Stereo (1969)

Sometime in the future, the Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is investigating the theories of parapsychologist Luther Stringfellow. Seven young adults volunteer to submit to a form of ... See full summary »

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

Ronald Mlodzik, Jack Messinger, Iain Ewing

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ronald Mlodzik
Jack Messinger
Iain Ewing
Clara Mayer
Paul Mulholland
Arlene Mlodzik
Glenn McCauley

Storyline

Sometime in the future, the Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is investigating the theories of parapsychologist Luther Stringfellow. Seven young adults volunteer to submit to a form of brain surgery that removes their power of speech but increases their power for telepathic communication. An unseen group of students observes the results. As the experiment progresses, Stringfellow's theories come to fruition. Later, aphrodisiacs and various other drugs are introduced to the subjects to expose an inherent polymorphous perversity. In the end, they are isolated from each other, provoking antagonism and violence between them, which results in two suicides.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | aphrodisiac | suicide | perversion | bisexuality | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emergent Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Cronenberg (26 at the time) secured funding for the film from the Canadian government by pretending he was writing a novel.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (1999)

User Reviews

Underrated

"Stereo" is an underrated early Cronenberg movie. People tend to find it inaccessible on the grounds that it is 'boring', or due to its quasi-intellectual voice-over soundtrack (which was applied since Cronenberg did not have enough money to spend on soundtrack film) or 'incomprehensible' plot. The voice-over naturally enhances the feeling of "verfremdung", which can be argued as being for the good of the final result.

The topic of a Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is an extremely difficult one to pull off. The way it's made, however, with its austere milieu, its quasi-academic speaker voice and the contrasts between the harsh milieu and the characters' pursuit of the topic of the 'plot' makes it a rather good film its sparse conditions for creation considered, all the more if one is into austere films rather than bombastic ones. Hopefully some 'madwoman' or 'madman' will release a few copies of this movie on dvd, someday.