David Cronenberg

[peternotbaldyet]

Since there are topics on Dario Argento and John Carpenter, I thought I'd start one for Cronenberg. I'm generally not keen on slasher films. I don't like Eli Roth at all. '95 minutes of simulated torture.' It doesn't appeal.

And yet there are elements of both in Cronenberg and I find so many of his films hypnotic. The Fly, The Dead Zone and Dead Ringers all create and sustain the most brooding atmospheres and all three films are at heart love stories, as are History Of Violence and Eastern Promises, (and the bath house scene in Eastern Promises is one of the most wince inducing scenes in any film I've seen)

And Cronenberg has the ability to get career best performances. Goldblum in The Fly, Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers has never done anything better and Mortensen in Eastern Promises. I'd include Chris Walken here, but there is the small matter of The Deerhunter to contend with. Does anyone else on here rate Cronenberg?

[Guillaume]

Does anyone else on here rate Cronenberg?

I like very much his movies from the 70's and 80's..."the dead zone", "videodrome", "the brood", etc.
After "dead ringers" i'm mixed about his movies at least the ones i've seen, i wasn't convinced by "History of violence", "eastern promises", "maps to the stars" and " cosmopolis" for example.
i'm a big fan of "the dead zone", it's underrated in Cronenberg's career and it's a very moving movie, Walken is fantastic in it also the supporting cast (Lom, Adams, Skerrit) is very good!   

[cthulhu]

Well to me, he is one of the best directors. I've never seen a movie i didn't like and so many of his movies are just painfully brilliant.

Videodrome was so ahead of its time in storytelling and sujet. "television is reality and reality is television" the melting of layers of consciousness, the switch, if it ever happened, from the objectiv camera to the pov of the protagonist, the effects of the living vhs tape and so much more here. Long live the new flesh!

Rabid and Shivers are extremely intelligent and low budget movies with great impact and philosophical questions about humanity and sexuality.

The Brood also so shocking to watch but immediately you know theres much more behind it. The shape of rage..

Dead Ringers..well i'm so looking forward to a blu ray release in november of this great movie. A big special effect without you noticing it because of a brilliant performance by Jeremy Irons playing twins, such a drama. Have watched the ending so many times, don't know exactly why, but irons searching for himself, his brother mumbling ellie, ellie, ellie...goosebumps.

The Fly, seems like a normal horror movie, but the horror here comes from the interacting of the protagonists, their storys, their ambitions and on top you have supberb mind blowing special effects, disgusting beautiful.

Exitenz, like a remake of videodrome with a different subject of the technology used. This time its not video but gaming and also this movie was ahead of its time when you look at gaming nowadays. The only movie which has some funny moments i guess.

Maps to the stars i mentioned in the other thread. I wasn't prepared for this, watched it and felt sometimes so bad and disgustet although nothing on the screen showed something like that, it was the mindset the atmosphere of this spoiled persons in hollywood. also beautiful disgusting but different.

a history of violence, eastern promises, dense thrillers, wonderful acting, fantastic movies.
spider i almost cannot remember but i liked it and cosmopolis was very cold but more than interesting.
ah, and crash...a metaphor, not easy to watch.

those movies you have to watch more often to get them i think.

and have you seen cronenberg acting as a very bad person in clive barkers nightbreed? he's creepy there

[Master Ray]

This fine director has been brought up before on another thread, but he's always worth a discussion... I'll be back to you after I've had my evening meal, shepherds pie tonight!   

[Ghosttrain]

Rabid, Shivers and The Brood..........Classics,watched them on VHS back in the day...

[Master Ray]

Well, I just found my original post about Mr C on another thread, so I hope you'll forgive me for doing a bit of the old 'cut and paste'... 

You want a horror director who just throws a ton of blood and guts around the place with a few 'jump-scares'?  There are hundreds of them.  Doesn't mean shit.

You want a horror director who throws stuff into your eyes and ears that properly gets into your head and worries you for a while?  Cronenberg is your man.

My first Mr C experience (I'm going to call him Mr C from this point on because I can't be bothered to keep retyping 'Cronenberg'...    ) was on a trailer that I watched on some VHS release or other.  A double bill of 'Night Of The Living Dead' and 'Shivers'.  Check it out here!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GceL1E9-DHI

Damn, that trailer freaked me out!  I saw NOTLD a couple of years later, but it took me a few more years to have the courage to watch 'Shivers'.

I think, like so many people, that 'Scanners' was my first Mr C movie.  'Hey, someone's head blows up in it' said my fellow VHS chums!  And what an exploding head it was, best ever!  Pretty good movie as well!

And, this might be a bit shameful for us horror fans, but I don't think I watched another Mr C film until 'The Fly'.  Which I think is superb.  His commercial highpoint and that rare thing that is a horror film but sort of a romantic comedy as well..    You might disagree but Goldbum and Davies had some chemistry, there were some funny moments and the ending with the claw putting the gun up to his head... always puts a little lump in my throat!

Bear in mind that in the 80's / VHS era, those early Mr C films weren't widely available.  Once they were, I got hold of them as soon as I could.  Shivers, Rabid, The Brood... all creepy as heck....

Oh, I missed out 'The Dead zone'... a film I like very much but not NEARLY as good as the book... sorry.   

And another one i missed out... Videodrome.  Just bloody excellent.  Proper creepy with great and gory effects.  And James Woods.  James Woods is always awesome.

So, we're now in the 90's and we've got Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch and Crash....  totally and utterly disturbing flicks that make an exploding head or two look like absolutely nothing.  Crash, in particular, disturbs the hell out of me, I've never had the courage to watch it a second time.

As to the stuff he did in the 21st Century.. A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method just show how far he's come as a director, no more sex zombies or telekenetic psychos, just a fine director with the ability to disturb in something like mainstream cinema..  I admit, I've never seen Map Of The Stars or Cosmopolis.

Oh, can I just say, he gave a great performance in 'Nightbreed'...

A wonderful director.  And, apparently, he's developing aTV show...

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/david-cronenberg-early-stages-tv-series-venice-film-festival-1202924185/

 

[cthulhu]

..and now i remember, that 'ive already read it;-) but again a fine text!
and since i found "naked lunch" on blu ray for a price my purse can afford i will soon watch it and put out some thoughts here about it.

[Master Ray]

..and now i remember, that 'ive already read it;-) but again a fine text!
and since i found "naked lunch" on blu ray for a price my purse can afford i will soon watch it and put out some thoughts here about it.

Hey, I changed a couple of sentences and rearranged a couple of others to make it fresh for you!   

[peternotbaldyet]

I've never seen Naked Lunch. I need to get hold of that one.

[cthulhu]

..and my copy is still lying around here;-) don't know hwen i wil lgive it a go. maybe for that i need some special herb treatment, for which i'm still waiting;-)