| Cover Art |
 |
| Credits |
Director:
David Cronenberg
Starring: James Woods,
Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Sonja Smits, Les
Carlson, Jack Creley
Screenplay: David Cronenberg
Country: USA/Canada |
"It has a philosophy and that is what
makes it dangerous."
When Videodrome was released
in 1982, the question of whether or not Canadian
writer/director David Cronenberg actually had
a philosophy (or any sense of logic at all, for
that matter) was on the quivering lips and reeling
minds of a somewhat confused audience. Flicking
through an old Fango letters section just now,
some idiot penman named M. Todd even resorts to
calling it a "piece of trash"
in order to justify his dismay.
But the years have been kind to Videodrome,
certainly much kinder than they would've been
to failed visionary Mr. Todd. No, Betamax tapes
and Atari 2600's may not still be the norm in
the average household but the advent of new communicative
technology and its possible uses and abuses and
its power to manipulate is relevant now more than
ever. Not since the bashful cucumber has something
so unassuming been employed for so much evil.
Wiry entrepreneur Max Renn (the always-amazing
James Woods) is a shrewd bottom-rung dealer in
sleazy cable television erotica and exploitation
programming who's in search of fresh fodder when
he stumbles across 'Videodrome' - a mysterious
broadcast containing brutal and erotic imagery.
Seemingly without purpose and of unknown origin,
it proves to be much more than just wank material
for shady cable subscribers. It bites.
It soon becomes apparent that Videodrome has
a most unusual effect on its viewers, no better
demonstrated when Maxy Boy sits down for a bit
of the 'Drome with his lascivious lady friend,
radio host and masochistic hot potato Nikki Brand
(a red-headed Deborah Harry). One moment they're
engaging in a little small talk, the next she's
using her titty as an ashtray and he's sticking
pins into just about everything that bleeds. [Insert
lame Letterman-style joke about watching the Oprah
Winfrey show here.]
They're hooked. Nikki's off to audition as a
whipping post, leaving Max to hallucinate vivid
and bizarre shit, apparently a mild VD (Videodrome)
side effect that increases in frequency and intensity
with successive viewings. He seeks out enigmatic
teevee guru Professor Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley)
("That's my television name. Soon all
of us will have special names") to find
out what Videodrome's story is and maybe even
the reason why he's developed a vaginal opening
in his stomach. And you should see what he can
fit in that cute little slit of his (to give you
an idea, he starts with a fist and works his way
up from there).
He's pointed in the right-ish direction but it
isn't long before Videodrome comes looking for
Max and he finds himself pitted, double agent-style,
against both VD and O'Blivion. He sets out with
his nifty new custom handgun, trendy tan jacket
and smart brown slacks to sort things out once
and for all - all the while tripping off his rubbery
head.
Videodrome the movie, much like
the show within the movie, is quite the mind-fuck.
Once Max starts having his 'experiences', Cronenberg
follows his reality intently, never letting the
audience in on more than what our confused main
character perceives. Consequently, it still somewhat
baffles me to this day ...and yet it also somehow
makes an acceptable level of sense. Fortunately,
it also makes for an even higher level of intrigue
and, like all great mysteries, when the end finally
comes you find yourself in deeper and with more
questions than when you started (that's a good
thing).
Videodrome is an interesting
precursor to Cronenberg's later adaptation of
William S. Burrough's The Naked Lunch
and his own eXistenZ, with the
main character drawn into a metaphorical world
of espionage populated by sex, violence and characters
that compliment one another with their uniting
element of the surreal. There's plenty of Cronenberg's
broader themes of metaphysical transformation
and whatnot to keep you scholarly types nodding
your heads while the rest of us dumb-dumbs will
no doubt massage many a groin whilst enjoying
Rick Baker's numerously wet and wildly inventive
gore effects. I know I did.
To summarize: Videodrome delivers
in more ways than one so you'd better start receiving.
The DVD: So the question begs: having suffered
brutally in Australia on VHS in the 80's, is Videodrome uncut? Kinda. Sorta. Read on...
What we have here is a legitimately uncut version
of the film. However, it is not the longest legitimate
version of the film that's available. Essentially,
its the original R-rated US theatrical version,
presented without any further cuts by the distributor
or the farcical OFLC. I should mention that there's
an unrated version available overseas that features
slight extensions on a few of the more violent
and erotic moments. The differences aren't substantial
but you hard core Videodromers
out there should already know what version you
prefer, right? Yeah! |
