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Videodrome vs. eXistenZ

post #1 of 14
9/19/04 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
I'm sure this is an old argument, but I just saw videodrome for the first time and noticed there were quite a few similarities between it and eXistenZ. Which is the superior film in your opinion? What's the deal with the obvious similarities between the two? I love both films, but I can't help but feel eXistenZ is a much more focused effort.

oh and... out of the Brood, Dead Zone and Naked Lunch... which should I see last?
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post #2 of 14
9/19/04 at 9:09pm
Sounds like an interesting topic but I can't help because I haven't seen Existenz yet or The Brood for that matter though I own the latter. I had ordered it from Amazon Canada but they screwed up and dropped it from my order. I need to reorder it thanks for the reminder.

As far as what to see last watch Naked Lunch last cause it's bound to throw you for a loop. Great movie as is Videodrome. Did you get the Criterion Collection version?
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post #3 of 14
9/19/04 at 10:26pm
Videodrome is better, eXistenZ is good, but it's Cronenberg treading on old territory and not doing it as effectively.

Some feel that Videodrome's lack of focus is a hindrance, but I'm of the opinion that it adds to the delirium of the piece, and the disjointed nature of it's characters.
I don't judge Cronenberg's films subjectively, and then judge the man objectively; I look at both the man and his art as inseparable, as he does put so much of himself in his work.

Videodrome was a new thing, eXistenZ is an attempt re-explore similar themes but from a learned and matured perspective. Sometimes that's great, but in this case, it comes off as a less honest effort, Cronenberg playing Cronenberg.

Again, I love them both, but Videodrome is the purest effort.
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post #4 of 14
9/19/04 at 10:45pm
Videodrome, to me, is art. Existenz is a great director making a fun little movie. Existenz is more of the popcorn movie Cronenberg. It's still deep and, in more words or less, things still mean stuff, but it seems to be much more of an entertainment film than Videodrome. Videodrome and Naked Lunch are movies you have to think about a lot more while watching.
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post #5 of 14
9/20/04 at 12:02am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I did see the Criterion collection. I own the old one though (bootleg... I know, I know). I haven't seen the old one, but heard it's different from the unrated Criterion disc. Anyone know what the difference is?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RegVelJohnson
Videodrome, to me, is art. Existenz is a great director making a fun little movie. Existenz is more of the popcorn movie Cronenberg. It's still deep and, in more words or less, things still mean stuff, but it seems to be much more of an entertainment film than Videodrome. Videodrome and Naked Lunch are movies you have to think about a lot more while watching.
hmm. I never thought of existenz as a "fun little movie"... I thought the Fly was alot more "mainstream" than existenz, as it was alot more accessible and entertaining. Your comment that Videodrome and Naked Lunch are movies you have to think about a lot more as opposed to eXistenZ while watching bothers me. Care to explain why you feel this way? Not for Naked Lunch if you have to go over spoiler territory though.
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post #6 of 14
9/20/04 at 12:04am
You can't watch Videodrome without trying to figure out what it all means, because it doesn't lay it all out for you. Existenz is more purposefully coherent and easier to understand. You know what's what by the end, save for the one last question.
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post #7 of 14
9/20/04 at 5:10am
I saw ExistenZ first, and I still prefer it. It's not as ambiguous as Videodrome, but it's the best (the only?) film that's really about video games, that adopts their structure and really poses questions about what is already overtaking cinema as the most popular entertainment form in the world, and is only going to get bigger. I think ExistenZ will prove to be quite a prophetic film, just like Videodrome has proved to be.
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post #8 of 14
9/20/04 at 6:09pm
ExIsTenZ had a gun made out of chicken, therefore it wins by default.
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post #9 of 14
9/20/04 at 6:35pm
Videodrome, without a doubt. Existenz was good, but the script was a bit lame in some parts. It retreads Videodrome to such a degree it could be called a sequel.

I'll always love the chinese restaurant scene, though. Good times.
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post #10 of 14
9/20/04 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
long live the new flesh...

i need to see em both all over again.
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post #11 of 14
9/20/04 at 10:04pm
God, Cronenberg films... they're all gems.

I would reccommend VIDEODROME over eXistenZ for all the reasons stated above... it is a far more disturbing, downbeat film than his later efforts, really worth examining over and over again, whereas eXistenZ doesn't necessarily have as many ideas floating around in it's head. Plus, eXistenZ doesn't have Debbie Harry.

As for the trio you mentioned, I would watch THE BROOD first (scary as all get out, terrifies me every time), then NAKED LUNCH (extremely, extremely hard sit, difficult watch, but unforgettable) and then THE DEAD ZONE (perhaps his best accessible film).

So, what is Cronenberg's best? I say he outdid himself with SPIDER.
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post #12 of 14
9/20/04 at 10:36pm
I need to get Spider off the shelf as well. Looks like The Brood and Spider this weekend.
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post #13 of 14
9/21/04 at 1:11am

eXistenz?????

I'm surprised by the level of support for eXistenz - I think it's one of Cronenberg's poorer efforts, together with M.Butterfly. It's a rather clumsy take on a media format that he clearly doesn't know too much about. I can understand Cronenberg's fascination with the area, but his Giger-like vision of cybernetics, with flesh and technology morphing, just looks and feels widely off course to me. The future of gaming is far better realised in the work of people like William Gibson, than here.

Like some have mentioned above, thematically eXistenz shares a lot of common ground with Videodrome, but Videodrome is a far more assured piece of film making. It is archetypal Cronenberg - a delirious mix of extreme psycho-sexual fantasy and reality. It's one of the most definitive works of the 80's; a damning indictment of the decades' obsession of - through the medium of televison - satisyfying hedonistic appetites. All set against an increasingly decaying moral landscape. It also has Wood's best performance after Salvador.
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post #14 of 14
9/23/04 at 11:29am
I'd make my friends watch Videodrome when it hit VHS...they couldn't take it


But, I find Videodrome to be a bit TOO political. I HATE political movies


but I cannot hate anything by the Cro



I even liked M. Butterfly
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