Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3030 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-03-25
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is a stew of corporate espionage, virtual reality gaming, and thriller elements, marinated in Cronenberg's favourite Crock-Pot juices of technology, physiology and sexual metaphor. Jennifer Jason Leigh is game designer Allegra Geller, responsible for the new state-of-the-art eXistenZ game system; along with PR newbie Ted Pikul (Jude Law), they take the beta version of the game for a test drive and are immersed in a dangerous alternate reality. The game isn't quite like PlayStation, though; it's a latexy pod made from the guts of mutant amphibians and plugs via an umbilical cord directly into the user's spinal column (through a BioPort). It powers up through the player's own nervous system and taps into the subconscious; with several players it networks their brains together.

Geller and Pikul's adventures in the game reality uncover more espionage and an antigaming, proreality insurrection. The game world makes it increasingly difficult to discern between reality and the game, either through the game's perspective or the human's. More accessible than Crash, eXistenZ is a complicated sci-fi opus, often confusing, and with an ending that leaves itself wide open for a sequel. Fans of Cronenberg's work will recognize his recurring themes and will eat this up. Others will find its shallow characterisations and near-incomprehensible plot twists a little tedious. --Jerry Renshaw, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Documentary
Theatrical Trailer
Directors Audio Commentary
Visual and Special Effects Supervisors Commentary
Exclusive Console
Interactive Menu Including Internet Hyperlink
None

Synopsis
A renowned international virtual reality game designer (Leigh), creator of a new interactive game called eXistenZ, becomes the target of an assassination plot by a group of religious fanatics. She is forced to go into hiding with a novice security guard (Law) sworn to protect her. However, during the chase the two of them experience a world where the boundaries of fantasy and reality are blurred and nothing is as it seems. A psychosexual mindbender from director Cronenberg.

Customer Reviews

If you haven't seen eXistenZ don't read other reviews - just Watch it, Live it and ....
Love it or loathe it, this movie is essentially a one line gag, although it will probably take you 93 minutes to get the joke. Although it's about a new totally immersive virtual reality game [eXistenZ], the plot has nothing in common with films like 'The Matrix' - there's no alien 'war of the worlds' threat or suchlike. In fact this film has more in common with having hot tea and crumpets inside Star Trek's Holodeck with the safety protocols off. Besides eXistenZ is firmly set in our world and time, although it probably does represent a glimpse of the Playstation-8 touchie/feelie gaming future. Like 'Sixth Sense', the films power is totally dependent on not knowing what happens at the end (and the middle for that matter). I don't see how anyone could criticise the final scenes - that's exactly what the film is about. As the films power works best on first viewing, you could rent rather than buy, but with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Jude Law and Christopher Eccleston involved, and a complex, almost irrelevant, script, repeat viewing is rewarding [plus there's the three voice overs from the production crew]. If Twin Peaks ever came out as a video game, it might well be eXistenZ. And what's the game eXistenZ's tagline? - "Play it. Live it. Kill for it".

Testimony to David Cronenberg's bizarre imagination
I realise that this isn't really the place for this, but does anyone else think that, with his bizarre imagination, David Cronenberg would have made the ideal Alien director? Even better than David Fincher.

A worrying concept
I bought this film and was a bit disappointed at first to see one of my favourite actors (Christopher Ecclestone) with a dodgy American accent.

Thankfully - after experiencing several twists and turns - I saw why this was the case and all was right with the world again!

This is a great Sci-fi film with some deep concepts. Imagine a world where people plug themselves in (via a port in the spine) to a virtual world. This is a film where people use gaming devices which are actually organic rather than machine. People become obsessed.


This is a thought provoking film - with gaming becoming more realistic, and more involved. With people being able to interact with others through game and live second lives there, there is a possibility that the line between one life and the other may become blurred. I'm sure there are people out there who are unhappy in their real life, but comfortable in their second one. What could be the consequences of having people who care more for people in a virtual world than in the real one?