Product Details

• Actors: Kurtwood Smith, Eyal Podell, Richard Edson, Beth Grant, Alanna Ubach
• Directors: David Scott Hay
• Producers: Erik Bauer & James P. Mercurio
• Format: Dolby, NTSC, Letterboxed, Collector's Edition, DVD
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: New Visions Fellowship
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000P0Z8G6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,275 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"Kurtwood Smith's triumphant return to the big screen" -- Ain't It Cool News. In HARD SCRAMBLED Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop, That '70s Show) stars as Bruisin' Benno, an ex-prize fighter and now short order cook at Alice's Diner in what Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times calls a "powerful performance." On the night of the diner's 25th anniversary, Alice (Beth Grant, Donnie Darko) has an "accident" that thrusts Benno's surrogate family into jeopardy. Benno, busboy Scotty (Eyal Podell, The Young and The Restless) and bumbling deliveryman Joe (indie vetran Richard Edson, Stranger Than Paradise), are thrown into a three-way boxing match peppered with razor blades, low-blows and sucker punches. Full of twists and turns, you'll be kept guessing up to the last frame. This award winning indie film has been packaged with a second dvd on making your independent film. This dvd includes more than 20 tutorials on directing, writing, producing, and editing your own movie. The Washington Post calls this bonus DVD "...a must for would-be filmmakers."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardhitting Indie Character Study, July 8, 2007

By 

Jerry Benjamin "Film Geek" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Scrambled 2-Dvd Set (The Feature Film Plus "Film School in a Box": 20 Filmmaking Tutorials on Directing, Screenwriting, Producing, Editing, Fundraising, Publicity, and Much More) (DVD)

David Scott Hay's HARD SCRAMBLED is an example of the kind of film we should be seeing more of - crisp, dramatic, edgy work with unusual character dynamics and seasoned actors given a chance to really show what they can do. Hay is an accomplished playright, and this kind of work is common for the stage, where the almighty dollar isn't so concretely the focus of every decision. In movies, however, it all too often is, which is a shame, because it prevents us from seeing more movies like this. HARD SCRAMBLED is what indie film SHOULD be, the off-broadway equivelent for Hollywood.

I probably should point out that my praise is solely for the film. The second disc of documentaries is pretty dry and dull, but moreover almost exludes the writer/director and seems to serve as a piece of shameless self-promotion for the producers, who take credit for everything good and blame David Scott Hay for every mistake.

So forget the "film school in a box" bonus junk. See HARD SCRAMBLED for itself.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Movie with Helpful Bonus Material, April 5, 2007

By 

ssjohny "ssjohny" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Scrambled 2-Dvd Set (The Feature Film Plus "Film School in a Box": 20 Filmmaking Tutorials on Directing, Screenwriting, Producing, Editing, Fundraising, Publicity, and Much More) (DVD)

This is a smart old-school drama. Shades of Lumet, Mamet and early Scoresese. And the 2 hours of bonus material really are like "film school in a box."

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Performance, January 28, 2010

By 

Wilson Rhodes (Richmond, Virginia, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hard Scrambled 2-Dvd Set (The Feature Film Plus "Film School in a Box": 20 Filmmaking Tutorials on Directing, Screenwriting, Producing, Editing, Fundraising, Publicity, and Much More) (DVD)

This movie is wonderful, and Kurtwood Smith is as good as he ever was. The bonus material is great and really goes in depth about the movie. All of the actors are extraordinary, especially Beth Grant who plays a wonderful Alice. The film has its moments, and shows off Kurtwood's badassness in the movie. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes dramas, or great acting.