Videodrome
by David Cronenberg
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Deborah Harry, James Woods, Leslie Carlson, Peter Dvorsky, Sonja SmitsDirector: David Cronenberg
Brand: Universal Studios
Cinematographer: Mark Irwin
Writer: David Cronenberg
Editor: Ronald Sanders
Producer: Claude Héroux
Producer: Lawrence Nesis
Producer: Pierre David
Producer: Victor Solnicki
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-09-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Videodrome
Movie Review: They use her image to seduce us...
Summary: 5 Stars
A cult favorite since its release in '83, VIDEODROME is in some ways a "great flawed film." The characters are far from sympathetic, the plot is often confusing and contradictory, and some of the dialogue is unintentionally hilarious. Yet on the level of images and ideas, VIDEODROME is a rich, compelling experience which will take root in your brain long after the film is over. James Woods turns in a terrific performance as Max Renn, sleazoid co-owner of a quickie TV station. For reasons which never become clear, Renn is chosen as the gateway for public transmission of the "Videodrome" TV signal, which hypnotizes its viewers and causes mind-altering hallucinations. Renn, always on the lookout for the ultimate trash with which to hook his slavish, sensation-seeking audience, is introduced to "Videodrome," a charming bit of snuff TV where men in masks torture women and a black man for no real reason at all, except for cheap thrills. Renn, correctly assuming that sex and violence sell to the masses, tries to discover the human face behind Videodrome. Along the way, he stumbles onto what seems to be a conspiracy to control the mind of the North American audience through TV (hmmm...hasn't this happened by now?), seemingly to create an audience of docile, consumeristic sheep. After a rather shocking sequence of events, Renn becomes one of the "New Flesh," apparently a race of humans who have evolved away from the body to exist entirely in the electronic realm (hmmm...isn't this happening right now?) and are trying to destroy Videodrome. His companion in this journey is masochistic Nicki Brand, played by Deborah Harry at her most glamorous. Nicki, turned onto Videodrome by Max, abandons her life as a "radio personality" and seems to become an entirely image-based being, first used by Videodrome to seduce Max, then somehow escaping and joining the "New Flesh." I know none of this makes much sense, but VIDEODROME has to be seen to be believed. Cronenberg's imagery, realized by FX genius Rick Baker, is incredibly sensual and powerful, using all the resources of the cinema to suggest multiple levels of reality and hallucination. I won't spoil the surprises for you by describing the effects here; let's just say that Cronenberg combines sex, violence, electronics and body/machine anxieties in a new and compelling way. Harry's incredible charisma and style lend the role of Nicki just the right touch of simultaneous allure and wierdness (she is first introduced as an image on a TV screen, and actually spends most of her time in the film in scenes where she is clearly a hyperreal hallucination instead of a person. She and Woods have a very believable chemistry and should have had more scenes together - the script for this film needed a few more drafts. I first saw this movie as a teen-ager, back before the Internet, virtual reality or cybersex existed, and developments in audio-visual technologies since then have only underscored the seriousness and ambition of Cronenberg's vision. Where do we end and our electronic prostheses begin? Is electronic experience more real than real? Is the television screen now truly "the retina of the mind's eye?" I think so. VIDEODROME will make you think of your own environment in a new way. Great late-night viewing!
Summary of Videodrome
VIDEODROME - DVD MovieLove it or loathe it, David Cronenberg's 1983 horror film Videodrome is a movie to be reckoned with. Inviting extremes of response from disdain (critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the least entertaining films ever made") to academic euphoria, it's the kind of film that is simultaneously sickening and seemingly devoid of humanity, but also blessed with provocative ideas and a compelling subtext of social commentary. Giving yet another powerful and disturbing performance, James Woods stars as the operator of a low-budget cable-TV station who accidentally intercepts a mysterious cable transmission that features the apparent torture and death of women in its programming. He traces the show to its source and discovers a mysterious plot to broadcast a subliminally influential signal into the homes of millions, masterminded by a quasi-religious character named Brian O'Blivion and his overly reverent daughter. Meanwhile Woods is falling under the spell, becoming a victim of video, and losing his grip--both physically and psychologically--on the distinction between reality and television. A potent treatise on the effects of total immersion into our mass-media culture, Videodrome is also (to the delight of Cronenberg's loyal fans) a showcase for obsessions manifested in the tangible world of the flesh. It's a hallucinogenic world in which a television set seems to breathe with a life of its own, and where the body itself can become a VCR repository for disturbing imagery. Featuring bizarre makeup effects by Rick Baker and a daring performance by Deborah Harry (of Blondie fame) as Wood's sadomasochistic girlfriend, Videodrome is pure Cronenberg--unsettling, intelligent, and decidedly not for every taste. --Jeff Shannon
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