248 Videodrome

[cdnchris]

Blu-ray

[MitchPerrywinkle]

So I saw this for the first time about a month ago during a horror movie marathon with some friends, and though I had seen some of Cronenberg's other films ("The Fly" and "A History of Violence") I was still disturbed by this film. It's a strange film, and I'm not sure if it entirely works (it seems a little too abstract in places for it's own good), yet it bears a strong social critique beneath the gore and special effects. It's downright eerie how prophetic the film was twenty years before "Saw" and "Hostel" hit theaters and how people would dub them with the moniker of "Torture Porn". Cronenberg knew that our culture was very rapidly beginning to lose the distinction between sexuality and violence (much like the main character's distinction between reality and hallucination), and how both could be easily exploited by the media for money and power. Yet even when we 'rebel' against the system

SpoilerShow

as James Woods does near the end,

there's always someone else to take it's place. In the end, it may already be too late.

Overall, a highly intelligent social indictment of the media and how it influences our perception of reality. I might have to see it again in the future to determine if it's a masterpiece, but I'm certainly glad Criterion has it in their catalogue.

[manicsounds]

Very glad they kept the Betamax looking case with the slipcase for the Blu-ray. It was one of the best packaging designs out there, and the lovely and disturbing menus are intact too.

[JesusoFmonteVideo]

Blu-ray.com

[manicsounds]

Apparently, the Universal Europe edition of "Videodrome" has significantly more picture than the Criterion, making it look like the Criterion severely zoomed in for information.

[dwk]

Way too much headroom in the Universal Europe release.

[stevewhamola]

I wouldn't discredit the Criterion entirely. CC's edition is advertised as a "restored high-definition digital transfer of the unrated version" approved by both director and cinematographer. And if the framing was wrong on the DVD, surely it would have been corrected on the Blu (ala Rushmore).

[mfunk9786]

Way too much headroom in the Universal Europe release.

This. Those stills look awful.

[tenia]

Way too much headroom in the Universal Europe release.

This. Those stills look awful.

Clearly. Probably post-processes to death, as usual with Universal. I'm really afraid of what will be released from them newt year. They announced a marvelous year of tremendous restaurations, but if they can't handle properly a transfer, what's the point ?

Anyway, I still have an issue with the Criterion (which I don't own yet in HD) : comparing the CC VS Uni, the CC seems heavily cropped, but more than this, the cropping being not centered, the compositions seems now quite off-centered.

[GG Pan]

I love that sense of there being a 'big event' occuring but that after such a scene there is an aftermath and that different people around 'the event' have experienced or witnessed the scene in different ways. It adds a sense of verisimillitude but also is an interesting way of showing how information about the event is expanding beyond the semi-public space of an exclusive, invitation only kind of event to the wider knowledge of the outside world - that very brief moment when a shocking event is still a relatively intimate experience and there is a world outside that is still relatively innocent of the knowledge of what has taken place.

This is something I've noticed more on my (many) repeat viewings of Videodrome. I find something darkly funny about it, that Barry Convex's gurgled screaming is still being picked up by the microphone & amplified by the auditorium speakers, and everyone in the lobby seems strangely uncurious about this gurgled shrieking, as if it's part of the trade show. :)

Repeat viewings have led me to find more of the humor in Cronenberg's films. I think you have to watch Videodrome 3 times before you can really pick up on the humor. The first viewing should be a totally immersive & unsettling mindfuck of an experience. The 2nd viewing is to watch the film with a different perspective and/or appreciate the craftsmanship & artistry of cast & crew.

And I haven't even mentioned the additional 2 viewings with the excellent audio commentaries. James Woods is a rare actor who can delivery a commentary as intelligent, observant & engaging as the director [too bad Debbie Harry's less perceptive comments are spliced in].

I LOVE this film.

[black&huge]

Question: is the transfer outdated/could use an update? I am wanting to get this for the flash sale going on right now. Looked at the beaver comparison caps to the arrow blu which says and looks identical and i know the arrow has more features so which version should I get?

[dwk]

Very few titles wouldn't benefit from a new 4K scan, but the transfer is fine. As for your second question, I think the Cronenberg commentary on the Criterion is of far more value than anything exclusive to the Arrow.

[Gregor Samsa]

Very few titles wouldn't benefit from a new 4K scan, but the transfer is fine. As for your second question, I think the Cronenberg commentary on the Criterion is of far more value than anything exclusive to the Arrow.

The Criterion commentaries are excellent, but the Arrow does have important extras in its own right like the deleted scenes from the TV version.

[dwk]

Guess I'd forgotten those scenes from the TV version. Still, I think I'd still prioritize Cronenberg's commentary over the deleted scenes. But that is just me.