BY DARREN ALLISON
In
the 1982 cult film “Videodromeâ€, James Woods plays a low life television
programmer named Max Renn. His
television station, Civix TV, Channel 83, televises adult programmes such as
softcore pornography over the airwaves. Alongside
his partner, a satellite pirate named Harlan (Peter Dvorsky), Renn scans the
airwaves for decidedly dodgy shows to broadcast on his station. Harlan discovers a noise-shrouded broadcast lasting
less than a minute that takes place in a sordid room. The footage contains convincingly
realistic sadomasochism and possibly a murder. Renn is drawn to the material and immediately starts to investigate in
order to secure the broadcasting of this edgy program called Videodrome. It is during this time that Renn attends a TV
debate on a talk show, where he meets fellow guest and radio personality Nicki
Brand (Deborah Harry). The couple date and Renn soon discovers that Brand is
something of a sadomasochist and is further more turned on by the idea of
Videodrome. Renn however, is growing more frustrated in
locating the source of the programme and is eventually advised by his agent to drop
the project. Additional clips are
located by Harlan that continues to feed more into Renn’s growing curiosity. He
continues to search for the people behind Videodrome until his path leads him
to an encounter with a curious personality known as Brian O’Blivion (Jack
Creley). From here on, David
Cronenberg’s intriguing film takes a very psychological and disturbing turn. Soon
after, Renn begins experiencing headaches and strange hallucinating effects
that are the result of Videodrome’s hidden signal.
Combining
the bio-horror elements of his earlier films whilst anticipating the
technological themes of his later work, “Videodrome†exemplifies Cronenberg’s
extraordinary talent for making both visceral and cerebral cinema. Cronenberg has been hailed by contemporaries
such as John Carpenter, who insists “he’s better than all of us combined†and
Martin Scorsese as a genius. “Videodrome†was Cronenberg’s most mature work to
date and is still regarded as a cult classic.
James
Woods shines in his role of Max Renn, and Debbie Harry turns in a convincing
and confident performance, almost as if she had a point to prove. Whilst the
story shows it age in terms of technology (with Betamax tapes and 4:3 TV’s all
over the place), it also provides a dark and disturbingly accurate account of
what was also to come.
UK
fans of “Videodrome†will be delighted with Arrow’s new presentation. Its
previous release (by Universal) was largely disappointing, not only because of
picture issues (it was also a cut version), but also because of its failure to
deliver in terms of bonus material, which was zero. This time around Arrow have
used the same Criterion master (approved by director David Cronenberg and
cinematographer Mark Irwin) as its source and in the process, the picture is
vastly better. There is no longer evidence of an over sharpened image and as a
result there is a much smoother, pure, high definition presentation. This
master also offers a correct frame ratio and colour definition is much more
vivid, yet stable. Universal’s previous Blu-ray release suffered considerably
from the reproduction of reds and blues in particular. Strong, deep blacks have
also helped to improve some of the darker scenes without compromising any of
the film’s finer details. The film also benefits from just the right amount of
grain and never looks overly defined.
Arrow’s
audio consists of one standard track (in English LPCM 1.0.) but the clarity
remains sharp throughout and really brings to the fore Howard Shore's wonderfully
atmospheric score.
Overall,
I find it hard to perceive how anything can possibly topple this defining
collection. It is by far, the finest transfer (I have yet to see) of what some
fans describe as Cronenberg’s finest hour.
Arrow’s Limited Edition 4 disc package (Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD) really comes to life in its bonus material. For starters, there is an audio commentary provided by Tim Lucas. The correspondent for Cinefantastique Magazine and author of “Videodrome: Studies in the Horror Film†spent two weeks on set alongside Cronenberg , cast and crew during the production. As a result, we are presented with a unique perspective, a genuine insider’s view and his observations are both detailed and extremely accurate. Fans of the film will hardly be disappointed, as it is virtually a ‘captain’s log’ of information.
There is also a loaded section of documentaries and featurettes consisting of “David Cronenberg and the Cinema of the Extremeâ€, a 21 minute BBC documentary programme featuring interviews with Cronenberg, George Romero and Alex Cox on Cronenberg’s cinema, censorship and the horror genre in general.
“Forging the New Flesh†is a documentary programme by filmmaker Michael Lennick which looks at “Videodromeâ€â€™s video and prosthetic make up effects. This enjoyable documentary featuring Rick Baker among others, runs for 28 minutess, but the scenes lifted from “Videodrome†are badly sourced and very dark.
“Take One: Fear on Film†is a really enjoyable round table discussion (25 minutes) from 1982 and hosted by Mick Garris. Joining the discussion are David Cronenberg, who speaks articulately about the horror genre, the always- enthusiastic John Landis and a rather lethargic John Carpenter who gives the impression that he really doesn’t want to be there. Nevertheless, it provides a fascinating insight from all three directors.
“Videoblivion†is a brand new interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin and an Arrow Video exclusive lasting 26 minutes.
“Pirated Signals: The Lost Broadcast†includes deleted scenes that were found only in TV broadcasts of “Videodrome†and have been digitalised from the best available source. At 25 minutes, it serves rather well and should prove essential for “Videodrome†completists.
A brand new interview with producer Pierre David packs rather a lot into its 10 minutes.
“AKA Jack Martinâ€: Dennis Etchison, author of novelizations of “Videodromeâ€, “Halloweenâ€, “Halloween IIâ€, “Halloween III and “The Fogâ€, discusses “Videodrome†and his observations of Cronenberg’s script (17 minutes).
There is also the complete uncensored “Samurai Dreams #13†footage with commentary by Michael Lennick. Shot on Ampex 1†tape, it has to be pointed out that this is uncensored ‘footage’ of the clip seen playing in “Videodromeâ€. I believe some fans have been disappointed, as they expected the complete fictional episode of “Samurai Dreams #13â€. This footage (5 minutes) seems to suggest that this is all that was shot for this sequence and not a complete episode.
“Helmet Camera Test†is a featurette by Michael Lennick and features various examples of experimental footage tested for the headset sequence and lasts 5 minutes.
“Why Betamax?†is another Michael Lennick featurette on the film’s chosen format of videocassette. Don’t rush away for this featurette, at just 68 seconds you may just miss the highlights.
“The Making of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome†is the original promotional featurette. Shot in standard 4:3, and featuring interviews with Cronenberg, Woods and Harry, the film runs for 8 minutes.
A gallery is included consisting of three original trailers with a total time of 4.35 minutess.
Rounding off disc one is “Camera (2000)â€, a short film featuring “Videodromeâ€â€™s Les Carlson in his fourth collaboration with director Cronenberg. At 8 minutes, don’t expect too much.
DAVID CRONENBERG’S EARLY WORKS: [LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and standard definition DVD presentation of four Cronenberg films
“Transfer†(1966) and “From the Drain†(1967), Cronenberg’s previously unavailable short films newly restored by the Toronto International Film Festival [7 & 12 minutes]
“Stereo†(1969) and “Crimes of the Future†(1970): Cronenberg’s early amateur feature films, shot in and around his university campus, prefigure his later work’s concerns with strange institutions (much like “Videodromeâ€â€™s Spectacular Optical) as well as male/female separation (“Dead Ringersâ€) and ESP (“Scannersâ€). Newly restored from original lab elements [65 & 70 minutes]
“Transfer the Future†has Author and critic Kim Newman discusses Cronenberg’s early works and provides a detailed overview.
COLLECTOR’S BOOKLET [LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]
An illustrated 100-page hardback book featuring new writing including Justin Humphreys on “Videodrome†in a modern context, Brad Stevens on the alternate versions, Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg’s early works, extracts from Cronenberg on Cronenberg featuring Cronenberg’s reminiscences of getting started in filmmaking and shooting all the films in this collection, plus more, illustrated with original archive stills.
DETAILS: Region: B, Rating: 18, Cat No: FCD1133, Language: English, Subtitles: English SDH, Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1/1.33:1/1.66:1, Audio: Mono, Colour/B&W.
http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/