Videodrome (Criterion Collection)

Description

When Max Renn goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a hyperviolent torture show called Videodrome. As he struggles to unearth the origins of the program, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into a shadow world of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and bodily transformation. Starring James Woods and Deborah Harry in one of her first film roles, Videodrome is one of writer/director David Cronenberg’s most original and provocative works, fusing social commentary with shocking elements of sex and violence. With groundbreaking special effects makeup by Academy Award®-winner Rick Baker, Videodrome has come to be regarded as one of the most influential and mind-bending science fiction films of the 1980s.DIRECTOR-APPROVED DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURESNew high-definition digital transfer of the unrated versionTwo audio commentaries: David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin, and actors James Woods and Deborah HarryCamera (2000), a short film starring Videodrome’s Les Carlson, written and directed by CronenbergForging the New Flesh, a new half-hour documentary featurette by filmmaker Michael Lennick about the creation of Videodrome’s video and prosthetic makeup effectsEffects Men, a new audio interview with special makeup effects creator Baker and video effects supervisor LennickBootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams and seven minutes of transmissions from “Videodrome,” presented in their original, unedited form with filmmaker commentaryFear on Film, a 26-minute roundtable discussion from 1982 between filmmakers Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick GarrisOriginal theatrical trailers and promotional featuretteStills galleries featuring hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes production photos, special effects makeup tests, and publicity photosEnglish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearingPLUS: An essay by Carrie Rickey and additional essays by Tim Lucas and Gary Indiana.