Hardcore

Jake VanDorn is a devout businessman living in the Midwest with his family. When his teenage daughter disappears during a church-sponsored trip to California, the police turn up nothing, so Jake hires private investigator Andy Mast to find her. Mast eventually identifies the girl on film in a low-budget pornographic movie, and Jake travels to Los Angeles to bring her home himself, moving through the sex industry and its networks of producers, dealers and intermediaries as he searches.

Paul Schrader directed and wrote the film, his second as director after Blue Collar and before American Gigolo. George C. Scott plays Jake, with Peter Boyle as Mast, Season Hubley as Niki, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines and Dave Nichols in supporting roles. Buzz Feitshans produced for Columbia Pictures, and the film runs 108 minutes.

Released in February 1979, the crime drama drew a sizeable audience over time: on IMDb it holds 7.1 from around 17,000 votes, a figure reflecting lasting interest in a film of its era, while on TMDB it stands at 6.8 from 337 votes. A critics' rating of 6.9 from 30 reviews places critical and audience responses close together.