Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Crash

  • 19961996
  • NC-17NC-17
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
59K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
241
319
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Holly Hunter and James Spader in Crash (1996)
  • Drama
After getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they pr... Read allAfter getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife.After getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
59K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
241
319
  • Director
    • David Cronenberg
  • Writers
    • J.G. Ballard(novel "Crash")
    • David Cronenberg
  • Stars
    • James Spader
    • Holly Hunter
    • Elias Koteas
Top credits
  • Director
    • David Cronenberg
  • Writers
    • J.G. Ballard(novel "Crash")
    • David Cronenberg
  • Stars
    • James Spader
    • Holly Hunter
    • Elias Koteas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 324User reviews
    • 135Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 6 nominations

    Videos1

    Crash
    Trailer 1:58
    Crash

    Photos151

    Rosanna Arquette in Crash (1996)
    James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger in Crash (1996)
    Deborah Kara Unger in Crash (1996)
    James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger in Crash (1996)
    James Spader in Crash (1996)
    James Spader in Crash (1996)
    Holly Hunter in Crash (1996)
    David Cronenberg in Crash (1996)
    Crash (1996)
    Crash (1996)
    Crash (1996)
    Holly Hunter and James Spader in Crash (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Spader
    James Spader
    • James Ballardas James Ballard
    Holly Hunter
    Holly Hunter
    • Helen Remingtonas Helen Remington
    Elias Koteas
    Elias Koteas
    • Vaughanas Vaughan
    Deborah Kara Unger
    Deborah Kara Unger
    • Catherine Ballardas Catherine Ballard
    Rosanna Arquette
    Rosanna Arquette
    • Gabrielleas Gabrielle
    Peter MacNeill
    Peter MacNeill
    • Colin Seagraveas Colin Seagrave
    Yolande Julian
    • Airport Hookeras Airport Hooker
    Cheryl Swarts
    • Vera Seagraveas Vera Seagrave
    Judah Katz
    Judah Katz
    • Salesmanas Salesman
    Nicky Guadagni
    • Tattooistas Tattooist
    Ronn Sarosiak
    • A.D.as A.D.
    Boyd Banks
    Boyd Banks
    • Gripas Grip
    Markus Parilo
    • Man in Hangeras Man in Hanger
    Alice Poon
    • Camera Girlas Camera Girl
    John Stoneham Jr.
    John Stoneham Jr.
    • Traskas Trask
    David Cronenberg
    David Cronenberg
    • Auto Wreck Salesmanas Auto Wreck Salesman
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Jordan-Patrick Marcantonio
    • Man in Tattoo Parloras Man in Tattoo Parlor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • David Cronenberg
    • Writers
      • J.G. Ballard(novel "Crash")
      • David Cronenberg
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    eXistenZ
    6.8
    eXistenZ
    Naked Lunch
    6.9
    Naked Lunch
    Videodrome
    7.2
    Videodrome
    Dead Ringers
    7.2
    Dead Ringers
    Scanners
    6.7
    Scanners
    The Brood
    6.8
    The Brood
    Spider
    6.8
    Spider
    The Fly
    7.6
    The Fly
    Here We Go Again, Rubinot!
    7.6
    Here We Go Again, Rubinot!
    Cosmopolis
    5.1
    Cosmopolis
    A Dangerous Method
    6.4
    A Dangerous Method
    ODM: A Legacy from the Past to the Future
    7.2
    ODM: A Legacy from the Past to the Future

    Storyline

    Edit
    Since a road accident left him with serious facial and bodily scarring, a former TV scientist has become obsessed by the marriage of motor-car technology with what he sees as the raw sexuality of car-crash victims. The scientist, along with a crash victim he has recently befriended, sets about performing a series of sexual acts in a variety of motor vehicles, either with other crash victims or with prostitutes whom they contort into the shape of trapped corpses. Ultimately, the scientist craves a suicidal union of blood, semen, and engine coolant, a union with which he becomes dangerously obsessed. —Matt A. Knapp <mak8@le.ac.uk>
    • car crash
    • sexuality
    • accident victim
    • bisexuality
    • sex scene
    • 153 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The most controversial film you will ever see.
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated NC-17 for numerous explicit sex scenes
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sex scenes between James Ballard and his secretary were filmed but cut because director David Cronenberg felt the actors' chemistry was too good, contravening the nature of all the other relationships in the film.
    • Goofs
      After Vaughan repeatedly crashes the left front bumper of his Lincoln into a junker James Ballard is sitting in, causing major damage to the bumper and the lights, Vaughan is soon shown driving on the highway with no damage to the bumper and both left lights operational.
    • Quotes

      [Last lines]

      James Ballard: Katherine, are you all right?

      Catherine Ballard: James. I don't know.

      James Ballard: Are you Hurt?

      Catherine Ballard: I think I'm all right...

      [James starts groping and kissing her]

      Catherine Ballard: ... I think I'm all right.

      James Ballard: Maybe the next time, darling. Maybe the next time.

    • Alternate versions
      According to Issue 58 of Film Ireland magazine, the Irish censors imposed 35s worth of dialogue cuts on the cinema release - this affected the sex scene where Catherine fantasizes about Vaughn to James. It's speculated this was actually done not due to the content, but to dissuade the distributors from submitting the uncut version on video (which could cause controversy in a less restricted environment) - however, all video releases are uncut and still rated 18.
    • Connections
      Featured in Late Review: Censorship and Cronenberg 's Crash (1996)

    User reviews324

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    The Orgasm of Burning Rubber.
    "How many orgasms per mile can you get ?" This is one of the catching tag lines of the movie "Crash". Again Cronenberg delivers a dive into human psychic, the world of dark obsession, and twisted fantasy's.

    The plot:

    A sexually frustrated couple starts experimenting with the outlines of anonymous sex. It is the husband James Ballard (James Spader) who gets into a car crash with Dr. Ellen Remington (Holly Hunter) and her husband. They crash frontally and both Ballard and Remington are seriously injured. Remington's husband dies while being launched from his seat through his own windshield into Ballards. Ballard ends up in the hospital, traumatized, trying to recover from his injuries. He gets into deeper contact with Helen Remington. Their mutual Crash-victim status brings them closer together, ultimately delivering them into the sump-oil-soaked world of the pathological Vaughan (Elias Koteas). Renegade scientist and leader of a strange subterranean group, Vaughan is only able to achieve sexual release by crashing into people on the motorways surrounding Heathrow airport. Getting sucked into his world, Ballard becomes obsessed with car crashes, and dives into the illegal world of "thrill seeking" and raw and hard (but mostly cold) sex.

    The review:

    To be quiet honest "Crash" is a very underestimated picture. First of all there are a serious amount of people who thought that the subject was laughable, and not to be taken serious, for how could you take something like this serious ?

    After crashing your car and being injured, having sex with the victim of a car-crash ?

    Apart from the post-traumatic stress that can appear after such an incident it also triggers a lot of adrenaline, which is almost a self produced drug. Cronenberg cuts a subject which is still very much of a taboo, the "thrill seeking taboo". You got a lot of so called thrill seekers now these days, which can result into ghost riding on the freeway, climbing on buildings without security etc. All in all the thrill seek element isn't that original.

    This is where Cronenberg has looked for a thrill that rushes into a perverse sexual outburst. After the shock of crashing into a car, the adrenaline, the rush of the experience becomes so real, you feel so alive that you need to let it all out, which comes into the act of "making love". Cronenberg is trying to paint the audience a picture of an event like this.

    Based on J.G. Ballards novel "Crash" which was quiet detached and cold, the director follows in style with the dark freeways of Canada, showing that even in your car you are not always save, and how a car can become the ultimate "drive" for pleasure. The problem with this film (like many others) is that it is so far out there that you either hate it or love it. The pacing is rather slow in the beginning and its hard to get into, if you don't understand the psychology that lies underneath the dialog. The movie has a solid script but the subject and material is not accessible for everybody. James Spader who often (he almost could be a stereotype) plays sexual frustrated protagonists ("Sex,Lies,and Videotapes", "Secretary", "Speaking of Sex") delivers a terrific performance here. His distant and alienated acting fits perfectly into the dark en and sensual story, and doesn't come as a insincere or "over the top". Some people felt that Koteas and Hunter performances where a little flat, but they have just the balance between low key and an over the top performance (Koteas more than Hunter). You got to keep in mind that these people are already deranged from the beginning. What you see is simply a drop falling into bucket that is overflowing.

    The use of light and shadow is very subtle and excellently done by cinematographer Peter Suschitzky. He really knows how to pull you into a certain world, that LOOKS like ours but feels very different. In any case I can recommend the movie if you want to watch something different. A lot of people will not understand the weight this film carries, and therefore this movie will be underrated, or simply will be put aside as boring or unrealistic. THIS IS A MISTAKE,... don't put it away, watch it, and feel the awkwardness. The result ?

    "Humans really are quiet weird creatures..."
    helpful•41
    22
    • Yuto_Zeiram
    • Mar 13, 2006

    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the R-Rated cut and the NC-17 version of the movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 21, 1997 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Swedish
    • Also known as
      • Çarpışma
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Alliance Communications Corporation
      • Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
      • The Movie Network (TMN)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $9,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,664,812
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $738,339
      • Oct 6, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,671,855
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

    New on Blu-ray: ‘Tenet’, ‘Crash’, ‘The Dark and the Wicked’, and ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’
    New on Blu-ray: ‘Tenet’, ‘Crash’, ‘The Dark and the Wicked’, and ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’
    Dec 24Slash Film
    Win Crash on 4K Ultra HD
    Win Crash on 4K Ultra HD
    Dec 11HeyUGuys.co.uk

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Holly Hunter and James Spader in Crash (1996)
    Top Gap
    What is the streaming release date of Crash (1996) in India?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:14
    The Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.