David Cronenberg (1943 - )

James Brundage

< Naked Lunch

  • director, screenwriter

  • born March 15, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario

  • educated at University of Toronto (English, science)

  • formerly considered an exploitation director; his recent films, however, have moved away from revolting special effects to concentrate instead on theme and character

  • films include:

  • Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970)

    • two experimental science fiction shorts, made at during his time at university

  • They Came From Within (1975) (aka The Parasite Murders, aka Shivers)

    • co-produced by fellow Canadian Ivan Reitman

    • its depiction of an artificially created parasite that releases uncontrollable sexual desire, is a wry commentary on the sexual liberation of the time

    • early response ranged from MPs in Parliament railing about government funding for a "disgusting" movie, to critic Robert Fulford's review entitled "You Should Know How Bad This Film Is. After All, You Paid For It"

  • Rabid (1977)

    • Marilyn Chambers, former Ivory Snow Girl and porn star, was cast as the unfortunate victim of an operation that leaves her with a vampiric appetite for blood

  • The Brood (1979)

    • another exercise in biological horror, showed Cronenberg reaching for some measure of respectability

    • for the first time he used established actors, Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar, to good effect

  • The Dead Zone (1983)

    • adapted from a Stephen King novel about a man able to predict future events in people's lives simply by touching them (Cronenberg's first non-original screenplay)

    • atmosphere and acting (especially by Christopher Walken) take precedence over special effects

  • Videodrome (1983)

    • a McLuhanesque horror tale about the effects of TV on its viewers

    • an opportunistic TV executive, Max Renn played by James Woods, grows obsessed with a sadistic-erotic program emanating from a pirate station

    • his hallucinations, stimulated by the show, grow increasingly out of control

    • fantasy merges with reality to the point where the viewer of the film, like the protagonist himself, cannot separate the two

    • Woods later said: "He works from his dreams. If he'd just dream more normally, I'd love to work with him again."

    • Renn's TV station seems to be partly inspired by Citytv, and one of his partners shares a first name with Moses Znaimer

  • Dead Ringers (1988)

    • was a critical and commercial success

    • in this film, horror is secondary to the exploration of character and use of cinematography

    • based on a true story, Jeremy Irons plays twin Gynecologists, who develop serious problems when one of them becomes involved with Genevieve Bujold

  • Naked Lunch (1992) is based on the life and writings of William S. Burroughs

  • Crash (1996) won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival

  • Quotes:

    • My dentist said to me the other day, I've enough problems in my life, so why should I see your films?

    • A friend of mine saw Videodrome, said he really liked it, and added, you know someday they're going to lock you up.

    • I don't have a moral plan. I'm a Canadian.

  • excerpts from an interview in Mondo 2000

  • books:

    • Cronenberg on Cronenberg (1992) edited by Chris Rodley

    • The Shape of rage: the films of David Cronenberg (1983) edited by Piers Handling

    • David Cronenberg (1992) by Serge Grunberg

    • David Cronenberg (1993) by Gianni Canova

From the Well Known Canadians Page

< Naked Lunch