George C. Scott goes "Hardcore" on 9/14 (1 Viewer)

[Jay E]

Schrader says that this is the only film he's made that he has any regrets over. He gave in to the studio and changed the ending to make it more commercial and he says it was the wrong decision and that he should have put up more of a fight.

I haven't seen the film in 15 years so I want to check it out again, glad to see that it'll be available for viewing on DVD.

 

[Peter McM]

Jay:

What was the original ending?

 

[Jay E]

 

[Jack Briggs]

This is one of the best ever films about the world of porn (at least as it was back then, in the pre-video era). Scott's performance as a Calvinist industrialist who has lost touch with the world the rest of us inhabit is impeccable.

All of which is to say that this DVD will be mine.

Never a fan of Boogie Nights, I've always wanted a film to be made about the "modern" era of porn. Subcultures fascinate me, and the people who move through these circles often are intriguing.

Though heavily criticized, 8MM offers an interesting take on the world of modern underground porn (the stuff you can find only by "knowing the right people" -- dunno if such establishments exist, but the idea is fascinating). It also captures the dark side of Hollywood (the district, not Hollywood the "industry") perfectly.

 

[Gary Seven]

Don't remmember Big Dick BLack, but Jism Jim cracked me up.

 

[JakeR]

Movie hasn't really aged well: it was on cable a year or two back. Scott pretending to be a "hip cat" delivers big laughs, though I'm not sure that was the original intention.

8mm was a piece of garbage: snuff film as cartoon. I'd like to see a somewhat moody, serious take on the morbid world of snuff. It's an inescapably interesting topic.

If anyone remembers, Charlie Sheen caught one of the "Guinea Pig" installments at a Hollywood party a dozen years ago, and became so convinced that it was a real snuff flick that he contacted the FBI.

The official party line from the Feds is that they don't exist, but several agents have said otherwise, off the record. IMHO, they do, but to "commission" one, you'd have to be knee-deep in hostile foreign territory, where unsolved crimes are the order of the day.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Let me chime in here late and agree that the
cover art is horrible....

...then again, in most cases Columbia has always
been the worst offender when it comes to creating
the ugliest cover art for their product.

Wish all the studios would stick to the original
poster art.

 

[Gary->dee]

Wow I'm kinda surprised there's so much respect flowing for this movie.

I caught it a few times on cable and I think I recorded it although I can't remember. I agree with Jake, I don't think it's aged well. But it's definitely a vintage 70's flick even though it came out towards the end of the decade(when George looks out of his hotel window you can see the huge Star Wars logo on the side of the Chinese Theater nearby from when it was re-released in 1978).
Yeah it is funny and weird seeing George C. Scott wearing pimp duds.

The one scene that made me laugh that I'm sure wasn't intentional was when George is watching the porno with his daughter in it to confirm it's her and he breaks down in a fit of tears like he's a 5 year-old.

If this flick can make it to DVD then it gives me hope that Corvette Summer and Gumball Rally are on the horizon!

 

[Kevin M]

"Turn it off....Turn it Off.....Turn it offfffffffff" is a quote that MST3K uses often....god it is a sick joke when you think about it but it never fails to make me laugh when they use it.

 

[Gary->dee]

Oh yeah that's it! Now I remember I recorded it because I replayed that scene a few times, lol.

 

[JakeR]

Seeing Scott in that horrible wide-collar psychodelic shirt and spouting hispter slang was like watching Bugs Bunny drive a car. In other words: it don't look right.

Btw, one poster's attempt to link "Hardcore" as a distant cousin to "The Searchers" is insanity. Long before THAT movie, there have been dozens of other flicks and novels based around the premise of a lost soul who doesn't want to be found. That's a chestnut older than the hills, man.

You might as well link "Terms of Endearment" to "Evil Dead II." After all, both were shot on film.

 

[DeeF]

Sorry, Jake, but you're wrong. The Searchers is Paul Schrader's favorite film -- he's seen it something like 100 times. He has publicly attested his trials at homage to that film, including Hardcore.

 

[Kevin M]

I believe Schrader even said this on the commentary for Auto Focus.

 

[Felix Martinez]

The recent HIV breakout and self-imposed quarantine and production shut-down in the LA porn industry seems like interesting material to mine...

Cheers,

 

[Rob Gardiner]

The Scorsese / Schrader commentary on TAXI DRIVER is also full of SEARCHERS references.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

And people die in both!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Its been a while since I've seen this movie, but I do remember this scene and I found it to be very moving and not funny (intentional or otherwise) at all. In this scene George C. convinced me he was a father in a living hell.

I have no children and could still understand his torment.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Um, Jake, you're kind of not posting in a style that's consistent with HTF guidelines. First, disagree politely and and in a civil way -- do not call someone else's observations "insanity." Second, one can offer his or her opinion without seeming to crash a thread.

Oh, and the word is spelled "psychedelic." It means "mind-manifesting."

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Add me in to the camp who thinks the cover is poor for this DVD.

As for the film being "dated," I don't know if I'd agree with that. The film's supposed to take place in the '70s, not the 00s. I also think Scott is supposed to come off as "not looking right" in his "undercover getup".

 

[Gary->dee]

I understand his torment, I guess it's just the way his acting came together for that brief moment. Overall though I think Scott convincingly conveyed the anger and frustration in trying to find his daughter in the seedy underbelly of Hollywood. The guy was definitely tenacious.