Hardcore (1979)
You might find this hard to believe, but in Hardcore, George C. Scott plays a pious, practically Amish man who lives in a small town. It’s a far cry from Patton, isn’t it? He’s a pillar of the community, and when his teenage daughter runs away from a church field trip, he chases after her into the “real world”. It would be enough of a shock to explore a big city with regular heathens, but after hiring a private investigator (Peter Boyle), he receives proof that his daughter has been kidnapped and forced into the sex trade industry. Not only is it every parent’s nightmare, but for a very religious man, you can only imagine how horrifying he finds his daughter’s situation. When Peter doesn’t find her immediately, George immerses himself in the seedy, lurid world of pornography to find her himself.
Those of you who have been reading my reviews on Hot Toasty Rag might be wondering why I would ever sit through a movie with this premise. It would never be my idea of a good time to watch a movie about pornography, including “footage” (don’t worry, nothing in this movie is actually real) of underage girls, rape, and snuff films. If you don’t even know what the latter term means, consider yourself lucky and never rent this movie. As a member on the board of directors of the Hot Toasty Rag Awards, I’ve had to watch a lot of movies that aren’t my genre of choice; I sat through this movie to evaluate George C. Scott’s performance. George has a couple of very well-acted scenes that will really speak to the parents in the audiences (although I hope no parents actually watch this movie). When Peter Boyle brings George into a theater and shows him a film starring his daughter, he sobs; it’s so exposing, you feel that you’re watching a candid capture of a real father’s pain.
On the positive side, this movie doesn’t glorify or sugarcoat pornography. Countless films glamorize prostitution (about which I am always happy to rant) but thankfully, this one shows just how seedy the atmosphere is, how psychologically twisted the clients are, and how much of a business it is to the women. Many films insinuate that sex workers choose that profession because they simply enjoy sex and figure it would be easy money to do what they love (I actually saw a movie where the female lead used that as her explanation for being a hooker). In Hardcore, it shows woman after woman with that deadened look in her eye as she conducts her business. She’s used to being mistreated, cheated out of her pay, and completely humiliating and degrading herself to satisfy a client’s sick request. That’s been her reality for years, and by the time the camera films her in a scene with George C. Scott, the audience can tell all that from her eyes.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic nudity and upsetting sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Carlos Cejeros" for posting!
More George C. Scott movies here!
Those of you who have been reading my reviews on Hot Toasty Rag might be wondering why I would ever sit through a movie with this premise. It would never be my idea of a good time to watch a movie about pornography, including “footage” (don’t worry, nothing in this movie is actually real) of underage girls, rape, and snuff films. If you don’t even know what the latter term means, consider yourself lucky and never rent this movie. As a member on the board of directors of the Hot Toasty Rag Awards, I’ve had to watch a lot of movies that aren’t my genre of choice; I sat through this movie to evaluate George C. Scott’s performance. George has a couple of very well-acted scenes that will really speak to the parents in the audiences (although I hope no parents actually watch this movie). When Peter Boyle brings George into a theater and shows him a film starring his daughter, he sobs; it’s so exposing, you feel that you’re watching a candid capture of a real father’s pain.
On the positive side, this movie doesn’t glorify or sugarcoat pornography. Countless films glamorize prostitution (about which I am always happy to rant) but thankfully, this one shows just how seedy the atmosphere is, how psychologically twisted the clients are, and how much of a business it is to the women. Many films insinuate that sex workers choose that profession because they simply enjoy sex and figure it would be easy money to do what they love (I actually saw a movie where the female lead used that as her explanation for being a hooker). In Hardcore, it shows woman after woman with that deadened look in her eye as she conducts her business. She’s used to being mistreated, cheated out of her pay, and completely humiliating and degrading herself to satisfy a client’s sick request. That’s been her reality for years, and by the time the camera films her in a scene with George C. Scott, the audience can tell all that from her eyes.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic nudity and upsetting sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Carlos Cejeros" for posting!
More George C. Scott movies here!