functioning member of the community. His life is turned upside down when he gets a phone call informing him that Kristen has gone missing during a school trip. Receiving little help from the police, Jake hires private investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), who quickly spots the young girl's face in a low-budget porn film. Feeling that Andy isn't quite up for the job, Jake immerses himself in the industry in the hope of finding clues to his daughter's location, posing as an amateur director looking to get a new project off the ground.Hardcore has a lot going for it, especially the central performance from Scott, whose reaction to seeing his daughter defiled on film is one of the film's most powerful moments. Schrader's script tries to unravel Jake's character slowly as he digs deeper into this unknown world, but the subtle, interesting hints spotted throughout are left frustratingly unexplored. Essentially a film of clashing morals, Schrader does a good job capturing the grimy look and feel of sticky-walled private screening-rooms and poorly-disguised brothels, bringing the two worlds together in Jake's relationship with hooker Niki (Season Hubley). Taking its themes very seriously, this is a bold and honest piece of work that sadly falls apart during the climax, where it seems like a whole new movie begins and ends simultaneously.

Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) is a furniture manufacturer and a leader in a religiously conservative community. His teenage daughter goes on a church youth trip to California. Then she goes missing. He's beside himself. The cops can't do much. So he hires sleazy private investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle). Andy finds a porno film with her in it, and Jake goes on a quest to find her in L.A.This is an ugly movie. There is no rose-colored glasses. This is not 'Boogie Nights'. The sex trade is dirty. The porno film industry is a business and not a family. George C. Scott is especially compelling as the distraught father, and Season Hubley as the sex trade worker who helps to track her down. Writing/director Paul Schrader has certainly been involved in some iconic movies in that era.

'Hardcore' (aka 'The Hardcore Life') proves that not every movie about sex has to be tawdry. It's been a weird divergence recently that sex in stuff like 'Sex and the City' is empowering, while sex everywhere else is demeaning. It doesn't have to be like that. Whatever angle you'll approach it from, 'Hardcore' will prove a thoughtful and deadly serious take on pornography.George C. Scott plays Vandorn, a successful Midwestern businessman and strict Dutch Reformationist. On a church outing, his daughter does missing. He hires a private detective, Mast (Peter Boyle, excellent as always), to find her. Soon, Mast calls him to a local porno theatre and Vandorn has to watch his daughter in a porno movie. After another couple of months, Vandorn can't take it anymore. He goes out to find his daughter himself... forcing himself to confront everything that disgusts him.George C. Scott paints a really interesting character. He starts off repulsed by investigating the porno world, and gets thrown out of a brothel for his trouble. But he ends up going undercover and reining in his religion because, as he says to Niki, the only thing that truly matters in his life is his daughter.Ah, his daughter, Kirsten. I want to get that one bad thing out of the way, because everything else in 'Hardcore' is spot-on. Sadly, the gal playing Kirsten can't act at all. From pronouncing "g***amned" with no venom, to horribly overacting other stuff. But it really is the only tiny bum note in a superb movie.Paul Schrader is on the top of his game as director. It's a very tight movie with no overlong or wasted scenes. There are also some nice visual touches. The shots of Vandorn distorted in mirrors to show his confusion; and one where Vandorn parks on a downward slope before he goes into a bondage place, to indicate him sinking into hell.Gary Graham from 'Alien Nation' turns up as a sleaze who gets into a fight with George C. Scott. They throw each other through the paper-thin walls of the bondage place. For all the sleaziness of the environment, it's an artificially tough world... and one where Scott feels he can triumph.Well shot and thought provoking, 'Hardcore' really is a superb film.

I decided to have a bit of a George C Scott night the other day, mainly his more genre orientated work. I watched this back to back with The Changeling and The Exorcist 3. An interesting triple bill for sure! Scott plays Jake Van Dorn, a Calvinist and conservative business man who seems to have everything going right for him. That is, until his teenage daughter Kristen disappears whilst away at school in California. Cops and an eye witness speculate that she was lead off by a young man, and the detectives don't hold out much hope of finding her. Taking the advice of the cops, Van Dorn hires a private dick, Andy Mast, (Peter Boyle, sleazier than me on a Saturday night) to begin searching himself. A month later, Mast shows back up with a reel of 8mm footage. What's on it? Why, hardcore pornography, of course! In it is his nubile and innocent daughter, not looking so innocent anymore.Van Dorn understandably goes heavy off the deep end. He moves out to California and scouts the strip, harassing hookers and pimps about his daughter, to the point where he gets his ass kicked. He realizes that the world of sleaze is not a place for a man like him, so he re-invents himself as Jake DeFreese, porn producer extraordinaire! He gets in touch with the local heavy hitters of the porn world, posing as a wealthy guy looking to make a porn flick. He then meets young hooker and porn star Niki (Season Hubley), and together they head off into the underworld to track Kristen down...George C Scott gives a pretty mean performance as Van Dorn, a man with clearly high moral values thrown into a maelstrom of sleaze and profanity. the scenes where he watches the porn with his daughter is a gruesome moment. Not only must he face the decadence of the porn world, but he must also face up to certain other realities and truths. Is his hard lined faith really the cause for his daughters self degradation? And if he does find his daughter, will she be the same person she once was, or even want to come back home with him? These questions are what make Hardcore interesting for me. Schrader almost pulls it off too, but he drops the ball a few times in terms of plotting. Van Dorn's transformation into 'porn producer' isn't entirely convincing, yet it certainly is amusing. Same goes for the discovery of the snuff reel. It was unnecessary to the plot really, and it was pretty lame looking. And of course, the finale. A bone of contention with a lot of people, me included. The ending was apparently forced by the studio, and Schraders original bleak ending was dropped. What could have been a masterpiece on futility and abandoned faith gets a neat little ending, almost all tied up. Sure, it's entertaining, but unrealistic.What works for me about a lot of Paul Schraders early films is how he paints the everyday characters so colourfully. He has a knack of writing the everyday blue collar guy in realistic yet likable fashion. Just look at both Taxi Driver and Blue Collar for that. He creates a world you can taste, and even if his central characters are off the wall, you can relate to the surroundings in a grounded way. Peter Boyle excels as always as the sleazy private eye. Even great little cameos by the likes of Hal Williams as 'Big Dick Blaque!' will have you rolling in your seat with glee. And of course, Season Hubley, Kurt Russell's ex-wife and star of my all time favorite pimp and hookers flick, Vice Squad, for those who are interested. She does a pretty good job of portraying a lost youth, much like Jodie Foster's role in Taxi Driver. She also gets highly naked, which may be of interest to some of you. For me, all I can say is yikes! Overall, Hardcore is a near miss of a classic. However, the film is shot beautifully, capturing the neon lure of California at night, and the camera work is truly stylish and innovative. The film also has plenty of nudity and violence to keep the casual crowd interested. Oh, on a final note, if the plot of this sounds vaguely familiar, that's because it was essentially remade as 8MM, by Joel Schumacher. The less said about that film, the better...