Videodrome (1983)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (written by)

Release Date:

4 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

First it controlled her mind, then it destroyed her body... Long live the new flesh!

Plot:

A sleazy cable-TV programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station.

Plot Keywords:

Video | Murder | Hallucination | Tumor | Cult

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

James Woods	...	Max Renn
Sonja Smits	...	Bianca O'Blivion
Deborah Harry	...	Nicki Brand
Peter Dvorsky	...	Harlan
Leslie Carlson	...	Barry Convex (as Les Carlson)
Jack Creley	...	Brian O'Blivion
Lynne Gorman	...	Masha
Julie Khaner	...	Bridey
Reiner Schwartz	...	Moses
David Bolt	...	Raphael
Lally Cadeau	...	Rena King
Henry Gomez	...	Brolley
Harvey Chao	...	Japanese Salesman
David Tsubôchi	...	Japanese Salesman (as David Tsubouchi)
Kay Hawtrey	...	Matron
Sam Malkin	...	Sidewalk Derelict
Bob Church	...	Newscaster
Jayne Eastwood	...	Woman Caller
Franciszka Hedland	...	Bellydancer

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits
David Cronenberg		(written by)

Produced by
Pierre David	....	executive producer
Claude Héroux	....	producer
Lawrence Nesis	....	associate producer
Victor Solnicki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Mark Irwin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald Sanders

Art Direction by
Carol Spier

Set Decoration by
Angelo Stea

Costume Design by
Delphine White

Makeup Department
Rick Baker	....	special makeup effects designer
Thomas Booth	....	hair stylist (as Thomas L. Booth)
Shonagh Jabour	....	makeup artist
Steve Johnson	....	special makeup effects artist
Michael Kavanagh	....	makeup effects assistant
Inge Klaudi	....	makeup assistant
Maureen Mestan	....	assistant hair stylist
Mark Molin	....	makeup effects assistant
Constant Natale	....	hair stylist
Bill Sturgeon	....	special makeup effects artist
Kevin Brennan	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Tom Hester	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Shawn McEnroe	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Mark Shostrom	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Kevin Sturgeon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Janet E. Cuddy	....	assistant production manager (as Janet Cuddy)
Gwen Iveson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Board	....	first assistant director
Libby Bowden	....	assistant director
Rocco Gismondi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jon Bankson	....	carpenter
John Bentley	....	carpenter
Enrico Campana	....	set dresser
Kirk Cheney	....	carpenter
Elaine Cohen	....	painter
Janet Cormack	....	painter
Tom Coulter	....	assistant art director
Joe Curtin	....	assistant head carpenter
Barbara Dunphy	....	assistant art director
Bill Gibson	....	painter
Ed Hanna	....	set dresser
Bill Harman	....	construction manager
Simon Harwood	....	painter
Gary Jack	....	set dresser
Nick Kosonic	....	scenic artist
Peter Lauterman	....	property master
Harry Pavelson	....	painter
Thomas Pearce	....	carpenter
Robert Pearson	....	carpenter
Greg Pelchat	....	assistant propman
Reet Puhm	....	painter
Alex Russell	....	head carpenter (as Alexander Russell)
Alan Sharpe	....	carpenter
Bob Sher	....	carpenter (as Robert Sher)
Gareth Wilson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Charles Bowers	....	dialogue editor
Peter Burgess	....	supervising sound editor
Terry Burke	....	foley artist
Elius Caruso	....	sound re-recordist
Michele Cook	....	assistant sound editor
Paul Coombe	....	sound re-recordist
Gary Daprato	....	assistant sound editor
Bryan Day	....	location sound recordist
Mike Hoogenboom	....	sound re-recordist (as Michael Hoogenboom)
Michael LaCroix	....	boom operator
Beverley Neale	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
James Stuart Allan	....	carpenter: special effects
Frank C. Carere	....	special effects (as Frank Carere)
Robert Rouveroy	....	special effects: video effects creator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Michael Lennick	....	special video effects
Robert Meckler	....	assistant video effects
Lee Wilson	....	assistant video effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Douglas Allan	....	best boy (as Douglas [Scotty] Allan)
Jock Brandis	....	gaffer
James Crowe	....	assistant camera
Brian Danniels	....	grip
Christopher Dean	....	grip
David Hynes	....	assistant key grip
Maris H. Jansons	....	key grip (as Marris Jansons)
Robin Miller	....	assistant camera
Donna Mobbs	....	camera trainee
Gary Phipps	....	electrician
Rick Porter	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Peter Lavender	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Denise Cronenberg	....	wardrobe trainee (as Denise Woodley)
Maureen Gurney	....	wardrobe assistant
Eileen Kennedy	....	assistant costume designer
Kat Moyer	....	wardrobe assistant
Mary Partridge-Raynor	....	wardrobe assistant
Arthur Rowsell	....	wardrobe master
Kathy Vieira	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Elaine Foreman	....	assistant editor
Carol McBride	....	assistant editor
Michael Rea	....	assistant editor
Christopher Severn	....	color timer
Bill Wiggins	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Michael Jay	....	music mix engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Donato Baldassarra	....	transport coordinator
David Chudnovsky	....	driver (as David Chud)
A. Randy Jones	....	driver captain (as Randy Jones)
Allen Kosonic	....	driver
Jerome McCann	....	driver
John Vander Pas	....	driver
Jeff Steinberg	....	driver
Alan Zweig	....	driver

Other crew
Rachelle Charron	....	assistant accountant
David Coatsworth	....	location manager
Pierre David	....	presenter
Denise Di Novi	....	creative consultant
Kirsteen Etherington	....	choreographer
Maureen Fitzgerald	....	bookkeeper
Bonnie Gold	....	receptionist
Angela Gruenthal	....	production secretary
Roger Héroux	....	production coordinator
Lacia Kornylo	....	production accountant
Monique Légaré	....	secretary: Mr. Héroux
Gilles Léonard	....	assistant comptroller (as Gilles Leonard)
Serge Major	....	comptroller
Monik Nantel	....	assistant to executive producer
Gillian Richardson	....	script supervisor
Howard Rothschild	....	production assistant
Ellen Rozen	....	assistant: Mr. Solnicki
Victor Solnicki	....	presenter
Richard Spiegelman	....	production assistant
Jill Spitz	....	unit publicist
Lydia Wazana	....	craft service
Richard Zywotkiewicz	....	personal assistant: Mr. Cronenberg

Thanks
Tom Coppola	....	special thanks: for music
Paul Freedman	....	special thanks: for music
Cheryl Hardwick	....	special thanks: for music
Peter Hedeman	....	special thanks: for music
Michael Jay	....	special thanks: for music
Rosemary D. Merriam	....	special thanks: for music
Maury Rosenfeld	....	special thanks: for music
Michael Werner	....	special thanks: for music
Marty Zofcin	....	special thanks: for music

Production Companies

• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) (produced with the participation of)
• Famous Players (produced with the participation of) (as Famous Players Limited)
• Filmplan International (producer)
• Guardian Trust Company
• Victor Solnicki Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• S.N. Prodis (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• DiscoVision (1983) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Pioneer (1997) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2008) (Italy) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Atari  thanks
• Broadway Video  special thanks for music to
• CKEY Radio  thanks
• Film House  mixing facilities
• Film Opticals  opticals
• Harbor Castle Hilton Hotel  thanks (as Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto, Canada)
• Magnasonic  provided by (Sanyo Consumer Entertainment products) (as Magnasonic Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada)
• Panavision Canada  lenses and Panaflex camera (as Panavision®)
• Paratel  worldwide publicity
• Publifilms Limited  marketing
• T.'n T. Services Ltd.  negative cutting
• Walker/Bowne  casting (as Walker-Bowen Inc.)

Also Known As:

Network of Blood (Canada: English title) (working title)
Vidéodrome (Canada: French title)
Zonekiller (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

87 min | USA:89 min (unrated version)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/18 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (2002) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1988) (video) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1983) (theatrical) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Brazil:18 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:16 (video rating) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Fleetwood Apartments, 64 St. Clair Ave. W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

One of five Sci-Fi/Horror movies that were heavily promoted by Universal Pictures prior to their impending releases in 1982 and given prospective release dates. The others were: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, The Thing (both set release dates for that summer), Halloween 3 (October), The Dark Crystal and this film (December). This ultimately changed when Universal pushed back the film from it's original slated release date to February 1983.

Quotes:

[First line]
Man's voice on television: Civic TV. The one you take to bed with you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in David Cronenberg and the Cinema of the Extreme (1997) (TV)

"Videodrome" - Cronenberg takes on the media

It takes the slightest peeks at his career to figure out David Cronenberg ("The Fly," "Dead Ringers," "Naked Lunch," "The Dead Zone," the upcoming "A History of Violence") is a director who is not to be toyed with. I forgot to add in his 1983 horror movie "Videodrome," and there is a reason for that, which I'll talk about later. His works provoke intelligent thought, and terrify those who can't comprehend it. His films stimulate, offend, and move those who care to watch them with an open mind.

Allow me to (try) explain. I won't bother to go into detail about the plot. A sleazy, lowlife TV producer named Max Renn (James Woods) rapidly becomes obsessed with an unusual television signal, which in turn begins to warp his perceptions of reality. Get it? Nah, of course you don't. You're not going to let a one-sentence plot description and, if you own the Criterion Collection DVD, the three essays included deter you from watching it, are you?

You're also not going to let scenes of grisly torture, unspeakable violence, murder, "flesh guns," human VCRs, exploding cancer-deaths (poor Leslie Carlson as Barry Convex), pulsating video cassettes, Deborah Harry in S&M and morphing televisions turn you away, are you? What's more, you're not going to let Woods's effectively "wooden" performance here (his sticking his face into a "living" television) turn you away either?

I won't even try to pretend I understood what was going through Cronenberg's mind when he wrote and directed this picture. I also won't pretend I understood the essays included with the DVD (and I don't think the writers did either). It's warped, it's perverted, it's depraved, and it's insanely intriguing and fascinating. The masses are frightened by "Videodrome" and with good reason. "Videodrome" is Cronenberg's dastardly take on mass-media consumption during a time when television was afraid... afraid to be real. Media violence had not yet become a major issue in America and hypocritical politicians weren't condemning it. But keep in mind this film was made in '83, years before the mind-blowing reality-morphing of "The Matrix" (1999).

There's a little more that I think I can get away with in describing the plot, and Renn eventually traces the signal to Pittsburgh, and is introduced to the station's enigmatic programmer Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley) and his daughter Bianca (Sonja Smits). He learns of the bizarre nature surrounding Videodrome, and the fate of those of who watch it. As he becomes more and more obsessed, he finds it nearly impossible to turn it off, or turn away. Then those mutations and hallucinations Cronenberg is famous for start happening and when that does, things become nasty and the queasy may want to keep a finger on the fast-forward button. It's no secret Cronenberg loves torturing his protagonists and here, the "new flesh" wants to live long and Woods has the nice warm body perfect for it - he becomes a literal media assassin with a vaginal slit in his stomach that doubles as a programmable VCR and also has a handgun fused to his wrist - he's a virtual slave to Videodrome.

Lastly, the eerie, driving score by Howard Shore swells up during the film's most intense and surreal moments, the most lovely being Woods's lovemaking with his television. I always watch Cronenberg films at least partially for Shore's music. Now I know why Cronenberg selects him for his soundtracks.

"Videodrome," I think, has a lot more relevance today than it did 22 years ago. It's more visceral than gross, is quite brilliant, and doesn't spare us graphic violence and gore. It's alive, it's "Videodrome."

8/10