The Cronenberg Thread

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― slightly more subdued (kenan), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

scanners
dead ringers
videodrome
dead zone
crash

the only other director who can finesse some of the same essence out of a scenario the way that he can is nicolas roeg. they're working in two different arenas, in general, but both are adept at channeling the anxiety of being an awkward fleshy thing with a brittle skeleton beneath, and i very much like the endings in their films. and the beginnings middles and rests too.

ok, strike the only out of that sentence. i hate that kinda talk.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i already have the previous criterion edition of dead ringers, is this the same thing just reissued or a whole new DVD with new features?

― latebloomer: B Minus Time Traveler (latebloomer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:52 (twenty-one years ago)

anyway firstworlddude otm

― latebloomer: B Minus Time Traveler (latebloomer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

DVD Features:

* Commentary by Jeremy Irons
* Behind-the-scenes featurette
* Cast/filmmaker interviews and filmographies
* Dead Ringers Psychological Profiler (menu-based quiz)
* Theatrical trailer

ok, i see. still im not gonna need to buy this. the criterion edition from a few years back has much better features.

― latebloomer: B Minus Time Traveler (latebloomer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Dead Ringers
eXistenZ
Videodrome
Crash
Scanners

I'm going to shock everyone by saying that Existenz is probably the one I enjoy the most.

I adore eXistenZ, it's incredibly funny! Poor Jude Law's excessive uptightness really makes it.

I like just about everything Cronenberg's ever done, including Crash. When I lived in Paris the Cahiers du Cinema people did a big retrospective, they screened all his films and brought Cronenberg there to give a few talks & such. He is super nice and seemed rather surprised by all the attention from that realm, i.e. the film scholar/auteur worshipping contingent instead of, you know, Fangoria. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

As part of the retrospective they had an exhibition of various props and plans and things from his films.. This turned out to be extremely hilarious, because on the ground floor of the same building there happened to be an exhibition of a century's worth of advertising art for Lu, the dessert company. So you'd walk in and it was all bright sunlight and cheery vintage Art Nouveau posters and candy and cookies, and then you got to go downstairs to this gloomy, dark basement (really!) and look at tools for operating on mutant women. I wonder if Cronenberg ever made it over there to see what they'd done, I think he would have been amused.

xpost
Holy shit, "psychological profiler"? That's messed up. Awesome.

― daria g (daria g), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

'Shivers' is great. Remove the parasites and you have almost an adaptation of Ballard's 'High Rise.'

― robertw, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 18:52 (twenty-one years ago)

There might not be a contemporary director whose fans vary so widely on what his best and worst work is. I even know some people who would call Dead Ringers his great sellout.

Personally, I think I like Crash and The Dead Zone the best.

― L'Histoire d'Eric H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not so hot on The Dead Zone as a movie, but there are some scenes (THE OFFICER IN THE BATHROOM WITH THE SCISSORS) that are beyond amazing (in the worst possible way).

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Guillermo del Toro (on a Bravo special about the 100 scariest movies of all time - co-produced by some Fangoria people, I think) called DC a "poet of disgust" (or something equally pithy), and said, w/ respect and awe, in regards to that scene from The Dead Zone I mention (and I paraphrase) - "well, yeah, of course CRONENBERG'S gonna do that; who else would?"

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

What is in the Dead Ringers psychological profiler? This is going to be some kind of idée fixe until I find out, dammit.

― daria g (daria g), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

ANSWER: YOU ARE A PERVERT

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Hah! All paths lead to U R FUCKED UP OK THX

― daria g (daria g), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:35 (twenty-one years ago)

What do people think of M. Butterfly? I thought it was a terrible film, really disappointing. but I haven't seen it since it came out.

Dead Ringers, the Dead Zone, Scanners, videodrome: all great. I LOVE his Naked Lunch adaptation; again, adapting this was a thankless job and he got a lot of flak for not doing the book (like he could really film the book) and instead focusing on Burroughs biography, but I think he made a real masterpiece here, his best and most emotional film.

I liked the fish gun in Existenz and that was all.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:39 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, I this Crash is pretty good. I'm sure it's better than the movie Crash that just came out that everyone hates.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought M Butterfly was interesting and I didn't dislike it at the time, but I saw it about seven years ago. It wasn't supposed to be about what the play was about, but everyone expected that it would be, and that was a problem. I don't think Cronenberg and David Hwang saw eye to eye at all.

― daria g (daria g), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

is it not about what the play is about? I never read or saw the play.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

My understanding was that the play was highly interested in, hmm.. Orientalism, to use the theory term, and Cronenberg didn't care about that angle. I am certain I read an interview where Cronenberg says he'd talked to Hwang about how he thought certain stuff in the play was weak and such.. this might be in that Cahiers de Cinema book on Cronenberg, I'll see if I can find it.

― daria g (daria g), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 00:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Cronenberg On Cronenberg is a pretty fun read. It's part of a interview book series and probably my favorite that I've seen of them.

― miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 01:32 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

so cronenberg's crash was on uk tv last night. anyone watch it? i just did. rather a lot of fucking. and music that sounds suspiciously like the work of thurston moore. not sure i really liked it much, although some of the ideas are...interesting.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:10 (twenty years ago)

fuck channel 4 they cut out the best scene

― Ste (Fuzzy), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:26 (twenty years ago)

i missed it, no tv guide. i like it, anyway. what scene did they cut?

― N_RQ, Friday, 23 September 2005 08:33 (twenty years ago)

where they have a threesome on the backseat, they cut to ads strangely just as it started but wierdly the channel 4 logo came up with some other logo as if the film had ended (no stella artois link).

i think anyway, i switched over in protest at this botch up.

― Ste (Fuzzy), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:38 (twenty years ago)

the stella artois bit: so apt for 'crash'.

― N_RQ, Friday, 23 September 2005 08:39 (twenty years ago)

1664 bad year for directing

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:52 (twenty years ago)

why would stella promote cronenberg etc.

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:52 (twenty years ago)

"and music that sounds suspiciously like the work of thurston moore"

what made you say that? it was howard shore, btw.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 23 September 2005 08:55 (twenty years ago)

vintage stuff ken!

― N_RQ, Friday, 23 September 2005 08:59 (twenty years ago)

JG Ballard on Cronenberg in today's Guardian

― chris j (chris j), Friday, 23 September 2005 09:25 (twenty years ago)

A History of Violence is out today in the US.. HOORAY
I think I'm off to see it this afternoon..

― dar1a g (daria g), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

Kenneth Turan creamed himself over History of Violence on NPR this morning. In fact, West Coasters can hear it coming up right about now.

The Crash score is by Howard Shore and it's really, really great.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Friday, 23 September 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

"and music that sounds suspiciously like the work of thurston moore"
what made you say that? it was howard shore, btw.

yeah i know it was howard shore, but i was surprised by the running guitar motifs - i thought he was famous for/usually employed to provide orchestral scores?

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

Oh that was the movie he was creaming himself over? I missed the title but could hear the orgasm building in his voice.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

History of Violence premiered 2 weeks ago at the American Museum of the Moving Image w/ a talk by Cronenberg but by the time I called it was sold out. I WIll see it asap, as I keep missing his films in theaters. Never saw Spider and only recently saw Crash. Otherwise, am a huge fan, own a few of his movies, have seen almost all of them, "taught" a class on him at Oberlin, which really just meant watched some movies and me and my friends got credit for it. I like him for many reasons, including the fact that even when his movies aren't that good, and they're not all that great, but I think even the worst ones are interesting. As an "auteur" type its fun to see how he deals with the same themes in different contexts. Also, as a fan of horror movies, it was interesting to see how he came out of that scene and still toys with it, and it's been fun watching him gain more mainstream critical acceptance while making movies that while they may seem more mainstream then say, Shivers or Rabid, are really even more fucked up.

Also, he's fun as an actor, like in Last Night and Nightbreed.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 23 September 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

my favorite director. greatly anticipating "A History of Violence".

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

i can't wait for history of v!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

it opens today but no way i can see it for at least a week :(

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

Limited release today — what other cities besides NY and LA would have it?

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

It's opened here in Chicago.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

also I LOVED existenz, and while I realize it's a re-write of the themes of videodrome, it features a sense of humor that videodrome lacked.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

No more love for The Brood? That's a classic. I would like to watch that movie back to back with de Palma's Sisters.

― The Milkmaid (of Human Kindness) (The Milkmaid), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

yes. The Brood is actually my favorite Cronenberg movie. Especially the guy, I can't remember his name, the one with the cancer of the lymphatic system who has to keep moving? He's in a bunch of other Cronenberg films, a small but important role in Existenz as well. His scenes in the Brood are amazing.

And I discovered the Brood around the same time I first saw Oliver Reed in Ken Russell's The Devils.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 23 September 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

i'm in montreal

god i love existenz!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 23 September 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

I haven't seen a Cronenberg movie I didn't like, but I love Videodrome and Scanners.

― recovering optimist (Royal Bed Bouncer), Friday, 23 September 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

I'm going to see History of Violence in 3 hours. I have high hopes.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 23 September 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

The Brood lovers finally arrive! As I mentioned upthread, watching the Brood made my girlfriend pregnant.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

Psychoplasmics!

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

I'm going to see History of Violence in 2 hours. I have high hopes.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:17 (twenty years ago)

i taped crash last night, when it was on channel 4. i'm going to watch it tomorrow. should i have high hopes?

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

No.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

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