Paul Schrader's celebrated collaborations with Martin Scorsese will unfortunately always overshadow his own directorial efforts. His own movies have been variable to say the least ranging from the truly forgettable (e.g. 'Light Of Day' and 'Witch Hunt', both from the "what on earth was he thinking?!" category), to the truly unforgettable ('Mishima', and 'Light Sleeper', both sadly overlooked). 'Hardcore' is one of his best efforts in my opinion, but MUST be watched taking into consideration WHEN it was made, and the censorship prevalent at the time (something a few of the other comments here fail to do). Over twenty years later certain scenes seem way too tame and almost unintentionally humorous to our jaded "sophisticated" movie-going eyes, but even so to me overall it is still a very powerful and impressive film. And for those who think it too dated and "safe" just compare it to Schumacher's lame '8MM', a movie which is almost an uncredited remake of 'Hardcore' in some ways, but one that despite the relaxation in depicting sex, violence and profanity in mainstream moviemaking, fails to pack the punch that Schrader's movie does. 'Dr Strangelove's George C. Scott is solid as a straight-laced and in many ways unworldly man who finds himself in the alien (to him) urban world of sleazy strip joints, sex shops and pornography. Season Hubley (John Carpenter's 'Elvis') plays the streetwise hooker who becomes his guide. Peter Boyle ('Taxi Driver', 'Young Frankenstein')) is a stand out as a crafty low life private detective. Buffs will also get a kick out of small roles by Tracey Walter ('Repo Man') and Ed Begley Jr ('Meet The Applegates') as a clerk in a dirty book store and a porn actor respectively. 'Hardcore' is a very fine movie, one of the most underrated of the 1970s, and highly recommended viewing.
