{"id":5652,"date":"2015-08-10T07:51:44","date_gmt":"2015-08-10T06:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=5652"},"modified":"2015-08-18T00:56:46","modified_gmt":"2015-08-17T23:56:46","slug":"videodrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2015\/08\/10\/videodrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Videodrome"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Videodrome<\/a>
Videodrome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD)

\nRelease date:<\/B> 17 August 2015

\nDistributor:<\/B> Arrow Video

\nDirector:<\/B> David Cronenberg

\nWriter:<\/B> David Cronenberg

\nCast:<\/B> James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits

\nCanada 1983

\n89 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

***** out of *****<\/b><\/p>\n

Every national cinema has its own unique brand of indigenous storytelling, but by virtue of its geographical proximity to the economic and cultural juggernaut that is the United States of America, English Canada has had the unenviable position of maintaining a voice and identity all its own, struggling for half a century to tell uniquely \u201cCanadian\u201d stories to speak to both Canadians and the world. French Canada has always been able to maintain a distinct identity because<\/i> of the language issues. English Canadian culture has had a tougher time of it, but it\u2019s not simply<\/i> a more tasteful, literate version of the United States.<\/p>\n

David Cronenberg, along with the likes of Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin, Peter Mettler and a clutch of other visionary filmmakers in English Canada, generated product which can be viewed as Canadian by simple virtue of the fact that both the style and content of the films could only<\/i> have been made in a North American context that prided itself on uniquely indigenous qualities in spite (and perhaps even because) of the southerly Behemoth of Uncle Sam.<\/p>\n

And though plenty of Canadian dramatic product was (and often continues to be) almost unbearably tasteful, this has happily never<\/i> been a problem for any of the aforementioned filmmakers – especially not David Cronenberg. \u201cTasteful\u201d has seldom reared its ugly head anywhere near his films.<\/p>\n

Videodrome<\/i> is as Canadian as Maple Syrup, beavers and the MacKenzie Brothers, but with the added bonus of almost hardcore sadomasochistic snuff-film-style torture weaving its way throughout the picture as narrative and thematic elements. <\/p>\n

Max Renn (James Woods) is the head honcho of a tiny independent Toronto TV station which specialises in unorthodox programming with an emphasis upon lurid, exploitative and downright sensational stylistic approaches and content. This is clearly a fictional representation of the uniquely Canadian Toronto company CITY-TV which became famous for its soft-core \u201cBaby Blue Movies\u201d and the open concept studios for news and public affairs. Though Cronenberg denies it, Max Renn is clearly modeled upon the real-life Canadian visionary Moses Znaimer who revolutionised broadcasting throughout the continent, and even the world, due to his unorthodox approaches.<\/p>\n

Renn finds himself looking for something to take his station and broadcasting in general in far more cutting edge directions. Via his pirate satellites, he discovers a rogue broadcast from Malaysia featuring non-stop BDSM. The actions are vicious, hard-core and clearly the real thing. He searches desperately to track down the direct source of the feed, seeking the learned counsel of Professor Brian O\u2019Blivion (Jack Creley) a \u201cmedium is the message\u201d guru (based on Canada\u2019s Marshall McLuhan).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Renn has been exposed to a nefarious virus by watching the footage and soon reality and fantasy begin to mesh together while he engages in an S\/M relationship with radio interviewer Nikki Brand (Deborah \u201cBlondie\u201d Harry) and discovers that his body has sprouted its own VCR within his guts.<\/p>\n

There is, of course, a conspiracy and, of course, it\u2019s rooted in America where the snuff station is actually broadcasting from. The goal of mysterious New World Order-like power brokers is to use Max to infect the world with total acquiescence.<\/p>\n

To say Videodrome<\/i> is prescient, is a bit of an understatement. Cronenberg brilliantly riffs on early 80s Canadian broadcast innovations and visionaries (like Znaimer and McLuhan) to create a chilling, disturbing look at how a corporate \u201cOne-World\u201d government seeks to anesthetise the world (and destroy all those who are not susceptible to the virus of brainwashing).<\/p>\n

Videodrome<\/i> is scary, morbidly funny, dementedly sexy (gotta love lit cigarettes applied to naked breasts, a vaginal cavity in Renn\u2019s stomach which plays videotapes and<\/i> stashes firearms and, among many other horrors, masked figures exacting violent torture on-screen) and finally, one of the great science fiction horror films of all time.<\/p>\n

I will not spoil anything for you by elaborating upon the following, but I will guarantee that you\u2019ll be able to experience the shedding of the \u201cold flesh\u201d to make way for \u201cthe new flesh\u201d. Right now, though, you really don\u2019t want to know.<\/p>\n

A famous Canadian TV commercial during the 60s-80s featured a variety of British tea-sippers slurping back Canada\u2019s \u201cRed Rose\u201d tea and looking directly into the camera to remark (in a full Brit accent):<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly in Canada, you say? A pity.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s kind of how the rest of the world can feel about David Cronenberg and his Videodrome<\/i>. It is precisely the kind of movie that could only<\/i> have been spawned in Canada, but unlike Red Rose Tea, it\u2019s available worldwide and forever.<\/p>\n

Greg Klymkiw<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Cronenberg’s take on mass-media consumption is scary, dementedly sexy, and finally, one of the great science fiction horror films of all time.
\nReview by Greg Klymkiw<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[215,256,111,32,73],"class_list":["post-5652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-body-horror","tag-david-cronenberg","tag-horror-film","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-1ta","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5329,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2015\/02\/23\/rabid\/","url_meta":{"origin":5652,"position":0},"title":"Rabid","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"February 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"David Cronenberg\u2019s second horror film has a sexually transmitted virus wreak havoc on a Canadian city. Review by David Cairns","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rabid 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Rabid-1-594x337.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Rabid-1-594x337.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Rabid-1-594x337.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2493,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2012\/11\/02\/antiviral\/","url_meta":{"origin":5652,"position":1},"title":"Antiviral","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Brandon Cronenberg hasn't exactly gone out of his way to distance himself from his father's work. 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By Kier-La Janisse","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Brood1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/The-Brood1-594x331.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/The-Brood1-594x331.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/The-Brood1-594x331.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4974,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/05\/22\/maps-to-the-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":5652,"position":5},"title":"Maps to the Stars","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"May 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Cronenberg's latest offering sees the director at his weirdest, wittiest and most horrifying in years, crafting a highly charged, cynical nightmare about today\u2019s fucked-up Hollywood society, with the suitable feel of a mystery ghost story. 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