A Cronenberg classic. A must have for cult movie lovers.
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Love the film. Packaged very well
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Great film!
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Surreal and imaginative
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..... An interesting film, but the DVD copy which I received had been censored. I bought the video after watching part of the film on television. Parts of the T.V. film have been omitted from the DVD film.
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Definitely deserves its status as a cult classic, a brilliant film which will leave you in shock at its ending
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Cronenberg has achieved a huge cult following with his take on horror and science fiction. It's sophisticated, often controversial, and always incisive. He dissects contemporary society by looking into the day after tomorrow and giving a caustic spin to the commonplace - the motor car, the condominium, the television. In 'Videodrome', James Woods plays a Canadian television entrepreneur, a man who provides material - usually suspect, often porn - for cable TV. In the course of his seedy research he finds a pirate broadcast of a strange, compelling programme. The torture and masochism he glimpses as the programme hisses and breaks up is ... well, it looks real. Or is it just incredibly well made, with the interference and fluctuating picture quality just an example of good engineering and clever directing, simulating clandestine status to give the show a bit of edge? Woods teams up with a radio broadcaster (Debbie Harry) to investigate. They tune in, turn on, and drop into an underworld of research and exploration which exposes human vulnerability to the influence of television. Maybe it doesn't just have a numbing effect on the brain ... maybe it can take over your body ... maybe the broadcast can become flesh as TV and reality merge? This is television as an acid trip. An engrossing movie, playing off its own ironic take on the ability of film and television to confuse, mislead, misinform, or corrupt. Cronenberg speculates on the impact of television by taking you into the surreal, asking you to suspend your disbelief ... then question your belief. Woods' character is sated by all the garbage he's seen. Nothing surprises him any more. He needs something weird, something even more shocking than porn. Do people really need to be shocked? Given the mind-numbing diet of reality TV to which we've been subjected in recent years, maybe Cronenberg is wrong. Television doesn't have to push us to the extreme ... it can destroy our minds with monotony instead. But 'Videodrome' takes us beyond the unreal. Consider how much of your understanding and experience of the world is based on television news. The truth, and its corruption, is out there, and can come at you through your television screen. The moment we accept reality as what the television portrays, that's the moment it takes over our bodies as well as our minds. A disturbing, thought-provoking, hugely entertaining film. Like many of Cronenberg's movies, though, you'll either love it or hate it. He's a man who doesn't seem to allow much room for a middle way. If you enjoy the unusual, if you appreciate the surreal, if you like to be challenged and explore irony, this may be a movie you'll love.Read full review
Sci-fi horror filmmaker David Cronenberg's (Scanners, The Fly, Dead Ringers) diabolical invader is a television show that seduces and controls its viewers. Featuring rock star Deborah Harry (in her first major film) as a kinky hostess, James Woods as a cable programmer looking for the ultimate in viewing thrills, and special make-up effects by Oscar winner Rick Baker (AN American Werewolf In London, Star Wars). Videodrome is a pulsating science fiction nightmare about a world where video can control and alter human life. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Began shooting October 27, 1981; completed shooting December 23, 1981. Released in North America February 4, 1983.
For me a true flight of dark fantasy and possibility from David Cronenberg. James Woods is masterfully casted and gives the film a excellent balance against some of the more non conventional characters which Cronenberg can only invent. Debbie Harry Also gives a dark and sultry perfomance in this surreal trip into the world of S&M in the murky world of tv and video extremism in the late 20th century. A low budget cult film treat!
I loved it - if U, like me, r into modernisme & industrialisme ur in heaven watching this movie :-) I´m positive that the guys from Fear Factory have watched this more than once! It portrays the desensitized modern man perfectly and Woods actually gives a good performance :-) That said - the movie will not appeal to all but I´d recommend it to everyone looking for something out of the ordinary.
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