Review of Videodrome (1983) by Max P — 28 Dec 2009
"The battle for North America will be fought in the video arena: the videodrome. The television screen is the retina of the mind's eye. Therefore the television screen is part of the physical structure of the brain. Therefore, whatever appears on the television screen emerges as raw experience for those who watch it. Therefore television is reality. And reality is less than television.".
A pure Cronenberg film, one borne directly from the depths of his unconscious, with little to no outside interference is truly an indelible visceral experience, and something absolutely worth participating in.
James Woods is fantastic in his very demanding role, going for subtlety and nuance wher he could have easily overplayed and fallen into self parody, and Deborah Harry is a revelation to someone like me who never got to see her in her physical prime: absolutely stunning.
The film is a combination of Cronenberg's obsessions (identity, bio-technology, sexuality) with a series of messages/social critiques that may have seemed outlandish at the time, but today seem no less than absolutely accurate. It's frightening to think just how much this auteur, in 1983, got absolutely right. Today, Videodrome is more fact than fiction.
Alternatingly surreal, seedy and philosophical, always sexual and violent, this film is a must watch for intelligent genre fans and those with strong stomachs. A definite think-piece, told with the cold, clinical, detatched bio-horror that characterizes Cronenberg's work.
"Long live the new flesh!".
This review of Videodrome (1983) was written by Max P on 28 Dec 2009.
Videodrome has generally received positive reviews.
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