DVD Alert: 'Videodrome'

Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYucU765-M8

Bless Barnes & Noble for their recent sale of Criterion Collection DVDs at half price, plus another 10% for B &N members. That's a total of 60% in savings and the best deal anywhere for these terrific editions. I bought several must-haves from my wish list. While last week in Portsmouth, NH's B&N that has a large Criterion section, I purchased Videodrome, a strange but memorable movie I saw 25 years ago.
Director David Cronenberg is more familiar for his remake of The Fly, Scanners, The Dead Zone, and other horror films loaded with unforgettable violent special effects. His later/recent films such as A History of Violence, Spider, and Eastern Promises steered away from Sci-Fi to center more on psychological horror and the violence created by it.
Cronenberg's previous Scanners known for its exploding heads was a hit. When Videodrome came out in '83, it baffled fans and critics, and flopped at the box office. Its plot was hard to follow and its disturbing special effects and violence as well as a downer of an ending didn't help it. We saw it in the theater and the Mrs hated it. I found the story intriguing but confusing and haven't seen the movie again until now. I figured watching the Criterion two disc edition with its commentaries and other extras would clear up a lot of my questions. Seeing Videodrome now makes me realize that the movie was prophetically ahead of its time and more relevant today.
James Woods plays the opportunist head of a fringe cable TV channel looking for new programming. He learns of a satellite feed called Videodrome showing torture and killings. He thinks it's fake but will attract viewers and pursues its origin, against warnings by an agent who discovers the shows are for real and tells him to stay away from it. A radio talk show host (played by Blondie's Deborah Harry) who likes kinky sex and self-mutilation wants to join the show against Woods' wishes. The more Woods watches the transmissions, he begins to hallucinate and soon his body and gun mutate as he becomes an unwilling agent for Videodrome's secret agenda (to kill viewers who like its content) until he's reprogrammed (literally...) to destroy it using his new weapon, the 'cancer gun': Here's some graphic scenes, one with sexual imagery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytp69fBh0J8&NR=1
If those clips didn't turn you away, you noticed how the film's technology is dated (video cassettes, Atari game controllers, analogue TV) as well as the pre-computer graphic special effects (although still very good) but the message is more relevant for today's society heavily dependent/addicted on interactive communication such as the Internet, webcams, and multichannel TV. If this movie was remade as there's rumor of a remake , the TVs would be replaced with computer monitors. I would only recommend Videodrome for Cronenberg or hardcore Sci-Fi fans or perhaps those newer Cronenberg fans interested in his earlier works. This Criterion edition features the restored/uncensored cut and two audio commentaries. The first one features Cronenberg and his director of photography; the second has an articulate Woods and Harry and both soundtracks compliment each other. The other extras include how the special effects were created. Another outstanding Criterion worth every penny.....