Videodrome

Videodrome (1983)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Starring: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Debbie Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson

From: Universal

Long live the new flesh.

I fixed my laptop issues so this will be the first of two reviews for today, where I will then be caught up here. Both films are revisits, something I saw for the second time after the first viewing was many years ago. Both are still very good, thankfully. This was viewed via the Criterion Channel and it was ironic to stream a motion picture like this.

Presumably everyone is at least faintly familiar w/ the premise of how a man named Max Renn operates a low-wattage UHF station in Toronto that shows the sleaziest programs so I won't dwell too much on that, or how he stumbles upon a signal to something called Videodrome. I will admit it was amusing to me to witness all that technology from the past... Betamax tapes & players, giant satellite dishes, etc. In addition, between viewings the narrative has changed on James Woods, at least as a person. The reasons why I of course won't dwell on here-just note that it did not really impact my watching this on Monday night. He still was great as Max Renn; for someone with not a lot of acting experience, Debbie Harry was pretty good in her supporting role.

Naturally, Videodrome is still a pretty weird motion picture with all its bizarre imagery, focus on S&M, gross-out visual effects, and all the rest. However, it was still not too difficult to understand the general plot or to see the various messages that Cronenberg was saying on such topics as the preoccuptation w/ television, wallowing in sex & violence, and our dependence on technology. Almost four decades later it seems to ring more true than it did back then... to echo the thoughts of others, the concept of cable news networks having such an impact on shaping someone's views-even if many claim that those opinions are biased or flat-out lies... and I am not just referring to Fox News here-it is frightening to realize the power of media; and Lord, the power of the Internet and how it unfortunately also spreads dangerous (not to mention false) narratives...

Anyhow, the effects from Rick Baker are still viscerally powerful and the synth-based score from Howard Shore still rules. Famously, Cronenberg turned down Return of the Jedi (as he “did not want to direct someone else's material”) to do this and The Dead Zone instead. As amazing as RotJ could have been if he-or Lynch, for that matter-had done it, this and The Dead Zone are well worth seeing.