VIDEODROME (1983)
Set in Toronto during the early 80s, it follows the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal featuring extreme violence and torture. The signal causes brain tumors in viewers, and is revealed to have been developed by the government as part of a conspiracy...
The film has been described as a "disturbing techno-surrealist film". Andy Warhol called the movie the "A Clockwork Orange of the 1980s". David Cronenberg recalled how, when he was a child, he used to pick up pirate television signals from Buffalo, New York, late at night after Canadian stations had gone off the air, and how he used to worry he might see something disturbing not meant for public consumption. This formed the basis for the plot of Videodrome. Videodrome pioneered the flicker-eliminating technology used to film a television screen's images; before, film images were superimposed onto blank television screens. Videodrome's cult film status has made it a popular source for sampling and homage in Electro-industrial, EBM, and heavy metal music.
In 2009, Universal Studios announced that it had obtained the rights to produce a remake, with a possible 2011 release.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson
Running Time: 89min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPGszmU1egQ&feature=related
Rating: 9,5/10
The film has been described as a "disturbing techno-surrealist film". Andy Warhol called the movie the "A Clockwork Orange of the 1980s". David Cronenberg recalled how, when he was a child, he used to pick up pirate television signals from Buffalo, New York, late at night after Canadian stations had gone off the air, and how he used to worry he might see something disturbing not meant for public consumption. This formed the basis for the plot of Videodrome. Videodrome pioneered the flicker-eliminating technology used to film a television screen's images; before, film images were superimposed onto blank television screens. Videodrome's cult film status has made it a popular source for sampling and homage in Electro-industrial, EBM, and heavy metal music.
In 2009, Universal Studios announced that it had obtained the rights to produce a remake, with a possible 2011 release.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson
Running Time: 89min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPGszmU1egQ&feature=related
Rating: 9,5/10
THE FLY (1986)
Seth Brundle, a brilliant but eccentric scientist attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man...
The film is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, but retains only the basic premise of a scientist accidentally merging with a housefly during a teleportation experiment. Despite being a gory remake of a classic made by a controversial, non-mainstream director, the film was a huge commercial success, the biggest of Cronenberg's career, and was the top-grossing film in the United States for two weeks. Make-up effects were created by Chris Walas, who won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The inspiration for the design of the telepods came from the shape of the cylinder in director David Cronenberg's vintage Ducati motorcycle. Some critics saw the film as a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic.
A sequel followed in 1989 entitled The Fly II.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writters: Charles Edward Pogue, David Cronenberg, Story: George Langelaan
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Running Time: 95min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BTPOlbW-Cc
Rating: 9,5/10
Seth Brundle, a brilliant but eccentric scientist attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man...
The film is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, but retains only the basic premise of a scientist accidentally merging with a housefly during a teleportation experiment. Despite being a gory remake of a classic made by a controversial, non-mainstream director, the film was a huge commercial success, the biggest of Cronenberg's career, and was the top-grossing film in the United States for two weeks. Make-up effects were created by Chris Walas, who won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The inspiration for the design of the telepods came from the shape of the cylinder in director David Cronenberg's vintage Ducati motorcycle. Some critics saw the film as a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic.
A sequel followed in 1989 entitled The Fly II.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writters: Charles Edward Pogue, David Cronenberg, Story: George Langelaan
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Running Time: 95min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BTPOlbW-Cc
Rating: 9,5/10
SCANNERS (1981)
Darryl Revok is the most powerful of all the scanners, and is the head of the underground scanner movement for world domination. Scanners have great psychic power, strong enough to control minds; they can inflict enormous pain/damage on their victims. Doctor Paul Ruth finds a scanner that Revok hasn't, and converts him to their cause - to destroy the underground movement...
The story is structured as a futuristic thriller, involving industrial espionage and intrigue, car chases, conspiracies, and shoot-outs. It was the nearest thing to a conventional sci-fi thriller Cronenberg had made up to that point, lacking the sexual content of Shivers, Rabid, or The Brood; it was also his most profitable film until The Fly six years later. Master make-up artist Dick Smith (The Exorcist) provided the prosthetic make-up effects for the often-cited exploding head and the climactic scanner duel. The effect was made by filling a prosthetic head with dog food and rabbit livers, and shooting it from behind with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Scanners spawned sequels [Scanners II: The New Order (1991), Scanners III: The Takeover (1992)] and a series of spin-offs; [Scanner Cop (1994), Scanners: The Showdown (a.k.a. Scanner Cop II) (1995)]; a remake was announced in 2007, but as of 2010 has not been put into production. None of these projects have involved Cronenberg as director.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, Patrick McGoohan
Running Time: 103min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GNs6MthtU&feature=related
Rating: 9/10
Darryl Revok is the most powerful of all the scanners, and is the head of the underground scanner movement for world domination. Scanners have great psychic power, strong enough to control minds; they can inflict enormous pain/damage on their victims. Doctor Paul Ruth finds a scanner that Revok hasn't, and converts him to their cause - to destroy the underground movement...
The story is structured as a futuristic thriller, involving industrial espionage and intrigue, car chases, conspiracies, and shoot-outs. It was the nearest thing to a conventional sci-fi thriller Cronenberg had made up to that point, lacking the sexual content of Shivers, Rabid, or The Brood; it was also his most profitable film until The Fly six years later. Master make-up artist Dick Smith (The Exorcist) provided the prosthetic make-up effects for the often-cited exploding head and the climactic scanner duel. The effect was made by filling a prosthetic head with dog food and rabbit livers, and shooting it from behind with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Scanners spawned sequels [Scanners II: The New Order (1991), Scanners III: The Takeover (1992)] and a series of spin-offs; [Scanner Cop (1994), Scanners: The Showdown (a.k.a. Scanner Cop II) (1995)]; a remake was announced in 2007, but as of 2010 has not been put into production. None of these projects have involved Cronenberg as director.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, Patrick McGoohan
Running Time: 103min
Country: Canada
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GNs6MthtU&feature=related
Rating: 9/10
