Crimes of the Future (1970)

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad ... See full summary »

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Mlodzik	...	Adrian Tripod
Jon Lidolt
Tania Zolty
Jack Messinger
Paul Mulholland
William Haslam
Willem Poolman	...	(as William Poolman)
Stefan Czernecki
Raymond Woodley	...	(as Ray Woodley)
Kaspars Dzeguze
Iain Ewing
Brian Linehan
Leland Richard
Norman Snider
Stephen Zeifman

Storyline

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad dermatologist Antoine Rouge. Rouge has disappeared following a catastrophic plague resulting from cosmetic products, which has killed the entire population of sexually mature women. Tripod joins a succession of organisations including Metaphysical Import-Export and the Oceanic Podiatry Group, and meets various individuals and groups of men who are trying to adjust themselves to a defeminized world. One man parodies childbirth by continually growing new organs which are removed from his body. Eventually Tripod comes upon a group of paedophiles which is holding a 5 year-old girl, and they urge him to mate with her. He senses the presence of Antoine Rouge.

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Plot Keywords:

satire | independent film

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zbrodnie przyszlosci

Filming Locations:

Massey College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emergent Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

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

User Reviews

original work of art

"Crimes of the Future" is nothing less than Cronenberg's "Eraserhead". Its flawless aesthetic approach is so superiorly arty and relevant that all of Cronenberg's following work appears bland by comparison --a bit like what happened with David Lynch after he created "Eraserhead". The great originality of CRIMES as a work of contemporary film art resides in its twin-leveled disruptiveness --both the storyline and the aesthetic choices that trigger it appear weakly structured. As a result, the film wanders, just like the poetic mind in action. We are in poetry territory here, not in the realm of manipulative ideological discourse like what happens in "Dead Ringers", for example. "Crimes of the Future" will stand as one of the first true works of Canadian Film Art.