Hard Core Logo (1996)

Director:

Bruce McDonald

Writers:

Noel S. Baker (screenwriter)
Michael Turner (book)

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

4 guys - 5 nights - 3000 miles - 764 gallons of gas - 987 bottles of beer - 3457 cigarettes - 1 last shot

Plot:

Bruce Macdonald follows punk bank Hard Core Logo on a harrowing last-gasp reunion tour throughout Western Canada...

Plot Keywords:

Road | Punk | Canada | Fake Documentary | Band

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Hugh Dillon	...	Joe Dick
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Billy Tallent / Jenifur
John Pyper-Ferguson	...	John Oxenberger
Bernie Coulson	...	Pipefitter
Julian Richings	...	Bucky Haight
Benita Ha	...	Pipefitter's Girlfriend
Claudia Ferri	...	John Oxenberger's Girlfriend
Joey Ramone	...	Joey Ramone
Corrine Koslo	...	Laura Cromartie
Bruce McDonald	...	Documentary Filmmaker
Danny Nowak	...	Documentary Cameraman
Jochen A. Schliessler	...	Documentary Sound Recordist (as Jochen Schliessler)
Jeremy Bishop	...	Bongo Player
Tony Tucker	...	Bongo Player
Art Bergmann	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, substance abuse, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Canada:14A (Ontario) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:MA | USA:R | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Terminal City Pictures

Trivia:

To save money on extras for the band's performance scenes, director Bruce McDonald posted advertisements in area newspapers and sold tickets to the shoot as an actual rock show. Many of the people shown rocking out to the band really paid to be there.

Quotes:

Mulligan: Say they make six G's... you know, and they take my fifteen percent. The band, the food, the gas, hotel... uh... four guys, 3000 miles, five nights. At this point, you do it for love.

Movie Connections:

References "Jeopardy!" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Tired Of Waking Up Tired

Worthwhile, entirely.

I love "Hard Core Logo", a fine black comedy. Hugh Dillon, Callum Keith Rennie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Bernie Coulson, and Julian Richings as Bucky Haight all did a great job portraying an aging band that never lived up to it's own ambitions. Frankly, I am so tired of "This is Spinal Tap", a film I liked the first two times I saw it. It wore thin on me all too quickly. I still love HCL, and that has to be because it is based on Michael Turner's book. Turner's own experiences in the Hard Rock Miners informed his writing and that legitimacy was kept in tact in the film. Also, from a Canadian point of view, I liked it because it was a straight up story and a straight up film. Far too often it seems that Canadian filmmakers feel that they have to go out of their way to make odd/disturbing films that just come across as pretentious and 'faux-Euro', or make films designed to pander to the lowest common denominator of the Hollywood market. MacDonald made his own film for himself and I for one am grateful.