Videodrome (1983)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (written by)

Release Date:

4 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

First it controlled her mind, then it destroyed her body... Long live the new flesh!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Video | Torture | Murder | Hallucination | Tumor

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

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
Sam Malkin	...	Sidewalk Derelict
Bob Church	...	Newscaster
Jayne Eastwood	...	Woman Caller
Franciszka Hedland	...	Bellydancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Cronenberg	...	Max Renn in helmet (uncredited)

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits
David Cronenberg		(written by)

Produced by
Pierre David	....	executive producer
Claude Héroux	....	producer
Lawrence Nesis	....	associate producer
Victor Solnicki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Mark Irwin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald Sanders

Art Direction by
Carol Spier

Set Decoration by
Angelo Stea

Costume Design by
Delphine White

Makeup Department
Rick Baker	....	special makeup effects designer
Thomas Booth	....	hair stylist (as Thomas L. Booth)
Shonagh Jabour	....	makeup artist
Steve Johnson	....	special makeup effects artist
Michael Kavanagh	....	makeup effects assistant
Inge Klaudi	....	makeup assistant
Maureen Mestan	....	assistant hair stylist
Mark Molin	....	makeup effects assistant
Constant Natale	....	hair stylist
Bill Sturgeon	....	special makeup effects artist
Kevin Brennan	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Tom Hester	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Shawn McEnroe	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Mark Shostrom	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Kevin Sturgeon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Janet E. Cuddy	....	assistant production manager (as Janet Cuddy)
Gwen Iveson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Board	....	first assistant director
Libby Bowden	....	assistant director
Rocco Gismondi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jon Bankson	....	carpenter
John Bentley	....	carpenter
Enrico Campana	....	set dresser
Kirk Cheney	....	carpenter
Elaine Cohen	....	painter
Janet Cormack	....	painter
Tom Coulter	....	assistant art director
Joe Curtin	....	assistant head carpenter
Barbara Dunphy	....	assistant art director
Bill Gibson	....	painter
Ed Hanna	....	set dresser
Bill Harman	....	construction manager
Simon Harwood	....	painter
Gary Jack	....	set dresser
Nick Kosonic	....	scenic artist
Peter Lauterman	....	property master
Harry Pavelson	....	painter
Thomas Pearce	....	carpenter
Robert Pearson	....	carpenter
Greg Pelchat	....	assistant propman
Reet Puhm	....	painter
Alex Russell	....	head carpenter (as Alexander Russell)
Alan Sharpe	....	carpenter
Bob Sher	....	carpenter (as Robert Sher)
Gareth Wilson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Charles Bowers	....	dialogue editor
Peter Burgess	....	supervising sound editor
Terry Burke	....	foley artist
Elius Caruso	....	sound re-recordist
Michele Cook	....	assistant sound editor
Paul Coombe	....	sound re-recordist
Gary Daprato	....	assistant sound editor
Bryan Day	....	location sound recordist
Mike Hoogenboom	....	sound re-recordist (as Michael Hoogenboom)
Michael LaCroix	....	boom operator
Beverley Neale	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
James Stuart Allan	....	carpenter: special effects
Frank C. Carere	....	special effects (as Frank Carere)
Robert Rouveroy	....	special effects: video effects creator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Michael Lennick	....	special video effects
Robert Meckler	....	assistant video effects
Lee Wilson	....	assistant video effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Scotty Allan	....	best boy (as Douglas 'Scotty' Allan)
Jock Brandis	....	gaffer
James Crowe	....	assistant camera
Brian Danniels	....	grip
Christopher Dean	....	grip
David Hynes	....	assistant key grip
Maris H. Jansons	....	key grip (as Marris Jansons)
Robin Miller	....	assistant camera
Donna Mobbs	....	camera trainee
Gary Phipps	....	electrician
Rick Porter	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Peter Lavender	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Denise Cronenberg	....	wardrobe trainee (as Denise Woodley)
Maureen Gurney	....	wardrobe assistant
Eileen Kennedy	....	assistant costume designer
Kat Moyer	....	wardrobe assistant
Mary Partridge-Raynor	....	wardrobe assistant
Arthur Rowsell	....	wardrobe master
Kathy Vieira	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Elaine Foreman	....	assistant editor
Carol McBride	....	assistant editor
Michael Rea	....	assistant editor
Christopher Severn	....	color timer
Bill Wiggins	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Michael Jay	....	music mix engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Donato Baldassarra	....	transport coordinator
David Chudnovsky	....	driver (as David Chud)
A. Randy Jones	....	driver captain (as Randy Jones)
Allen Kosonic	....	driver
Jerome McCann	....	driver
John Vander Pas	....	driver
Jeff Steinberg	....	driver
Alan Zweig	....	driver

Other crew
Rachelle Charron	....	assistant accountant
David Coatsworth	....	location manager
Pierre David	....	presenter
Denise Di Novi	....	creative consultant
Kirsteen Etherington	....	choreographer
Maureen Fitzgerald	....	bookkeeper
Bonnie Gold	....	receptionist
Angela Gruenthal	....	production secretary
Roger Héroux	....	production coordinator
Lacia Kornylo	....	production accountant
Monique Légaré	....	secretary: Mr. Héroux
Gilles Léonard	....	assistant comptroller (as Gilles Leonard)
Serge Major	....	comptroller
Monik Nantel	....	assistant to executive producer
Gillian Richardson	....	script supervisor
Howard Rothschild	....	production assistant
Ellen Rozen	....	assistant: Mr. Solnicki
Victor Solnicki	....	presenter
Richard Spiegelman	....	production assistant
Jill Spitz	....	unit publicist
Lydia Wazana	....	craft service
Richard Zywotkiewicz	....	personal assistant: Mr. Cronenberg

Thanks
Tom Coppola	....	special thanks: for music
Paul Freedman	....	special thanks: for music
Cheryl Hardwick	....	special thanks: for music
Peter Hedeman	....	special thanks: for music
Michael Jay	....	special thanks: for music
Rosemary D. Merriam	....	special thanks: for music
Maury Rosenfeld	....	special thanks: for music
Michael Werner	....	special thanks: for music
Marty Zofcin	....	special thanks: for music

Production Companies

• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) (produced with the participation of)
• Famous Players (produced with the participation of) (as Famous Players Limited)
• Filmplan International (producer)
• Guardian Trust Company
• Victor Solnicki Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• S.N. Prodis (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1983) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• DiscoVision (1983) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Pioneer (1997) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2008) (Italy) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Atari  thanks
• Broadway Video  special thanks for music to
• CKEY Radio  thanks
• Film House  mixing facilities
• Film Opticals  opticals
• Harbor Castle Hilton Hotel  thanks (as Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto, Canada)
• Magnasonic  provided by (Sanyo Consumer Entertainment products) (as Magnasonic Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada)
• Panavision  lenses and Panaflex camera (as Panavision®)
• Paratel  worldwide publicity
• Publifilms Limited  marketing
• T.'n T. Services Ltd.  negative cutting
• Walker-Bowen  casting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min | USA:89 min (unrated version)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:16 (video rating) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/18 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1983) (theatrical) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1988) (video) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (2002) (DVD) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Brazil:18 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

728 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

During filming of the Cathode Ray mission sequence, the film's gaffer, Jock Brandis, walked in and casually informed the crew that the power lines to the building were smoking because of the load imposed on them by the TV sets.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): 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.

Quotes:

[First line]
Man's voice on television:Civic TV. The one you take to bed with you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The American Nightmare (2000)

A movie milestone of sci fi surrealism!

I first saw 'Videodrome' around '84 or '85 and it impressed the hell out of me. I thought then that it was ahead of its time, and after watching it again a few days ago (and there have been many, many viewings in between) I STILL think it is. In fact it gets more and more contemporary and relevant as each year goes by. Cronenberg went on to adapt difficult cult novels by William Burroughs and J.G. Ballard, which wouldn't have surprised any of his fans, as ideas from both writers, and the late Philip K. Dick have pervaded his work from 'Shivers' to 'eXistenZ'. (Probably even before that going by descriptions of early efforts like 'Crimes Of The Future' which I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to see.) But Cronenberg, unlike say the Wachowski brothers, isn't just repackaging science fiction ideas for a new generation of movie goers, he is a genuine original.

'Videodrome' still knocks me out every time I watch it. This innovative mix of science fiction, sex, violence, surrealism and horror has lost none of its punch over the years. I have enjoyed most of Cronenberg's movies, and think he is one of the most underrated directors currently working, but 'Videodrome' still seems his purest and least compromised work, and the movie that most successfully and memorably represents his vision. Simply one of the greatest and most important movies ever made.