(Apes caricatures by Richard Smith)
Chris Herzog, Contributing Writer
In Collaboration with ATLRetro
Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.
HARDCORE -1979
3 out of 4 Bananas
Starring: George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley
Director: Paul Schrader
Rated: R
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: Region Free
BRD Release Date: August 22, 2023
Audio Formats: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 109 Min.
Paul Schrader came out of nowhere in the mid-1970s and quickly became one of the most respected writers and directors in the industry. First, Sydney Pollack’s under-appreciated THE YAKUZA was co-written by Schrader and Robert Towne. He rapidly eclipsed that picture the following year by writing TAXI DRIVER. After that, he moved into the director’s chair with BLUE COLLAR. Schrader continued writing many of his best screenplays, and by the end of the decade, his modus operandi had become well-known as dark character studies. His second feature as a director was HARDCORE and no, it was not a “feel-good of the year” movie. This film is dark—really dark.
George C. Scott plays a Midwestern church deacon whose teenage daughter disappears. At first, Scott has no idea where she’s gone; quickly, however, with the help of a private detective (Boyle), Scott is embroiled in the sordid porno world in Los Angeles. Soon, he’s deep into the rabbit hole. There is a significant contrast between Scott’s very conservative views and Boyle’s down-and-dirty style of investigation. For example, Boyle finds out some important information during a porno shoot, but he’s not too busy or uptight to hang around and watch afterward while Scott wants to get out of there as quickly as possible. Although Scott eventually hatches an undercover operation of his own, he’s still never tempted by what he witnesses. He’s very pious and has a lot of emotional angst. Somehow, Schrader also gets just enough humor out of Scott and Boyle here and there. Eventually, we’ll realize that the deacon and the gumshoe are very multi-layered indeed.
The supporting cast is also complex. Scott becomes friends with a sex worker/porn starlet played by Season Hubley. Neither is really interested in a sexual tryst, and they learn a lot before it all tumbles to the ground. Hubley acquitted herself well in from ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and VICE SQUAD. She’s very capable in this picture as well. Finally, I should mention Dick Sargent. Although Sargent is usually remembered as Darrin #2 from BEWITCHED, he actually essayed hundreds of television roles and Schrader liked what he saw enough to cast him here.
HARDCORE, like the sex industry it portrays, is a relic of its time. Just like Times Square is no longer a thing, the red light districts of much of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, etc. are also mostly things of the past, replaced by online sex platforms. The kind of stigma put on sex workers as shown in the film has withered in a society numbly wandering the financial landscape of gig work and fractured income streams. In a country where the average price for a livable three-bedroom home is over $300,000.00, sex work is an acceptable side hustle for anybody who wants to pursue it, made simple by websites like Only Fans and Chaturbate. In the 70s, real hardcore was seemingly on every downtown corner. And by the way, STAR WARS was usually playing in the theater on the other corner. This irresistible geist of the zeit was everywhere during 1977-78. If you want to look for easter eggs, you can find them at least three times during the movie—FROM A DIFFERENT STUDIO!
The new Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber is a nice package, although pretty much everything supplemental has been ported from earlier editions; nevertheless, this is pretty good stuff. With a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 4K film master, everything looks and sounds great. It includes two commentaries; first, a roundtable with critics Lee Pfeiffer, Paul Scrabo, and Eddy Friedfeld. This was a good listen and a relaxed atmosphere, with plenty of information.
The other commentary is much more interesting, with the writer/director himself. Schrader is always a great listen, whether he’s explaining shot-by-shot scenes or pointing out numerous trivial matters, and he has plenty of candid thoughts to impart. He has mixed emotions with HARDCORE, and I feel the same way. About three-quarters of the picture is quite good, until it bogs down during the final act. There are too many questions at the end, and it doesn’t make very much sense. It turns out that Schrader feels the same way, more or less. The producers decided to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, and it blew the finale. They apparently felt they needed a few more chefs in the kitchen, despite Schrader’s then-current track record and award nominations. Even so, the picture is still quite good. Michael Chapman (TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL) is the cinematographer and his imagery is striking, with a juxtaposition between the staid snow in Michigan next to California’s seedy and sunny environs in equal parts. The score is by Jack Nitzsche (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUKOOS NEST, STAND BY ME), a state-of-the-art soundtrack.
Everything works here—until it doesn’t. Still, a lot of people like this movie including myself. Though he may stumble at the finish line here, Schrader is still in a league of his own, swinging for the fences.
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When he’s not casually shuffling across dry creek beds, Chris Herzog is a writer, researcher, and teacher. His film criticism can also be found in Screem magazine and back issues of the late, lamented Video WatcH*Dog.
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