The enemy, as it seems it always has been, is within in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, but its violence, gore, and torrential mayhem is hard to miss. Influenced by the writings of Marshall McLuhan, this 1983 vision of the intermingling ideas and functions of technology, the mind, and “the flesh” is, like a great deal of Cronenberg’s work, endlessly fascinated with decay, bodily fluids, wounds, and growths. All of which come to bear in one form or another on Max Renn (James Woods), a forager of outré entertainments at Civic-tv, a sleazy Uhf television station in Toronto that he helped to found, and whose motto, “The One You Take to Bed with You,” is more ominous than goofy.
But where softcore pornography would effectively crawl up the ass of any major network executive and start biting as if it were its last meal, Renn is bored by shots of Asian...
But where softcore pornography would effectively crawl up the ass of any major network executive and start biting as if it were its last meal, Renn is bored by shots of Asian...
- 10/9/2023
- by Chris Cabin
- Slant Magazine
For many, Videodrome (1983) remains David Cronenberg’s signature film. It is not his most successful or necessarily even his best, but it does most thoroughly define the descriptor “Cronenbergian.” It is a distillation of many of the themes and motifs he would explore throughout his filmography. Along with The Fly (1986), it is perhaps his greatest depiction of the subgenre that he is most often associated with—body horror, but it also explores a number of philosophical ideas that thread their way through much of his body of work. Above all, Videodrome is an often uncomfortable interrogation of humanity’s relationship with violence, entertainment, and media, and forty years after its release, that interrogation has only become more disturbing and prescient.
Videodrome is an idea movie wrapped up in a mystery/conspiracy plot. That the plot makes any sense at all is rather remarkable considering, due to Canadian tax shelter policies,...
Videodrome is an idea movie wrapped up in a mystery/conspiracy plot. That the plot makes any sense at all is rather remarkable considering, due to Canadian tax shelter policies,...
- 2/9/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Lawrence Dane, a veteran Canadian actor who had roles in classic television series such as Mod Squad, Bonanza, and The F.B.I., has died. He was 84. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Dane passed away on Monday, March 21, at his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, Laurel, and other family members. Born in Masson, Quebec, on April 3, 1937, Dane began his acting career on the stage, acting as an old policeman in Lynne Gorman’s production of Our Town in 1958. His on-screen career started the following year after landing a guest role in the Canadian drama The Unforeseen. He would go on to appear in other Canadian series, such as R.C.M.P., Encounter, Festival, and First Person. In 1965, Dane headed to Los Angeles, where he found a niche playing bad guys in various U.S. series, including Bonanza, Mannix,...
- 3/23/2022
- TV Insider
Stars: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson, Jack Creley, Lynne Gorman, Julie Khaner, Reiner Schwarz, David Bolt, Lally Cadeau | Written and Directed by David Cronenberg
Out of all the David Cronenberg films I’ve seen, Videodrome always sticks with me as my favourite and some of his best work, if not The best. Having not seen it in a few years, Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray release was the perfect chance to catch up with the movie and see if my memories of it were purely nostalgia. Thankfully, they were not.
Max Renn (James Woods) is a sleazy cable-tv programmer looking for more extreme ways to entertain his viewers. When he discovers “Videodrome” it appears to be exactly what he was looking for. When he starts hallucinating though, he suddenly finds reality becoming warped to the point where he is not sure what is real, or what is Videodrome.
Out of all the David Cronenberg films I’ve seen, Videodrome always sticks with me as my favourite and some of his best work, if not The best. Having not seen it in a few years, Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray release was the perfect chance to catch up with the movie and see if my memories of it were purely nostalgia. Thankfully, they were not.
Max Renn (James Woods) is a sleazy cable-tv programmer looking for more extreme ways to entertain his viewers. When he discovers “Videodrome” it appears to be exactly what he was looking for. When he starts hallucinating though, he suddenly finds reality becoming warped to the point where he is not sure what is real, or what is Videodrome.
- 8/17/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
David Cronenberg's Videodrome isn't just a classic sci-fi horror, but also a brilliant noir thriller. Ryan explains why...
Everything in Max Renn’s life is beginning to pulsate. First the Betamax videotape sent to him by one Bianca O’Blivion, which seems to breathe in his hand as he removes it from its beige packaging. Then Max’s television, squatting in the corner of his apartment, appears take on a life of its own: veins twitching, the screen bulging to the sound of a woman’s voice: “Come to me, Max. Come to me...”
David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, released in 1982, is loaded with violent and startling imagery like this. Like Apocalypse Now, its very narrative seems to disintegrate as its morally suspect protagonist Max Renn (James Woods) embarks on a journey into his own heart of darkness: a fascination with the origins of a video signal soon leads him to a world of corruption,...
Everything in Max Renn’s life is beginning to pulsate. First the Betamax videotape sent to him by one Bianca O’Blivion, which seems to breathe in his hand as he removes it from its beige packaging. Then Max’s television, squatting in the corner of his apartment, appears take on a life of its own: veins twitching, the screen bulging to the sound of a woman’s voice: “Come to me, Max. Come to me...”
David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, released in 1982, is loaded with violent and startling imagery like this. Like Apocalypse Now, its very narrative seems to disintegrate as its morally suspect protagonist Max Renn (James Woods) embarks on a journey into his own heart of darkness: a fascination with the origins of a video signal soon leads him to a world of corruption,...
- 7/31/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
It’s not uncommon for a science fiction film to prophesy the future, in terms of technology, the social state of humanity, or even certain global scenarios. It is, however, relatively rare for a film to have as its basic premise particular subject matter that, while relevant in its year of production, grows increasingly pertinent and frighteningly accurate as years go on. This is the case with Videodrome, David Cronenberg’s extraordinary 1983 film starring James Woods as Max Renn, a sleazy television programmer who has grown sensorially flaccid by the stale material he peddles on air.
The shows that run on his Civic TV Channel 83 just aren’t cutting it. Max is not content with straight porn, not even niche markets that cater to particular fetishes. Samurai Dreams, which we see a few seconds of, is just too soft. Yes, as Max puts it, “Oriental sex is a natural,” but is it tacky enough?...
The shows that run on his Civic TV Channel 83 just aren’t cutting it. Max is not content with straight porn, not even niche markets that cater to particular fetishes. Samurai Dreams, which we see a few seconds of, is just too soft. Yes, as Max puts it, “Oriental sex is a natural,” but is it tacky enough?...
- 4/12/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
The start of year-long programming @ Toronto's Tiff Bell Lightbox, will include a live appearance from Toronto-based director David Cronenberg, Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 9:15pm and Friday, September 24, 2010 at 9:30pm, introducing a special screening of his 1983, science fiction thriller "Videodrome".
"Videodrome", written/directed by Cronenberg, was loosely-inspired by Moses Znaimer's 1970's soft-core 'Baby Blue' porno programming @ Toronto's City-tv (before Znaimer declared himself a genius, programming music videos supplied free of charge by MTV).
The Toronto-lensed "Videodrome", starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and singer Deborah Harry, followed the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal that causes brain damaging hallucinations. As 'Max' gets closer to discovering the origins of the signal, he gets sucked into a world of sadomasochistic sex, left-wing conspiracies and physical transformations.
"...'Max Renn' (Woods) is the president of Civic-tv, a sleazy Toronto Uhf television station specializing in exploitation programming. Displeased with...
"Videodrome", written/directed by Cronenberg, was loosely-inspired by Moses Znaimer's 1970's soft-core 'Baby Blue' porno programming @ Toronto's City-tv (before Znaimer declared himself a genius, programming music videos supplied free of charge by MTV).
The Toronto-lensed "Videodrome", starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and singer Deborah Harry, followed the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal that causes brain damaging hallucinations. As 'Max' gets closer to discovering the origins of the signal, he gets sucked into a world of sadomasochistic sex, left-wing conspiracies and physical transformations.
"...'Max Renn' (Woods) is the president of Civic-tv, a sleazy Toronto Uhf television station specializing in exploitation programming. Displeased with...
- 9/22/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
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