Blu-ray Review: Videodrome (Arrow Video)

"Better on TV than on the street"

Viewing "Videodrome" at the cinema in 1983 was an overwhelming experience, and David Cronenberg's visionary film has lost none of its power some three decades later.
James Woods plays Max Renn; a cable TV hustler with an eye for tougher programming. His bosses feel anything with "too much class is bad for sex", and a presentation of a series titled "Samurai Dreams" is deemed to be too soft as far as unshakeable Max is concerned. Enter Harlan (Peter Dvorsky) - 'pirate of the high frequencies' who has worked with Max for "ten wonderful years". Harlan plays Max a 53 second feed of a TV series called "Videodrome" which consists of women being tortured in front of an electrified clay wall. Harlan declares the footage probably originates from Malaysia, and promises Max he'll secure additional footage very soon.

Max meets Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry) on a TV talk show and begins a relationship that is charged with Nicki's sadomasochistic tendencies. They watch a Videodrome tape recorded by Harlan, and Nicki is turned on by very extreme clips which is now identified as coming from Pittsburgh. To Max's horror, Nicki decides to audition for a show where no-one gets to come back next week, leaving her lover to track down the origins of what is essentially snuff TV.
Media prophet Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley), his daughter Bianca (Sonya Smit) and the shadowy Cathode Ray mission plunge Max into a terrifying world driven by extreme hallucinations which lead to Barry Convex (Les Carlson) whose 'Spectacular Optical' company harbours a dangerous philosophy.

David Cronenberg's exploration of the mind/body split has realised some challenging and disquieting films, with "Videodrome" a prime example of a director at the top of his game.Of course, the director's rich vein of form was splendidly supported by a regular group of technicians: Ronald Sanders, Carol Spier, Mark Irwin and Howard Shore amongst the people who contributed so much to the look and sound of his films. Cronenberg's direction of actors greatly added to the texture of his work, and Woods and Harry in particular are excellent;the former being onscreen for practically the entire film, as his character experiences mind-bending hallucinations, courtesy of a programme that creates a new part of the brain. Perhaps one of the scariest implications of Videodrome is the hallucinations are perhaps triggered by their victims own depraved fantasies. This really is visionary filmmaking, with several aspects now reality (and some that soon will be), although "Videodrome" was not well received by many of its audience back in 1983.

It was simply too far ahead of its time for many people, but has taken the status of cult movie on the home video circuit.
Like many Cronenberg films, it's not for the squeamish, but paid-up members of the cinema of unease have been amply rewarded by a film that defies the law of diminishing returns. Mark Irwin's inventive photography and lighting; Rick Baker's superb special effects and Howard Shore's doom-laden score combine to form a visual and aural landscape for Cronenberg's small-screen nightmares to work their wholly unsettling magic.

Arrow Video's limited edition Blu-ray numbering 3,000 units sold out within days of release, though there will likely be a re-issue in the near future including the extensive supplementary features but excluding the "Stereo" and "Crimes Of The Future" films and a 100 page hardback book which contains writing from Brad Stevens (on the alternate versions of this film) and Justin Humphreys who looks at the film in a modern context.
Image quality here is a revelation, especially for those of us who have been privy to Universal's cut UK Blu-ray release. The difference is considerable with an increase in sharpness, detail and colour composition.
My first port of call with regard to bonus material was Tim Lucas' audio commentary. Tim was the only journalist onset for the shoot (working for Cinefantastique magazine) and this track (re-recorded when additional material came to light) contains valuable information, observations and anecdotes covering the production. As usual, Tim provides background information on the cast, and is in a position to tell us what was shot on a particular date as well as scenes that were in the script but were never shot. He draws parallels between today's social media and O'Blivion's prediction that everyone will have their own number; talks about the locations used; discusses the actors on and off-screen and tells of a telephone interview with Harry who he'd first seen fronting Blondie on an Iggy Pop tour. Tim also suggests "Tales Of Ordinary Madness" would make for an interesting double-bill with "Videodrome". Another excellent commentary track that begs to be listened to more than once.

'Cinema Of The Extreme' (21m 4s)
Broadcast by the BBC in 1997, this Nick Freand documentary features Cronenberg, George A Romero and Alex Cox. Cronenberg talks about censors; the character of Brian O'Blivion and imagery in his films. Cox chats about Cronenberg's films and recalls the first time he saw "Shivers", while Romero confesses to being worried by some of the images he puts out and talks about his biggest problem with Horror cinema.

'Forging The New Flesh' (27m 44s)
A documentary by the late Michael Lennick who explores Videodrome's video and prosthetic effects. Rick Baker, Frank Carere (physical effects supervisor), Bill Sturgeon (makeup effects crew) and David Coatsworth (location manager) all contribute, as the documentary explores the creation of prosthetics and the race to the Xmas deadline which involved working horrendously long days.

'Fear On Film' (25m 40s)
Shot in 1982, this round table discussion is hosted by Mick Garris, and features Cronenberg, John Landis and John Carpenter. The trio discuss the use of special effects; the classification system; why Horror is so popular and audience reaction at test screenings.

'Samurai Dreams' (4m47s)
The complete and uncensored cut, with commentary from Michael Lennick.
We learn about the source which inspired this footage and get to see two gatecrashes to this extended private party.

Helmet Camera Test (4m45s)
A look at Max's headset which served the purpose of recording his hallucinations.

Here, Cronenberg experiments with different levels of murkiness, and there's reaction shots which include the divine Ms Harry clowning around.

Why Betamax (1m 11s)
The defeated champion of the video age, and exactly the right size for certain scenes in the film

Promotional Featurette (7m 5s)
Interviews with Rick Baker, Deborah Harry and James Woods who explains how Cronenberg sold the film to him.

Interviews
Mark Irwin (26m 27s). Recorded earlier this year, Irwin talks about how he began work as a projectionist; the first couple of features he worked on; the art of lighting a set and Cronenberg's feelings towards storyboards.
Pierre David (producer) 10m 20s
David talks about Deborah Harry; the challenges posed by how to sell the movie; a disasterous test screening and how "Videodrome" was way ahead of its time.
Dennis Etchison (16m 45s)
Here, the author discusses his novelisation and his observations on the script. He explains why he finds Horror a more forgiving and welcoming branch of literature and talks about metting Cronenberg for the first time.

"Camera" (6m 42s)
Made in 2000 to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. This marked Les Carlson's 4th collaboration with Cronenberg, and another instantly memorable one.

Here, he appears on a camera operated by children who capture him reflecting that his best days are behind him. A dream in which he caught a virus from a movie and thoughts on ageing and death and the acting process make this an ingenious and immensely moving short.

'Pirate Signals: The Last Broadcast' (25m47s)
This comprises of 16 deleted scenes from the TV broadcast, which have been digitised from the best available copy.

These segments make for fascinating viewing, and include Max being offered a choice of meals at the Cathode Ray mission and asking to watch Channel 83; a video love letter from Nicki and a limo pick-up; Max catching a very different relection of himself in a store window and a memorable TV epilogue.
Two trailers for the film (4m35s) round off a immensely satisfying package that stands out in a year of rich UK home video releases.

Blu-Ray Review: Rabid

For me, the 70s were a magical time for cinema, and my local theatres became regular haunts for a steady stream of genre fare. 'The Vampire Lovers', 'Blood On Satan's Claw', 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness' and 'The Blood Splattered Bride' were just a few of the films to light up the big screen, along with David Cronenberg's 'Shivers'. The latter introduced me to the weird and wonderful world of an exciting new director who followed up this startling slice of cinema unease with a companion piece titled 'Rabid'.
The film begins with a road accident that leaves biking pair Hart (Frank Moore) and Rose (Marilyn Chambers) as casualties. The on-screen diagnosis forecasts Rose has just 30 minutes to live, and with the nearest hospital some 3 hours away, she's despatched to the nearby Keloid clinic. Dr Dan Keloid (Howard Ryshpan) presides over an institute that's aiming to create a franchise operation for plastic surgery resorts, aided by Murray (the splendid Joe Silver). Rose's severe internal injuries force Keloid to resort to a previously untried technique of neutral field graft: a radical method which involves the placement of her own skin to form new tissue on her abdomen.

This technique had never been used internally, and the effects result in Rose developing an insatiable appetite for blood. A small sphincter opening under her armpit houses a phallus-like spike which pierces the flesh of her victims, turning the recipient into a vampiric being. The bloody results of this epidemic - pitched as a new strain of rabies by the authorities - soon covers a wide area, with the threat that an entire city and beyond will become infected.

While Sissy Spacek was an early contender for the character of Rose, Marilyn Chambers eventually got the role, following a suggestion from Ivan Reitman. At the time, Spacek was hot property due to the recently released 'Carrie' and her involvement would doubtless have considerably boosted box office takings. For all that, Reitman's call turned out to be a good one. It's a fine physical performance from Chambers, whose leap from hardcore porn to horror can be seen as a successful move, leaving one to wonder why she didn't continue in that vein.

'Rabid' certainly built on the promise of its predecessor, anticipating themes and imagery from Cronenberg's future work, and also installed him as something of a prophet with regard to surgical techniques which looked ahead to stem cell research which was still almost 3 decades down the line.
The mind/body split has featured in Cronenberg's work through a series of challenging, thought provoking films and 'Rabid still stands tall and proud in this body of work.

Arrow Video's Blu-ray features an excellent encode of the film which was digitally restored in High Definition by Lionsgate using materials supplied by the Toronto International Film Festival Group. All restoration work was performed at Technicolor in Toronto, Canada. The colour grading on 'Rabid' seems to have caused not a little controversy, with opinions ranging from "It looks great" to criticism that the colour scheme has been revised to the detriment of the picture. Well, it's been some 37 years since I caught 'Rabid' at the cinema and, like the overwhelming majority of patrons at the time, I have no recollection of how this film is supposed to look. Some of the colours do are perhaps over-saturated in places and the levels of grain fluctuate but overall, for a low-budget offering, I'm pleased with the look of 'Rabid' and it's abundance of detail.

The extras begin with two commentary tracks. The first is with David Cronenberg, who talks about his interest in medical research, believing we've never really accepted our own bodies and strive to modify and improve them. He also talks about Marilyn Chambers' performance; his thoughts on the initial choice of Sissy Spacek and explains the difficulties of shooting a film chronologically. It's a most enlightening, stimulating talk and the same can be said for the second commentary track where William Beard enthuses about the script; the impressive scale realised by a low budget film and Chambers' performance and the heroic qualities of her character.
The video supplements on this disc begin with a David Cronenberg interview (20 min 35s) where DC recalls the critical reaction to 'Shivers' and how he was frozen out by the Canadian Film Fund. He also chats about why he found 'Rabid' a difficult script to write, and that he began to realise the way he liked to shoot, feeling more assured when working on this picture.

An Ivan Reitman interview follows, running for 12min 29s. Reitman talks about 'Animal House'; recalls his first meeting with Cronenberg, and why he suggested Marilyn Chambers for the role in 'Rabid'.
A 15min 37s interview with Don Carmody - the film's co-producer - covers his relationship with the Canadian film industry; his memories of running production at Cinepix and of working as a driver for Julie Christie on Robert Altman's 'McCabe And Mrs Miller'.
Make up and fx artist Joe Blasco rounds off the interview section, with a brief chat (3min 11s) on his work on 'Rabid' and why he never got to meet Marilyn Chambers.

'The Directors: David Cronenberg' is a 59min 4s documentary which features Holly Hunter, Marilyn Chambers, Peter Weller, Debbie Harry and a host of other familiar faces who talk about working with Cronenberg. This episode in 'The Directors' series was made just after the release of 'eXistenZ' and covers a lot of ground, looking at the New York underground movement; the making of 'Scanners' ("a nightmare" according to its director) and the hideousness of the British press following attempts to ban 'Crash'. Having attended the UK premiere at the London Film Festival, I can well remember the hysterical coverage leading up to the screening and beyond and share the director's opinion on our 'gutter press'. We also hear about the problems he faced in casting the Mantle twins in his extraordinary 'Dead Ringers', and there are clips from the likes of 'The Fly', 'Scanners' and 'Crash'.
'Raw, Rough And Rabid' follows, being a 15min 4s documentary, courtesy of the excellent High Rising Productions and featuring Canadian critic Kier-La Janisse and Joe Blasco. Here, the legacy of 'Rabid' and Cinepix are discussed, with 'Shivers', 'Death Weekend' and the Ilsa films under the spotlight.
The aforementioned supplementary material gives significant added value to this disc, underlining the achievements of a film that continues to stand the test of time. As usual, Arrow provides an informative booklet, this time containing a beautifully written article from Kier-La Janisse which looks at the human bvody in a very different way; takes in Quebec's 1970 'October Crisis' and discusses the Rose brothers who remain folk heroes in Quebec.
Extracts from the book 'Cronenberg On Cronenberg' are also included and there's a Marilyn Chambers in interview conducted by Calum Waddell in 1995.
A highly recommended release.