1 / 8
ERA
Did you know
47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Hardcore
"“Oh my God, that's my daughter.”"
1979 1h 48m EN
👍
6.8
SOLID
★6.8TMDB · 338
DramaCrimeThriller
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in search of his runaway teenage daughter who’s making hardcore films in the pits of Los Angeles.
““Oh my God, that's my daughter.””
Cast
George C. Scott
Jake VanDorn
Peter Boyle
Andy Mast
Season Hubley
Niki
Dick Sargent
Wes DeJong
Leonard Gaines
Ramada
Dave Nichols
Kurt
Gary Graham
Tod
Larry Block
Detective Burrows
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Paul Schrader
- Writers
- Paul Schrader
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Paul Schrader, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Jack Nitzsche. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Tom Rolf shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
George C. Scott and Peter Boyle and Season Hubley carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "“Oh my God, that's my daughter.”".
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0079271 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Paul Schrader directs. Michael Chapman behind the camera. Jack Nitzsche scores. Tom Rolf cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 147 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
- 3Directed by Paul Schrader, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Jack Nitzsche. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Tom Rolf shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6George C. Scott and Peter Boyle and Season Hubley carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "“Oh my God, that's my daughter.”".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0079271 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 20 themes, including "daughter", "pornography", "michigan", "runaway".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Michael Chapman
- Original score
- Jack Nitzsche
- Editing
- Tom Rolf
- Production design
- Paul Sylbert
- Makeup / hair
- Del Acevedo
- Runtime
- 108 min · 1h 48m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
- IMDB
- Hardcore (1979)
Also by
Paul Schrader
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 7/10
Nobody makes it. Nobody shows it. Nobody sees it. It's like it doesn't even exist. Hardcore is written and directed by Paul Schrader and stars George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent and Leonard Gaines. Music is by Jack Nitzsche and cinematography by Michael Chapman. Plot has Scott as a Michigan businessman whose daughter disappears after a church group trip to California. Venturing out to California in search of her, he hires a sleazy private investigator (Boyle) and quickly finds that his daughter has fallen into the seedy X-Rated world of pornography. It's a very mixed bag, one minute it's over the top with unbelievable scenarios, the next it's potent, impressive and heart breaking. The battle between religious faith and the sins of the flesh is loud and broad, which does however give the pic its intellectual stimulation, something which one feels fights off the charges of this being exploitation trash. There's also the noir angles to savour for the so inclined, the trawl through a seedy underworld inhabited by deviants and damaged waifs is riveting by way of the portrayals. Scott's character also has classic noir tendencies, he goes from homely religious business man to the point where he has to become one of the venal to find the answers he so desperately needs. Behind the scenes thigs were not the best, with the usual artistic differences bubbling away, and this is never more evident then with the weak finale. It reeks of a compromise, a failure to really drive a stake through the hearts of the viewers. The promised horror never arrives, a true classic noir finale jettisoned in favour of candy coated heroics. Shame that, but this is still a fascinating and powerful pic. 7/10
- CinemaSerf★ 7/10
George C. Scott makes good with his rather uncharacteristic performance, here. He’s the upstanding businessman “Van Dorn” who is shocked at the sudden disappearance of his teenage daughter. He hires “Mast” (Peter Boyle) to track her down and though he doesn’t find her, he does find some disturbing evidence for her dad that she is starring in some cheap porn movies. Determined to track her down and fetch her back, he tries to glean information from some sex workers by showing them photos and asking questions. They think he’s a cop so clam up, so he concludes a different tack is going to be needed. He dons a gold chain, a fake moustache and sets himself up as a producer in the hope that he can find either his daughter “Kristen” or her “co-star”. Aside from being one of Scott”a stronger efforts, this gritty and realistic looking drama also offers Boyle a chance to shine and he takes it. His character serves as an effective conduit as we explore the seamier side of Los Angeles in the company of a religious father for whom virtually everything he now encounters shakes his soul and his beliefs to the core whilst simultaneously opening his eyes in an wholly unexpected fashion. It is quite a leisurely paced and dialogue-light affair that I felt worked well as it allowed us to soak up a little more of an industry populated by the seedy, the needy and the greedy - but also by some decent folks down on their luck.
Production companies
Who made it
Columbia Pictures
US
- A-
A-Team Productions
US
Key crew
- EditorTom Rolf
- Second Unit Director of PhotographyWilliam Dear
- Sound MixerWalter Goss
- Sound MixerMichael Minkler
- Sound MixerRobert Fernandez
- MusicRob Miller
- MusicJill Fraser
- ProducerBuzz Feitshans
- Executive ProducerJohn Milius
- Production DesignPaul Sylbert
- Art DirectionEdwin O'Donovan
- Set DecorationBruce Weintraub
- Makeup ArtistDel Acevedo
- Sound Effects EditorGordon Daniel
- Sound Effects EditorGilbert D. Marchant
- Sound Effects EditorIan MacGregor-Scott
- Music EditorShinichi Yamazaki
- CastingVic Ramos
- HairstylistVivian McAteer
- Unit Production ManagerJohn G. Wilson
- Second Assistant DirectorKim C. Friese
- Assistant DirectorRichard Hashimoto
- Construction CoordinatorJoe Acord
- Property MasterEdward Aiona
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- daughter
- pornography
- michigan
- runaway
- peep show
- snuff
- father
- los angeles, california
- porn industry
- blunt
- subculture
- private detective
- missing child
- sex industry
- search for daughter
- snuff film
- calvinist
- calvinism
- bold
- harsh
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1979-02-09R
Also known as
International titles
- Hardcore - Ein Vater sieht rotDE
- SpoorloosNL
- Adolescente en fuiteFR
