The Bottom Line
David Cronenberg's 1983 reality TV shocker might still be his best film. Criterion gives it the definitive DVD release.
Pros
- Seminal horror film by one of the world's most unique filmmakers
- Wicked social commentary
- Deborah Harry in one of her first film roles
Cons
- If you don't like weird and disturbing, you won't like this
Description
- Canada, 1983. 89 minutes.
- New digital transfer of the unrated version
- Audio commentaries by David Cronenberg, Mark Erwin, James Woods, and Deborah Harry
- "Camera," a short film written and directed by Cronenberg
- "Forging the New Flesh," a half hour featurette about Videodrome's special effects
- "Effects Men," a new audio interview with special makeup effects creator Rick Baker
- Complete, unedited footage of transmissions seen in "Videodrome" with director commentary
- A 26-minute roundtable discussion with Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick Garris
- Trailers, promo featurette, stills galleries, production photos, makeup tests, publicity photos
- A 40-page booklet with essays by Carrie Rickey, Tim Lucas, and Gary Indiana
Guide Review - Videodrome Special Edition DVD
Twenty years before "Fear Factor" and Abu Ghraib, the Canadian master of the surreal predicted our fascination with torture and pain, and cloaked it in a story that is still deeply disturbing: when sleazy cable TV exec Max Renn (James Woods) comes across transmissions of a hyperviolent show called Videodrome, he is sucked into a mysterious underworld where torture, rape, and murder serve as addictive entertainment. Soon, he is taking part is sado-masochistic sex games, hallucinating strange conspiracies, and experiencing shocking bodily transformations. What is the truth about Videodrome, and the elusive Dr. Brian O'Blivion?
