Director – David Cronenberg – 1983 – Canada – Cert. 18 – 85m
*****
UK PAL laserdisc review.
Originally appeared in London Calling Internet. See also my review for What’s On In London during the film’s revival at the ICA.
Distributor Pioneer LDCE
Cat No: PFLEB 36041
£19.99
BBFC Certificate 18
Director David Cronenberg (1982)
Starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, Debbie Harry
Running Time 85 min
Mono
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Chaptered? Yes
CLV (Side 1)/CAV (Side 2)
2 Sides
A decade and a half on and still retaining its incredible power to shock, this is the film in which David Cronenberg first coined his battle cry, “Long Live the New Flesh.” If a clear lineage can be traced in his films from Shivers’ aphrodisiac turds through to Crash‘s orgasmic collision of swingers and twisted metal, Videodrome remains unique in Cronenberg’s oeuvre – a black joke, a come on to the censor.
Just suppose, runs the pitch, violent porno (television signals) directly affected people causing them to hallucinate. This is the fate which befalls sleazoid Channel 83 cable television executive Max Renn (a young Woods in his best – and edgiest – role to date) who tells porno programme sales agents their merchandise is “too SOFT…I’m looking for something TOUGH.”… Read the rest