Videodrome (1983)

A sleazy cable-TV programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Woods	...	Max Renn
Sonja Smits	...	Bianca O'Blivion
Deborah Harry	...	Nicki Brand
Peter Dvorsky	...	Harlan
Leslie Carlson	...	Barry Convex (as Les Carlson)
Jack Creley	...	Brian O'Blivion
Lynne Gorman	...	Masha
Julie Khaner	...	Bridey
Reiner Schwartz	...	Moses
David Bolt	...	Raphael
Lally Cadeau	...	Rena King
Henry Gomez	...	Brolley
Harvey Chao	...	Japanese Salesman
David Tsubouchi	...	Japanese Salesman
Kay Hawtrey	...	Matron

Storyline

Max Renn runs a TV channel, and when looking for new material to show--he discovers "Videodrome." His girlfriend, Nicki Brand, goes to audition for the show, and Max gets drawn into the underlying plot that uses the show as its front for a global conspiracy.

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Plot Keywords:

video | torture | murder | hallucination | tumor | 

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Taglines:

First it controls your mind...then it destroys your body

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cuerpos invadidos

Filming Locations:

728 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,952,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), Famous Players, Filmplan International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 89 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of five Sci-Fi/Horror movies that were heavily promoted by Universal Pictures prior to their impending releases in 1982 and given prospective release dates. The others were: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Thing (both set release dates for that summer), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (October), The Dark Crystal and Videodrome (December). This ultimately changed when Universal pushed back the film from its original slated release date to February 1983.

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Goofs

Barry Convex proclaims Lorenzo de Medici as the author of the two famous ocular quotes. The first, "love comes in at the eye", is from a William Butler Yeats poem called "A Drinking Song". The second, "the eye is the window of the soul", is not definitively attributable to any one source. Seemingly similar variations exist in Cicero, European proverbs and the Gospel of Matthew.

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Quotes

Brian O'Blivion: After all, there is nothing real outside our perception of reality, is there?

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Crazy Credits

The VIDEODROME title experiences a TV white noise distortion.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

User Reviews

"Long live the new flesh!"

Videodrome is truly a surreal experience. I do not want to include too much information as that would spoil the film for "virgin" viewers. If you are familiar with Cronenberg's work, you may have an inkling of what you're in for. Videodrome can drive one to the brink of madness, and then tell you you've been there for an hour and a half. From scene to scene you can't tell what's real and what is in James Wood's imagination. It's utter insanity, but it's great at the same time. This film is a good companion piece with Cronenberg's Existenze. When you can wrap the audience up in your movie, you have accomplished something few have. And David Cronenberg seems to do that time and again. Cronenberg is not for the faint of heart, definitely.