Hardcore, directed by Paul Schrader, follows a father, who is very religious individual and businessman, named Jake VanDorn (George C. Scott) who discovers his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), has gone missing. While he initially hires detective Andy (Peter Boyle), he decides that he'll be the one to find her, with the help of a prostitute named Niki (Season Hubley), upon discovering that she is partaking in adult films. As Michael Bliss states in "Affliction and Forgiveness: An Interview with Paul Shrader" this film pays a "homage to John Ford's The Searchers but also an incisive questioning of Schrader's own background." In order to understand what Bliss means, let's take a look at the comparisons between the two films. Right away, the plot of Hardcore is quite similar to that of The Searchers. A male family member discovers their relative (daughter/niece) has gone missing and takes on the responsibility or role to find them. While Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) is indeed on the search for Debbie (Natalie Wood), he is also fueled by his hatred for Indians. In a similar way, Jake Van Dorn, who is shown to be a very religious man, can be said to be fueled by wanting his daughter to stop being in sinful movies- that he himself has admitted to not watching any- and be the faithful, innocent religious daughter once again. Other similarities between the two films is that Schrader mimics the same framing that John Ford is known for, being a frame within a frame. It's seen in the throughout the Western film as Ford uses doorways and the canyons that gives focus to what is in the center. As for Schrader, this technique can be seen when he walks into a bondage house to look for a man named Tod (Gary Graham) and demand that Tod tells him where Ratan (Mark Alaimo) - a player/pimp- is so that he can get his daughter back, after Niki has told him where Tod could possibly be. While we are on the topic of this particular scene, let's move on to how color is involved. Not only does this scene help with the flow/transition from the previous scene, but the fact that this starts with him only lit up as everything else around him is darkness (black) gives off intensity, curiosity, and evilness that has taken over Jake as his patience is thinning out to find his daughter. As the scene continues, viewers see the colors red, blue, and green. Respectively the color red can signify energy, war, and danger, which helps people understand that Jake is enraged himself and is walking into a situation where he and viewers are aware that it could very much lead to a dangerous confrontation with Tod. The color blue signifies power, consciousness, and seriousness. This is also fitting since a bondage house and the women are in the position of power over the client that has paid, just as both parties involved are both conscious of what they agreed to do. As for the room that is green, the color can represent greed (money) and jealously that fits the location is for bondage that revolves around women making money from what they do. There possibly is the chance that Schrader did not think too much into what colors were in this scene, but regardless the colors helped elevate what was going on and created an understandable setting for this part of the film. As Jim Hemphill puts it in his article "Why Paul Schrader Is Wrong and Hardcore Is, in Fact, a Major Movie," "Hardcore is about so many things, from the role of religion in daily life (several main characters, not just Jake, have almost comically specific beliefs), to the ways in which love and control are mistaken for one another, to the relationship between sex and commerce." While this is a film that I would not typically gravitate towards, I still think this movie was intriguing to watch. For someone who wants to watch films that shows someone's wiliness and determination to find somebody they care about, regardless of what they have to endure and change views to understand some things, then this is the film to watch. I also particularly liked- to which others can enjoy knowing about- is seeing how Schrader was able to show his admiration and appreciation that he has for John Ford's works. As for a question to leave readers of this blog to think about, perhaps answer: how far would you go (physically, mentally, and spiritually) to find someone that you care about? This is Victoria and thank you for coming to read my FILM talk! Take a look at where I was able to make this blog possible down below (if possible)…
Professor Brems Video: Hardcore Commentary Color Meanings Affliction and Forgiveness: An Interview with Paul Schrader Why Paul Schrader Is Wrong and Hardcore Is, In Fact, a Major Movie
9 Comments
Parker
2/22/2019 09:41:22 am
I love how in depth you went into how color was expressed in this movie. Especially the scene in the weird sex dungeon. The variety of vibrant colors and lighting almost made this scene look surreal. You did a great job explaining what all of the different colors could mean.
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Adrian Fulgencio
2/22/2019 04:46:31 pm
Victoria,
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Alexandria Paulson
2/23/2019 07:29:13 am
Great analysis, I love how deep you went into the color usage in the bondage house. I think many directors use the plighting like of the green to show greed in many films and tv shows. It's crazy how our minds put two and two together and you can look back at a film and it has a deeper meaning or understanding. Look forward to your future posts!
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Mary Kajmowicz
2/23/2019 09:45:32 am
You did a great job breaking down the film similarities between The Searchers and Hardcore with the Frame Within a Frame and the usage of colors to draw out emotions from the audience. To your question you posed at the end of your blog about how far one would go to find someone they care about, I think truly you don't know until you are in the situation. Ultimately, I like to think I would overcome every obstacle to locate someone I cared about. I think a bigger question would be what would you do if you endured a long, tedious, dangerous search just to find out the person you were looking for didn't want to be found. Thanks for your thoughts!
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Miranda Miscinski
2/23/2019 01:59:48 pm
I saw a lot of the same parallels between Hardcore and The Searchers, but I really appreciated how in depth you went about their similarities in your analysis. I like how you considered the motivations of both Jake VanDorn and Ethan Edwards as they embarked on their journeys, as they both had deep-rooted internal motives driving them forward. For Ethan, this was his hatred for the Native Americans, and in certain respects his search for Debbie became more about that hate than his love for his niece. For Jake, his faith caused him to enter into--and wreak havoc on--the sex industry in California. I did not think about his internal need to stop his daughter from committing sinful acts until you brought this point up. This look at Jake and his ulterior motives has allowed me to see a new side of his dynamic personality!
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Chris Toth
2/23/2019 03:33:32 pm
Hi Victoria, I very much enjoyed your blog about this film, Hardcore. I thought your descriptions, and pictures were very helpful to understanding the movie and I thought you did a great job explaining each picture you had put in this blog. I think the way you described and talked about color in this movie was an incredible catch that I did not pay as much attention to like you did. After you described the color use and showed pictures it was obvious how big the color use in this movie was so important. You did a great job explaining the meaning behind the topics you talked about about and did a great job making your points clear and crisp. Thank you for sharing this blog I cant wait for more of your blogs.
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Delaney Keating
2/23/2019 05:55:09 pm
Hello! I loved looking at and reading your blog. The organization is great and the format and visual choices are super aesthetically pleasing! I think you did a great job of connecting The Searchers to Hardcore while also focusing on Hardcore individually. Great job!
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2/24/2019 07:52:18 pm
Hi Victoria,
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Brian
2/25/2019 08:10:33 am
Good work here, Victoria. I really liked your breakdown of the sequence from the end of the film, complete with useful screenshots and accompanying analysis. I appreciated that you took the same sequence I discussed in the commentary, but made your own points about it! I think that demonstrates how rich these films are - people can see different things when they watch the same moments. Don't sell these filmmakers short, though. At the end of your bit on the use of colors in the climactic sequence, you kind of shrug your shoulders and say maybe Schrader didn't think about it much. Give these filmmakers some credit! This is their job, and they're trying to make decisions that aid the story in every moment.
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