“Videodrome” Is your “reality” really “reality”? Genius Cronenberg's provocation from 40 years ago is revived here!

Too explicit violence and sex

The depiction of bizarre physical mutations is a trademark of Cronenberg's work, and in this film he invited special effects genius Rick Baker to create it. A gash that resembles a woman's genitals appears in Max's abdomen, a gun and videotape are inserted into it, a kiss with the TV screen makes him writhe, a pistol merges with Max's dissolving hand... The grotesque combination of human body and machine seen in later Cronenberg works such as Naked Lunch (1991) and Existence (1999) is already being attempted in this work.

Other sexual depictions feature footage from Japanese porn videos brought to Max's station. This fictional piece of pornography, titled ``The Samurai Hidden Figures,'' features a sexual scene in which a young geisha removes a doll's face and kimono, revealing a ``kokeshi'' and ``using'' it. Nowadays, it is no longer possible to talk about Cronenberg's works in isolation from sex, but this was also the first time that Cronenberg's work depicted this subject in an easy-to-understand and explicit way.

“Videodrome” ©1982 Guradian Trust Company.All Rights Reserved.

The visuals may be disturbing to some viewers, but the original script seems to have been more extreme. For example, according to `` Cronenberg on Cronenberg '' published by Film Art, the original ending was that Max, Nicky, and others who had ``evolved'' into mutants engaged in an orgy... Cronenberg once described it as his "personal version of a happy ending." As a fan, I feel like I wanted to see that too, but it's too much. Cronenberg himself now admits that he liked the way the film ended.

Beyond pornography, to a contemplative video experience