VHS : Videodrome [1983]

Rating: - nope
This film is a popular film and is well cited as an influence to both musical artists and film makers alike but i found this to be far too much waffle for my liking and it seemed to last an age and this wasnt what i hoped for when i finally watched this for the first time.
James woods is a television channel producer who is always on the lookout for the next big thing that can shock his viewers,when he views what appears to be a snuff movie he wants to meet those responsible and here his world changes,debbie harry plays his love interest and she does very well here but this film doesnt move me in any way,the twist at the end is poor and i couldnt take to anyone in the film at all,the special effects are good for the year but apart from that i thought this was a very poor film and expected more,blast you expectation,you arent always worth it.

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Rating: - television is reality and reality is less than television
Videodrome is an excellent piece of cinema. It poses questions dealing with the morality of watching graphic violence as it relates to actively being violent. It deals with altered perception and the violation of inflicted altered perception, and it comments on the media and how blurred the line between reality and media portrayal of reality is and will become. The directing is very good and the imagery in this film conveys the story issues very well. Acting on all accounts is great with a special mention to Blondie (Deborah Harry) and James Woods. I think this film is great and really enjoy watching it, however due to the theme of altered perception Cronenburg creates for himself a directorial vehicle to pretty much do what ever he wants. I think as the film goes on the plot takes a back seat to the pursuit of weird imagery which is a little unsatisfying. The subject matter of the film is very interesting and I think maybe could have been developed a little more through the plot than it is. Having said this I do highly recommend this film.

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Rating: - Film on TV
David Cronenberg is a unique filmmaker whose vision of the world is somewhat skewed as compared with the rest of us. In Videodrome he investigates the possible insidious and damaging effects that a continuous stream of torture and death from a TV screen could have upon an individual. Well that is one possible interpretation of this film, in fact he could equally just be pushing the boundaries a bit further himself.

The film was made in 1982 when Video was just beginning to boom all over the world. It stars James Woods as Max Renn, who gives one of his best ever performances, as an executive for a small cable TV station who in searching for something new to air on the station. He discovers Videodrome, or is a duped into discovering it, and from that point on starts to hallucinate. Beyond this point it becomes difficult to know what is real and what isn't. Suffice to say, if you are not familiar with Cronenberg, things turn pretty nasty and although some of the special effects look a little dated now this certainly isn't for the squeamish.

Unless you have read a detailed synopsis by Cronenberg himself, you are likely to get to the end of this movie and wonder what it all means, which is pretty much how I felt. However its done with a style that is largely missing from a lot Hollywood movies, and that is not surprising. Cronenberg is Canadian and this is a Canadian film. It has a different feel to Hollywood movies, perhaps more akin to a European movie. I agree with the previous reviewer that towards the end the typical Cronenberg 'horror' element was overplayed, but overall this is a thought-provoking and strangely entertaining movie that I look forward to watching again.

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Rating: - Television is reality, and reality is less than television
They say you either love or hate this rather bizarre offering from 1983, but I found myself somewhat indifferent as Videodrome approached its conclusion. To my mind, the final third of the story is ultimately too haphazard, esoteric, and too consciously horror-driven to clearly express the themes worked into the heart of the film. It's easy to read a lot into this film, but that's as much of a credit to the viewer as it is to the filmmakers.

Still, Videodrome is certainly a fascinating, unique film that compels the viewer to contrast the interplay between video and real life in our increasingly technological age. By 1983, most people were already seeing life through a television screen - TV defined the news, fashion, the latest fads, etc. In the movie, TV plays as integral a part as food and comfort in the rehabilitation of the homeless taken in at the Cathode Ray Mission run by Dr. O'Blivion (Jack Creley). Rather than paint the television as a soul-draining maker of brain-dead zombies, Videodrome forges its way down an even more frightening path, where television is used as a potential weapon on the masses.

James Woods plays Max Renn, a rather sleazy cable operator who depends on shocking television shows to keep his little station up and running. He discovers many of his shows through satellite piracy, and that is just how Videodrome first comes to his attention. He is fascinated with the show, which features nothing but torture and abuse of individuals, especially women, with no sign of a plot anywhere behind it. It's just the kind of shocking new thing he's after, and so he begins searching for its source. His prurient interest in such violent material is enhanced by his current girlfriend, Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry), who is so into S&M that she vows to audition for Videodrome herself. Before long, Max begins hallucinating, and his efforts to discover the source of Videodrome become, at the same time, a desperate attempt to maintain his sanity if not physical life. The show isn't rotting his brain, but it is physically changing it, and therein lies the unheralded danger of this example of reality TV taken to the extreme.

All of this works beautifully for the first hour, but I just feel the psychology of the story is ultimately sacrificed in the name of horror, as the special effects force something of a disconnect between the viewer and the film. At least in my case, this robbed this otherwise perversely fascinating film of much of its power.

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Rating: - Surreal adventure in horror
Cronenberg has achieved a huge cult following with his take on horror and science fiction. It's sophisticated, often controversial, and always incisive. He dissects contemporary society by looking into the day after tomorrow and giving a caustic spin to the commonplace - the motor car, the condominium, the television.

In 'Videodrome', James Woods plays a Canadian television entrepreneur, a man who provides material - usually suspect, often porn - for cable TV. In the course of his seedy research he finds a pirate broadcast of a strange, compelling programme. The torture and masochism he glimpses as the programme hisses and breaks up is ... well, it looks real. Or is it just incredibly well made, with the interference and fluctuating picture quality just an example of good engineering and clever directing, simulating clandestine status to give the show a bit of edge?

Woods teams up with a radio broadcaster (Debbie Harry) to investigate. They tune in, turn on, and drop into an underworld of research and exploration which exposes human vulnerability to the influence of television. Maybe it doesn't just have a numbing effect on the brain ... maybe it can take over your body ... maybe the broadcast can become flesh as TV and reality merge? This is television as an acid trip.

An engrossing movie, playing off its own ironic take on the ability of film and television to confuse, mislead, misinform, or corrupt. Cronenberg speculates on the impact of television by taking you into the surreal, asking you to suspend your disbelief ... then question your belief.

Woods' character is sated by all the garbage he's seen. Nothing surprises him any more. He needs something weird, something even more shocking than porn. Do people really need to be shocked? Given the mind-numbing diet of reality TV to which we've been subjected in recent years, maybe Cronenberg is wrong. Television doesn't have to push us to the extreme ... it can destroy our minds with monotony instead.

But 'Videodrome' takes us beyond the unreal. Consider how much of your understanding and experience of the world is based on television news. The truth, and its corruption, is out there, and can come at you through your television screen. The moment we accept reality as what the television portrays, that's the moment it takes over our bodies as well as our minds.

A disturbing, thought-provoking, hugely entertaining film. Like many of Cronenberg's movies, though, you'll either love it or hate it. He's a man who doesn't seem to allow much room for a middle way. If you enjoy the unusual, if you appreciate the surreal, if you like to be challenged and explore irony, this may be a movie you'll love.