David Cronenberg

[Stavrogyn]

It was confirmed today that the new feature film directed by the great David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future - not to be mixed up with his second feature, released in 1970 - will premiere at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. It's his first film in eight years, his last feature before that being Maps to the Start, from 2014.

I know that we have Cronenberg fans here among us dugpas tulpas, so I just wanted to get the conversation going: what are your favourite Cronenberg films? What do you expect from his new work? What do you think of his work in general?

I have seen 13 out of his 22 features: the ones that are missing are the first seven, then M. Butterfly, and finally the upcoming Crimes of the Future. Of course, I intend to see them all, but so far my favourites are The Dead Zone, The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash, and Maps to the Stars, with The Fly easily taking the top spot. That film has moved me as deeply as none of his other films has managed!

Here is the trailer for the new film:

 

[Histeria]

I must admit there's a gaping hole in my filmic education where Cronenberg should be.

This needs to be rectified with haste.

 

[secretlettermkr]

my personal faves are THE BROOD, VIDEODROME, NAKED LUNCH, DEAD RINGERS, SPIDER, and A History of Violence

 

[Rigpa]

I have seen a dozen of Cronenberg’s films, and count him as one of my favorite directors…even though I find his body horror films hard to watch. My favorites are Naked Lunch, Spider (adore Ralph Fiennes), History of Violence (ditto adoration of Viggo Mortensen and William Hurt), and Eastern Promises (Viggo again, and Naomi Watts). He is just such an audacious filmmaker! From what I’ve read his newest is going to be one that is hard to watch, but I cannot resist the Cronenberg/Mortensen combination. (Somehow I have never seen Crash. Must fill in that gap.)

 

[Stavrogyn]

Somehow I have never seen Crash. Must fill in that gap.

I had been postponing watching Crash for years because I thought it would be too disgusting. Then I finally watched it last year, and now it's one of my favourite films of his. It has that certain Cronenbergian atmosphere that's hard to describe... It's a very memorable film.

 

[TimG]

I'd like to revisit Crash sometime. It's been too long since I've seen it and I've practically no memory of that viewing.

My favorites in no particular order: Videodrome, The Brood, A Dangerous Method and The Fly (which needs a new scan and preferably a 4k disc but as a former Fox title, it's now with Disney where it's probably going to collect dust). I also like Dead Ringers, The Dead Zone and A History of Violence a lot (except for William Hurt's hammy turn) and Spider needs a Blu-Ray at least, a very underrated film with one of Howard Shore's best scores. I do not care for Eastern Promises at all: I've watched twice, with the second watch fairly recently, and I liked it no better (the cast is fine but I find Steven Knight's script just a bit too formulaic; Kino's new UHD looks great, however), and remember being pretty disappointed by Maps to the Stars.

 

[mtwentz]

I definitely like The Brood and Videdrome the best. For some reason, I was bored to tears by Dead Ringers. I just remember not a lot happening, and the only interesting aspect were the freaky gynecological instruments.

I have not seen Spider nor have I seen Crash. Missing a few others.

If someone can convince me Dead Ringers is better than I remember, type away.

 

[Ickles]

Cronenberg is generally a bit hit and miss for me. At least enough to typically not warrant inclusion of him on my list of favorite filmmakers. I've absolutely adored some of his films (especially eXistenZ) and have been, to quote mtwentz, "bored to tears" by others. I won't drag those films through the mud as some of them are adored by others so to each their own. I'll probably end up seeing his new film eventually but I'm not especially rabid to see it as humanly possibly like a lot of other film nerds.

 

[baxter]

Cronenberg is a genuinely brilliant filmmaker, and I agree with others that his films are often hard to watch due to their horrific nature. I found Dead Ringers particularly horrific being a twin - it's a psychological slow burner, and a very clever film. There are lots of his recent films I haven't seen, and I need to rectify that. I love Shivers, Scanners and The Brood, and those early films all have a similar feel to me. Slightly ropey, slightly bad acting, but all worth it. Videodrome is amazing, Dead Ringers is amazing, Crash is amazing.

 

[Stavrogyn]

I love Shivers, Scanners and The Brood, and those early films all have a similar feel to me. Slightly ropey, slightly bad acting, but all worth it.

I love hearing things like this, because, even though I have seen a big chunk of his films and consider myself sort of a fan, I haven't seen any of the three films you highlight.

 

[Sam Stanley]

Top 5:

1. Videodrome
2. Scanners
3. Crash
4. Dead Ringers
5. Naked Lunch

 

[Mordeen]

Videodrome taught me as a child who James Woods and Blondie were, and I learned the term "snuff film."

Yeah I watched some crazy shit as a kid. I grew up healthy though.

I think...

- Mordeen

 

[Calderion]

My Top 4:
1. Videodrome
2. A History of Violence
3. The Fly
4. Spider

Really nice to see Cronenberg with a kind of horror movie again.

 

[secretlettermkr]

NEW RED BAND TRAILER

 

[Sam Stanley]

I've really missed crazy Cronenberg.

 

[Stavrogyn]

According to Variety and our dear Elsa Keslassy, Cronenberg is making a new film, The Shrouds, with Vincent Cassel:

Vincent Cassel Starring in David Cronenberg’s ‘The Shrouds,’ FilmNation and CAA Launching Sales in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

Vincent Cassel and David Cronenberg are reuniting for 'The Shrouds,' a new thriller that will launch sales in Cannes.

www.google.com

I choose to believe this, despite the source of the news

Only recently it still seemed that he may have retired, but now we're getting two new films! And he's almost 80!

 

[Sam Stanley]

Great news!

 

[Stavrogyn]

I actually wanted to ask something else yesterday, but the news of a new Cronenberg film excited me and took my attention in another direction.

Has anyone seen M. Butterfly (1993), with Jeremy Irons in the leading role? I've seen it the day before yesterday and loved it. I didn't have any expectations, because the film was received rather poorly and is not really known, so I dived into it solely as a Cronenberg completist, to put another checkmark on the list of his feature films. I knew nothing about the story except for its setting, and the fact that Irons was the lead helped because I knew that even in the worst case scenario I would be watching a great actor (as if Cronenberg could ever really fail so badly).

What a pleasant surprise the film was. The characters and story really hooked me, the production design and camerawork made the film visually enjoyable as well, and Cronenberg's direction was as elegant as you might expect. Even though it's not a typical Cronenberg film, it still has that peculiar Cronenbergian atmosphere that's so hard to describe - but I hope you know what I'm talking about - which might be the main reason why I love his films.

Overall, M. Butterfly will never be considered as one of his major works, but it's vastly underappreciated. If someone like Criterion would remaster and reissue it, it would most certainly be reevaluated and gain more viewers.

 

[MasterMastermnd]

Love Cronenberg. Haven't seen all his films but almost all the ones I have seen I adore. Not crazy about Stereo or the original Crimes of the Future, or Cosmopolis, but I'd rate Videodrome, Crash, eXistenZ, and A History of Violence as among my very favorite films. Shivers, Scanners, The Fly, and Spider are also quite good.

 

[secretlettermkr]

I actually wanted to ask something else yesterday, but the news of a new Cronenberg film excited me and took my attention in another direction.

Has anyone seen M. Butterfly (1993), with Jeremy Irons in the leading role? I've seen it the day before yesterday and loved it. I didn't have any expectations, because the film was received rather poorly and is not really known, so I dived into it solely as a Cronenberg completist, to put another checkmark on the list of his feature films. I knew nothing about the story except for its setting, and the fact that Irons was the lead helped because I knew that even in the worst case scenario I would be watching a great actor (as if Cronenberg could ever really fail so badly).

What a pleasant surprise the film was. The characters and story really hooked me, the production design and camerawork made the film visually enjoyable as well, and Cronenberg's direction was as elegant as you might expect. Even though it's not a typical Cronenberg film, it still has that peculiar Cronenbergian atmosphere that's so hard to describe - but I hope you know what I'm talking about - which might be the main reason why I love his films.

Overall, M. Butterfly will never be considered as one of his major works, but it's vastly underappreciated. If someone like Criterion would remaster and reissue it, it would most certainly be reevaluated and gain more viewers.

I saw it at least 25 years ago.. and Loved It. I have to re watch it