Videodrome (1983) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

When Max Renn goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a hyperviolent torture show called Videodrome. As he struggles to unearth the origins of the program, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into a shadow world of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and bodily transformation. Starring James Woods and Deborah Harry in one of her first film roles, Videodrome is one of writer/director David Cronenberg’s most original and provocative works, fusing social commentary with shocking elements of sex and violence. With groundbreaking special effects makeup by Academy Award®-winner Rick Baker, Videodrome has come to be regarded as one of the most influential and mind-bending science fiction films of the 1980s.

Cast

Max Renn	James Woods
Bianca O’Blivion	Sonja Smits
Nicki Brand	Deborah Harry
Harlan	Peter Dvorsky
Barry Convex	Les Carlson
Brian O’Blivion	Jack Creley
Masha	Lynne Gorman

Credits

Director	David Cronenberg
Screenplay	David Cronenberg
Producer	Claude Héroux
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Executive producers	Pierre David and Victor Solnicki
Associate producer	Lawrence Nesis
Music	Howard Shore
Editing	Ronald Sanders
Art director	Carol Spier
Special makeup designed and created by	Rick Baker
Special video effects	Michael Lennick
Production manager	Gwen Iveson
First assistant director	John Board
Creative consultant	Denise Di Novi

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:

New high-definition digital transfer of the unrated version, with restored image and sound and enhanced for widescreen televisions
Two audio commentaries: David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin, and actors James Woods and Deborah Harry
Camera (2000), a short film starring Videodrome’s Les Carlson, written and directed by Cronenberg
Forging the New Flesh, a new half-hour documentary featurette by filmmaker Michael Lennick about the creation of Videodrome’s video and prosthetic makeup effects
Effects Men, a new audio interview with special makeup effects creator Baker and video effects supervisor Lennick
Bootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams and seven minutes of transmissions from “Videodrome,” presented in their original, unedited form with filmmaker commentary
Fear on Film, a 26-minute roundtable discussion from 1982 between filmmakers Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick Garris
Original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette
Stills galleries featuring hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes production photos, special effects makeup tests, and publicity photos
English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition|

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In 1981, it seemed to me that a new era of the fantastic cinema was upon us. With this in mind, I persuaded an editor at Heavy Metal to accept an essay I wanted to write about this new breed of horror specialists, which I planned to call “The Shape of Rage” (after a psychological . . .

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by Carrie Rickey Aug 30, 2004

Although it wasn’t obvious upon its release in 1983, Videodrome is a key work in the Cronenberg oeuvre. For this Virgil among filmmakers, our personable guide to bio- and cyber- hell, this movie about how technology alters its users was not only prophetic, but was moreover a personal . . .