Hard Core Logo
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Art Bergmann, Bernie Coulson, Dan Fazzio, Hugh Dillon, Jeremy Bishop (II)Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 1 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2012-01-06
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: LIONSGATE
Movie Reviews of Hard Core Logo
Movie Review: As many different shades of "brilliant" as there are.
Summary: 5 Stars
Hard Core Logo (Bruce MacDonald, 1996)
When I finished watching Hard Core Logo, with its insanely brilliant final shot, I realized I'd seen a pretty good movie-- a little slow to get going, and definitely marketed wrong (comparing Hard Core Logo to This Is Spinal Tap is like comparing Shoah to Life Is Beautiful). Two days later, when I was still thinking about all the subtleties of the movie, it occurred to me that I'd seen what may be the most brilliant mockumentary ever created, a movie so true to the roots of the things it fictionalizes that it may well be truer, in a sense, than many of the "memoirs" we've seen in the recent past.
Hard Core Logo is the story of the [punk band of the same name], who reunite for a five-date tour after five years of separation-- vocalist Joe Dick (Hugh and the Headstones singer Hugh Dillon, recently of Assault on Precinct 13), guitarist Billy Tallent (Blade: Trinity's Callum Keith Rennie), bassist John Oxenberger (Pin...'s John Pyper-Ferguson), and drummer Pipefitter (Bernie Coulson, who despite a long and prolific career will probably best be remembered for a single guest spot on an episode of The X-Files) quickly find not only that the rigors of the road still suck, but that not everyone is just in it for the love of the game...
I wish I could enumerate all the things that make this such a wonderful movie. The problem is, I'm sure I haven't found them all yet. Just while sitting here typing this it occurred to me how dead-on the dichotomy between the filmmakers' attitude towards the band and the general public's attitude towards the band is; MacDonald comes at the project, initially, through a kind of hero-worship (and again, my mind just made the parallels between the MacDonald-Dick relationship and the Dick-Bucky Haight relationship as the film progresses. Amazing stuff.), while the general public, most of whom hadn't heard of the band before, certainly couldn't give a damn about the reunion tour. Been there, done that. MacDonald nails it.
The comparisons to Spinal Tap are unwarranted mainly because where Spinal Tap is a comedy, Hard Core Logo is a tragedy. There's never a point in Spinal Tap where you don't know that there's going to be some sort of "oh, you're HUGE in Germany!" deus ex machina. MacDonald never even gives us the option in Hard Core Logo; it's obvious that no matter how things end up, people are going to get hurt. The self-destructive Hard Core Logo are hell-bent on imploding, and MacDonald (whom, I should mention, is playing himself; yes, this film has "meta" writ large all over it, which is part of the fun) is just as intent on capturing the whole thing. What starts off seeing as though it may be a mean-spirited black comedy quickly turns to uncomfortable chuckling, and by halfway through you're wondering why you ever thought there was anything funny about it.
It's been another week since I finished watching it and framed that opening paragraph in my head, and the movie is still growing in my estimation. The more I think about it, the more I realize Hard Core Logo is an incredible achievement on every level. A stunning film. **** ½
Summary of Hard Core Logo
Hard Core LogoThis product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
Hard Core Logo is often compared to This Is Spinal Tap--and for marketing purposes, that makes sense: both are pretend documentaries about rock bands (a self-important heavy metal crew in Spinal Tap, a self-destructing punk mob in Hard Core Logo). But though Hard Core Logo can be cuttingly funny, it's not really a comedy; it's a piercing examination of friendship and betrayal, success and self-hatred, and everything that fueled punk rock. Lead singer Joe Dick (Hugh Dillon) uses false pretenses to convince guitarist Billy Tallent (Callum Keith Rennie) to reform Hard Core Logo for a reunion tour across Canada, followed by a film crew (featuring director Bruce McDonald, whose other films include Roadkill and Highway 61, as himself). Tallent agrees, but only because he expects to be joining a much more successful rock group very shortly and sees this as a favor to Dick. As they travel from town to town, their relationship unravels, as does the psyche of bass player John Oxenberger (John Pyper-Ferguson). The performances are astonishingly genuine; even the oafish drummer Pipefitter (Bernie Coulson) becomes three-dimensional. By the end, you'll believe in them so much as people that the band's disintegration is truly wrenching. A remarkable film, both comic and sad. --Bret Fetzer
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