Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6487 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-05-05
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Sleazy cable TV programmer Max Renn (Woods) encounters a strange new program known as VIDEODROME. Under its mysterious influence, Max's fantasies seem to come to life as strange things begin to happen and reality is not what it seems. Unmistakable weirdness from cult director Cronenberg.

Customer Reviews

nope
This film is a popular film and is well cited as an influence to both musical artists and film makers alike but i found this to be far too much waffle for my liking and it seemed to last an age and this wasnt what i hoped for when i finally watched this for the first time.
James woods is a television channel producer who is always on the lookout for the next big thing that can shock his viewers,when he views what appears to be a snuff movie he wants to meet those responsible and here his world changes,debbie harry plays his love interest and she does very well here but this film doesnt move me in any way,the twist at the end is poor and i couldnt take to anyone in the film at all,the special effects are good for the year but apart from that i thought this was a very poor film and expected more,blast you expectation,you arent always worth it.

television is reality and reality is less than television
Videodrome is an excellent piece of cinema. It poses questions dealing with the morality of watching graphic violence as it relates to actively being violent. It deals with altered perception and the violation of inflicted altered perception, and it comments on the media and how blurred the line between reality and media portrayal of reality is and will become. The directing is very good and the imagery in this film conveys the story issues very well. Acting on all accounts is great with a special mention to Blondie (Deborah Harry) and James Woods. I think this film is great and really enjoy watching it, however due to the theme of altered perception Cronenburg creates for himself a directorial vehicle to pretty much do what ever he wants. I think as the film goes on the plot takes a back seat to the pursuit of weird imagery which is a little unsatisfying. The subject matter of the film is very interesting and I think maybe could have been developed a little more through the plot than it is. Having said this I do highly recommend this film.

Film on TV
David Cronenberg is a unique filmmaker whose vision of the world is somewhat skewed as compared with the rest of us. In Videodrome he investigates the possible insidious and damaging effects that a continuous stream of torture and death from a TV screen could have upon an individual. Well that is one possible interpretation of this film, in fact he could equally just be pushing the boundaries a bit further himself.

The film was made in 1982 when Video was just beginning to boom all over the world. It stars James Woods as Max Renn, who gives one of his best ever performances, as an executive for a small cable TV station who in searching for something new to air on the station. He discovers Videodrome, or is a duped into discovering it, and from that point on starts to hallucinate. Beyond this point it becomes difficult to know what is real and what isn't. Suffice to say, if you are not familiar with Cronenberg, things turn pretty nasty and although some of the special effects look a little dated now this certainly isn't for the squeamish.

Unless you have read a detailed synopsis by Cronenberg himself, you are likely to get to the end of this movie and wonder what it all means, which is pretty much how I felt. However its done with a style that is largely missing from a lot Hollywood movies, and that is not surprising. Cronenberg is Canadian and this is a Canadian film. It has a different feel to Hollywood movies, perhaps more akin to a European movie. I agree with the previous reviewer that towards the end the typical Cronenberg 'horror' element was overplayed, but overall this is a thought-provoking and strangely entertaining movie that I look forward to watching again.