Videodrome (1983)

I don't know, early Cronenberg is pretty good, but the only film I truly enjoy is THE DEAD ZONE. I'd take The Fly, Naked Lunch, or the Viggo films over this any day. Michael Irons is badass in Scanners, though.

Total Recall suggests the bluring of reality and fantasy in a safe, sci-fi action climax that winks at the audience while Videodrome blurs the lines to the point of madnes and creates a hauntingly nervy nightmare dreamscape that isn't easily summarized but is absolutely unforgettable. The movie sticks with me more then Total Recall ever will.

The Brood is probably the best of early Cronenburg, though Dead Zone and Shivers are also worth a glance.
Videodrome is, however, something I'm enormously fond of. It's rough around the edges, yes, but that only adds to the suggestion it might be some low-budget independent tv broadcast itself. Makes for a remarkably consistent atmosphere.

The narrative slips away as Max Renn's hold on reality does, but Videodrome is like the beginning of the second, more mature phase of Cronenberg's career.

I like Croneburg a lot, but I haven't seen everything he's done, mostly his earlier stuff which is harder to find. I have to admit though, I fell asleep twice watching Scanners. Weird, because the first time was really late so I thought I was just tired, the next time(actually the next day), I fell asleep after like 20 minutes. Haven't watched the rest since, but I would, just never got around to it.

Only other movie I can remember falling asleep multiple times with was Akira, which I think is awesome. Never did make it to the end. don't know why I fell asleep even though I enjoyed it.

One other thing. Anyone ever seen Werner Herzog's Invincible? Not the greatest movie, but there is a part where Tim Roth is performing, in a show, hypnosis on someone from the audience and Herzog has a really long static shot of Tim Roth, looking almost into the camera, "hypnotising" the person. I almost think it was working on me because my eyes got really heavy and I swear I almost passed out during it. Freaked the shit out of me! Never had that happen with any movie, ever.

You could have just been falling asleep because Invincible is an incredibly dull movie.

Scanners is boring too. It's probably my least favorite Cronenburg movie.

I believe on the commentary for the Criterion dvd, Cronenberg says that the scene where Max kills his bosses (with his real pistol, and not the cancer gun) is the reality, and in his mind, he probably believed that he killed them like he did Barry Convex.

Damn great movie, and one of my all times favorites.

Three cheers for Videodrome... Fuckin' fuckin' Fuckawesome!!!

The Criterion boxart alone is worth the purchase.

Yes, it is. I friggin' love Videodrome.

Oh yes it did Renn. Glad to see that you finally got to see it.

The Betamax look of the dvd case itself is pure friggin' genius. This is definitely one of the dvds that I'm proudest of in my collection. Not to mention that I got it for 21 bucks and change back in 2006 during a Deep Discount Criterion sale.

You fellas are talking about Total Recall because you know that Cronenberg was originally going to direct it, right?

Verhoven's film is great...but I'll always, ALWAYS wonder what could've been.

And Cronenberg's verison was going to star PATRICK SWAYZE!

Saw this for the first time about three weeks ago and I was very surprised there wasn't a thread about it. I was even more surprised when Google didn't produce much in depth analyses. The worst thing is that the Criterion website has removed the essays that were all available for free.

I have to admit I didn't understand much of the film even though it left a powerful impression on me.

Videodrome is definitely a flick I tend to watch at least once or twice a year. It's a mindfuck of grand proportions, and it really is relevant in today's society. It's a sleazier more disturbing version of Network.

Actually, that's one of the surprisingly few sites I found and read.

Listen to the commentary Renn. You won't be disappointed. Cronenberg is a joy to listen to as always.

Cronenberg was approached to direct Top Gun. Take a minute on THAT.

Videodrome was one of the first movies that started to actively change how I looked at the medium. I rented it for tits (and I got them to say the least, oh my Debbie Harry) but I stayed for the subtext.

I have never actually stayed awake through Scanners either, what I've seen of it is a chore to sit through personally.

Cronenberg and Top Gun? Wha?

I rented Scanners back in 2003 as the first of my "gotta explore the rest of the Cronenberg oveure besides The Fly". I dug it, but I need to see it again, as only a few of the key scenes stick out in my memory.

When I saw A History of Violence, it occurred to me that Cronenberg finally got to make his version of Total Recall. I like to think that those were a lot of the ideas he'd been carrying around all those years, finally finding a place to land.

On subject, I absolutely love Videodrome. It took me a couple of years to get to it, but I remembered a critical debate in a magazine where the critics wildly disagreed on what they'd just seen. I tend to love those films. This thing blew my mind. It seems like this was where Cronenberg really turned a corner and went from interesting to genius.

Videodrome is one of my favorite films ever. To me, it's the Cronenberg film, more or less encapsulating all of the themes he would explore for the rest of his career (albeit in a more B-movie context than his later films).

Total Recall suggests the bluring of reality and fantasy in a safe, sci-fi action climax that winks at the audience while Videodrome blurs the lines to the point of madnes and creates a hauntingly nervy nightmare dreamscape that isn't easily summarized but is absolutely unforgettable. The movie sticks with me more then Total Recall ever will.

Total Recall is great in its own way though. It's over-the-top, pulpy, shamelessly gratutious and thoroughly entertaining in a way that only Verhoeven can pull off. I love that mad, pervy Dutchman.

Maverick probably would have fused with his plane and he'd have fucked the Iceman/plane at the end. Hell, let's start a new rumor: Goose's death where he smashes into the plane's glass is actually a holdover from Cronenberg's script in wich Goose died/merged with his Maverick lover/partner/plane.

Greg, please explain what you mean about A History of Violence and Total Recall. I hated A History of Violence (except for the great sex scenes) and maybe a new interpretation could turn me around.

He was also offered Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop. I'm not sure by whom, but I have some follow-up questions for those people.

Well, they both use a very similar theme, that of an ordinary man hosting a repressed persona, of holding back a violent personality under a pretext of mundaneness. And in both stories, that buried persona is pushed forward by circumstance, turning the protagonist's life upside down. He finally has to track down and eliminate the architect of his old life in order to expunge it once and for all. In a way, the central idea is a lot like Ang Lee's take on Hulk, in that the hero is hosting a repressed rage that's threatening to destroy everything he values.

The reason Cronenberg was removed from Total Recall by the producers was that they decided that they wanted a more (as they put it) "cowboys and indians" direction, basically an adventure film, while Cronenberg's rewrite of the script was going in a very, very different direction. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that the final result would have resembled A History of Violence far more than Verhoeven's Total Recall; it just would have been more science fictiony.

What interests me is that Cronenberg's initial vision was going further in the direction of "the ordinary man" than either Total Recall or A History of Violence did, as he was in talks with Richard Dreyfuss for the role of Quaid. For that reason alone, I'd still love to live in the alternate universe where that one got made.

The great thing about Videodrome isn't how complex it is, but how simple it is.

When Cronenberg came to his people with CRASH, they suggested he direct that Demi Moore-Alec Baldwin non-event THE JUROR instead. I dunno if he's with that agent any more.

He was also slated to direct the BASIC INSTINCT sequel for a while. I would have watched the shit out of that.

Re. the Criterion DVD of VIDEODROME: also check out the James Woods-Debbie Harry commentary. A few interesting points are discussed.

I had to sell it during the strike.

Dear WGA,

Go fuck a kite.

One of my favorite parts is towards the end with that dance scene at the eyeglasses convention. Its mostly an all-female dance team except this one super skinny guy who looks like Fisher Stevens.

Cronenberg directing Basic Instinct 2 wouldn't make it more interesting; it would have made Cronenberg less interesting. I'm sure he would have done it just to get some light on the projects that he wanted to make, but I admire that he went ahead and declined it.

Cronenberg directing Alien: Resurrection is another story entirely.

I finally got to see this on, of all places, television last night. It was a hell of a film, the shifting attitudes towards sex and violence, the methods of transmission for television, the blurring of reality, it all melds together like a hallucinogenic nightmare.

Max and Nikki are pretty much sadists, although I think Nikki is probably more disturbed than Max. Max's hallucinations eeem to get more and more violent, almost like an expression of his inner sadist. By the end, Max is pretty much turned in a political assassin.

One of the most interesting scenes in the film is where Max violently slaps his assistant before realizing it was just a hallucination, it's interesting because of the violence Max is capable of and the beginning of his descent.

Question : is this coming out on Blu-ray soon ? I saw a pre-order on Amazon (for a Criterion Blu-ray) with no issue date. I am tempted to pick up the Criterion DVD, but would rather have it on Blu-ray. It is not listed on their coming soon so I am wondering if Amazon is not basically pulling that out of their asses. So if anyone knows I would appreciate the help !