The turning point in this film, when Bianca reprograms Max to turn against Videodrome, is what really grabbed me as a viewer. He does away with Harlan and Barry and retreats to an abandoned barge where Bianca uses images of an already dead Nikki to seduce him to kill himself, thus destroying Videodrome completely. For a horror film this one was absolutely brilliant!
WellConditioned But he must be alucinating, because there couldnt be a television working in the abandoned ship. That makes no sense. He must have been alucinating or something like that. But i like to think that he wins of course.
When you listen to Cronenberg talk about this movie, it is more about how Wood's character's singular drive towards rating ultimately changes the world around him. It is not TVs potential power over viewers but how your own desires can alter the way reality is perceived. The use of the videotape and TV is of interest only in that is makes physical emotions, desires, etc...
Yep, it was certainly ahead of its time...also foreshadows what the internet and social media have become now, with a person's life potentially being destroyed by a random tweet or seeking acceptance for "Likes" and views".
This was absolutely brilliant. Just watched Videodrome and was looking for analysis videos to confirm my suspicions on the films themes and this hit the spot.
"fear doesn't come from blood and guts, fear comes from taboos that have been ingrained in you either from your family, religion or traditions" AMAZING QUOTE!!!!!!! its always the ones closest to you who hurt you the most! we can never see how much we are brainwashed...
Thank you very much for making this vid. short but sweet. Very enjoyable. Nice concise summary of the plot and 'meaning', not to mention you have a very calm and clear voice! Cheers.
Thanks for watching! When I was making this vid I considered talking about the issue of sex and pornography in the film but I couldn't find the right way to approach it. I am my harshest critic, If I can't make a subject from a film entertaining to watch than I just won't bother pursuing it. Thats why this video is a bit shorter than my others.
Sean McDougall well you did a fine job nonetheless. I guess if you ever found the right words you could do an accompaniment to this. But I think its good how you've done it. Haven't watched many others of yours but just looking through I know I have a great many to enjoy! Thanks again :)
Great analysis. These days I tend to think the internet has become more of the retina of the mind's eye than television. I'd love to see a sequel to Videodrome someday - perhaps a screenplay based on the web instead of TV. It'd be difficult to replicate the gritty realism of the first Videodrome, though. Cronenberg had all the right ingredients the first time around...the story and casting was spot-on.
Wow Sean. I saw this movie my senior year in high school in 1983. How prophetic. I never made the connection regarding 'The Manchurian Candidate. Thank you. It frightens me to think that most of us have a walkie/talkie/thinkie in our pockets. That is if we choose to succumb to thinking someone we've never met is a "friend", to fill the void, feel part of something. Yikes. The exponential explosion of social media since Jobs held up that piece of crap makes my skin crawl. LMAO....Thank goodness it's a pic-ie/pingie/trackie also. :)
Thanks Sean. Having done a few documentaries myself (including two on Kubrick), I can appreciate the thought and effort that goes into these. For what it's worth, I doubt that any of us who worked on Videodrome had any idea how prescient or enduring the film would turn out to be. Sometimes you're lucky enough to be present when one gets knocked out of the zeitgeist, though when a tired crew is just trying to get it done one day and shot at a time, it can be hard to see that coming.
I just finished watching it, and it is absolutely brilliant, and just as apt in an Internet world where everything on the Internet is real and true except on April Fools Day.
Saw this movie yesterday (after years of hearing good things about it) and it was great! I was lost on some parts but that’s why I’m here watching this video! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Thank you very much sir, it means a lot hearing that from someone who worked on the film. If you enjoyed this video I have many more that look at the films of Kubrick, Scorsese, and John McTiernan.
Thanks for your work, this film is endlessly watchable. The message of the movie is received through the filter of the current state of media consumed and still manages to shock.
Does everyone know that Hollywood is remaking not only Videodrome but John Carpenter's classic THEY LIVE this year? Yes, you can see on Rotten Tomatoes that BOTH are being remade. This is proof of how powerful both of these films were ahead of their time. Thank goodness I saw them when they were released and I thank the Village Voice for providing me with such brilliant film reviews during the 1980's that led me to see both of them. Over the years, I have tried to get many people to digest what these films were about beyond the horror/sci-fi aspects, however, most people have never heard of Marshall McLuhan or accepted his views on the media. When I tell people to watch both of these films and Melvin Van Peebles brilliant documentary CLASSIFIED X in order to understand the media and portrayal of Blacks in film, they mostly don't get it. But WE do.
Kenneth Ketchum my eyes lit up when you said they're remaking those 2 great films and the fact your profile is brother Malcolm that's just too awesome. I definitely need to check out classified x
Yes, I do. You know Hollywood operates on its own time table. Some movies take over twenty years to get made. I imagine it will be remade due to its accuracy. GET OUT was made and it came from nowhere. Don't worry, I am more than satisfied with the original THEY LIVE and Videodrome movies because they are both from the eighties when I was in my twenties. We understood what was really going on and what continues to run this planet.
I couldn't help thinking that Her, the Spike Jones movie, was almost a romantic take on the very same idea as Videodrome. Essentially, Videodrome is a horror about the dangers of technology and how man would eventually 'fall in love' with the machines he owned. Crash is the very same idea you could say. Take the horror out of the story and have the protagonist so seduced by the tech he owns, he starts to feel romantically connected to it..that's Her, for me at least. Her becomes a much more interesting film when you consider the more cautionary side of the story.
Sadly it looks like Carpenter is retired from filmmaking (if you don't count 2010's "The Ward"). I guess Hollywood is more interested in remaking his old films then wanting him to make a new film.
@@SeaTac411 Understandable. Every time I see a film I make sure to check if it's reviewed or analyzed on your channel. I'm def not unsubscribing; even if you never take a deep dive into another film again. Take care!
Thanks for this. My brother showed me this movie months ago and I didn't like it. Although I think that Cronenberg's The Fly is a masterpiece and I love it. I guess I didn't follow the story in a Manchurian Candidate type story. I've seen the one with Denzel. Well done video.
You should check out the film Existenz, that's practically a companion piece to Videodrome, only it focuses on getting sucked into virtual reality games rather than TV. Also, see Dead Ringers.
When I watched this movie for the first time in the 80's with my date at the time. Being dumb kids we both come out of the theatre clueless and feeling sick to the stomach and asking what the hell did we just watch. Looking at it years later without it being cut to pieces. Cronenberg delivers big time so ahead of its time.
It's the same theme Cronenberg explores in existenz & Cosmopolis. Existenz dealing with videogames and Cosmopolis with money. Hell the ending of Cosmopolis is almost the same as Videodrome
Let me say at the outset that I don't get horror films. I've read where psychologists have said that riding roller coasters is popular because the near death experience makes you feel more alive. Milk and cookies makes me feel alive as well as a good blowjob, but I digress. You can keep your disgustingly vivid special effects horror movies as well as those damn roller coasters. It's just not for me.
I think it's fun to be scared. Also, on a deeper level, I personally enjoy seeing people on screen dealing with terrible/vile/inexplicable things, as I feel these things reflect many experiences I and others have had in life and in turn help us deal with them. In my experience, the hardships one faces in the real world are rarely sterile and comprehensible; the things we find truly hard to deal with are shocking and disgusting. It brings us catharsis to see these things reflected in art, at least I think. To each their own though
@@ronanm4418 I understand that there are personality types who enjoy things like that, while others are affected by scary things so easily and so deeply that mild things can seem very frightening... or to a greater degree than they might affect others.
I'm basing that on the ending of the film where the psychiatrist breaks down Normans split personalities and his obsession with his mother. Admittedly what the psychiatrist describes is closer to an Oedipus complex. But when he says "Then she met a man, and it seemed to Norman that she threw him over for this man", I think Norman's obsession may have been beyond just Oedipal.
The turning point in this film, when Bianca reprograms Max to turn against Videodrome, is what really grabbed me as a viewer. He does away with Harlan and Barry and retreats to an abandoned barge where Bianca uses images of an already dead Nikki to seduce him to kill himself, thus destroying Videodrome completely. For a horror film this one was absolutely brilliant!
WellConditioned But he must be alucinating, because there couldnt be a television working in the abandoned ship. That makes no sense. He must have been alucinating or something like that. But i like to think that he wins of course.
the word is "HALLUCINATING", e.g., hallucinations, hallucinogen, etc.
The final scene kind of lost it for me compared to the rest of the film
@@Palendrome
Same im still wondering what happened really, maybe thats the point.
I'm probably going to have to watch this several more times, I couldn't tell which scenes were real and which were not.
I don't think you're supposed to be able to distinguish the difference.
the extensive gore was hallucinated, but the results are real
@@ajanthony1356 or are they?????
When you listen to Cronenberg talk about this movie, it is more about how Wood's character's singular drive towards rating ultimately changes the world around him. It is not TVs potential power over viewers but how your own desires can alter the way reality is perceived. The use of the videotape and TV is of interest only in that is makes physical emotions, desires, etc...
Yep, it was certainly ahead of its time...also foreshadows what the internet and social media have become now, with a person's life potentially being destroyed by a random tweet or seeking acceptance for "Likes" and views".
This was absolutely brilliant. Just watched Videodrome and was looking for analysis videos to confirm my suspicions on the films themes and this hit the spot.
Thanks Scott, I have many other analysis videos if you are interested.
Great comparison with the Manchurian Candidate. I had forgotten about that film's story and how closely it matches Videodrome.
"fear doesn't come from blood and guts, fear comes from taboos that have been ingrained in you either from your family, religion or traditions" AMAZING QUOTE!!!!!!! its always the ones closest to you who hurt you the most! we can never see how much we are brainwashed...
Thanks Ken.
Thank you very much for making this vid. short but sweet. Very enjoyable. Nice concise summary of the plot and 'meaning', not to mention you have a very calm and clear voice! Cheers.
Thanks for watching! When I was making this vid I considered talking about the issue of sex and pornography in the film but I couldn't find the right way to approach it. I am my harshest critic, If I can't make a subject from a film entertaining to watch than I just won't bother pursuing it. Thats why this video is a bit shorter than my others.
Sean McDougall
well you did a fine job nonetheless. I guess if you ever found the right words you could do an accompaniment to this. But I think its good how you've done it. Haven't watched many others of yours but just looking through I know I have a great many to enjoy! Thanks again :)
Great analysis. These days I tend to think the internet has become more of the retina of the mind's eye than television. I'd love to see a sequel to Videodrome someday - perhaps a screenplay based on the web instead of TV. It'd be difficult to replicate the gritty realism of the first Videodrome, though. Cronenberg had all the right ingredients the first time around...the story and casting was spot-on.
Thanks!
Wow Sean. I saw this movie my senior year in high school in 1983. How prophetic. I never made the connection regarding 'The Manchurian Candidate. Thank you.
It frightens me to think that most of us have a walkie/talkie/thinkie in our pockets. That is if we choose to succumb to thinking someone we've never met is a "friend", to fill the void, feel part of something. Yikes.
The exponential explosion of social media since Jobs held up that piece of crap makes my skin crawl.
LMAO....Thank goodness it's a pic-ie/pingie/trackie also. :)
Thanks Sean. Having done a few documentaries myself (including two on Kubrick), I can appreciate the thought and effort that goes into these.
For what it's worth, I doubt that any of us who worked on Videodrome had any idea how prescient or enduring the film would turn out to be. Sometimes you're lucky enough to be present when one gets knocked out of the zeitgeist, though when a tired crew is just trying to get it done one day and shot at a time, it can be hard to see that coming.
R.I.P. Michael
Oh no! I had no idea he passed away. I am glad I told him how much I appreciated the compliments before he passed.
Great video on this body horror classic perfect comparison at 5:00
the oldest version of black mirror
Black Mirror’s a new version of it*
What the hell was up with television sets and guys named Max?
Max Renn, Max Headroom. All on beta-max!
Yes you're the example of a true brain dead.
really great analysis, thank you
Thanks Emma.
Great analysis! Thank you so much for posting.
+Anna Jozwiak Thanks Anna.
I just finished watching it, and it is absolutely brilliant, and just as apt in an Internet world where everything on the Internet is real and true except on April Fools Day.
Saw this movie yesterday (after years of hearing good things about it) and it was great! I was lost on some parts but that’s why I’m here watching this video! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Thank you very much sir, it means a lot hearing that from someone who worked on the film. If you enjoyed this video I have many more that look at the films of Kubrick, Scorsese, and John McTiernan.
Short and great analysis.
Thanks Marcus.
That was excellent!
Thanks Matt.
movie was way ahead of its time, we need a remake
Thanks for your work, this film is endlessly watchable. The message of the movie is received through the filter of the current state of media consumed and still manages to shock.
Love this movie 🍿
well done Sean , great insights
*CRONENBERG MADE GREAT AMERICA* 🙏
*DEATH TO VIDEODROME LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH* 📺
Watched the movie yesterday... Great analysis!
Thanks LOVEAapjes.
This was a great analysis!
Thanks Evan.
Does everyone know that Hollywood is remaking not only Videodrome but John Carpenter's classic THEY LIVE this year? Yes, you can see on Rotten Tomatoes that BOTH are being remade. This is proof of how powerful both of these films were ahead of their time. Thank goodness I saw them when they were released and I thank the Village Voice for providing me with such brilliant film reviews during the 1980's that led me to see both of them. Over the years, I have tried to get many people to digest what these films were about beyond the horror/sci-fi aspects, however, most people have never heard of Marshall McLuhan or accepted his views on the media. When I tell people to watch both of these films and Melvin Van Peebles brilliant documentary CLASSIFIED X in order to understand the media and portrayal of Blacks in film, they mostly don't get it. But WE do.
I think it's rather proof of Hollywood's creative bankruptcy.
that didnt happen bud
Kenneth Ketchum my eyes lit up when you said they're remaking those 2 great films and the fact your profile is brother Malcolm that's just too awesome. I definitely need to check out classified x
The End Boss you realize that comment is literally fucking 3 years old
Yes, I do. You know Hollywood operates on its own time table. Some movies take over twenty years to get made. I imagine it will be remade due to its accuracy. GET OUT was made and it came from nowhere. Don't worry, I am more than satisfied with the original THEY LIVE and Videodrome movies because they are both from the eighties when I was in my twenties. We understood what was really going on and what continues to run this planet.
I couldn't help thinking that Her, the Spike Jones movie, was almost a romantic take on the very same idea as Videodrome. Essentially, Videodrome is a horror about the dangers of technology and how man would eventually 'fall in love' with the machines he owned. Crash is the very same idea you could say. Take the horror out of the story and have the protagonist so seduced by the tech he owns, he starts to feel romantically connected to it..that's Her, for me at least. Her becomes a much more interesting film when you consider the more cautionary side of the story.
Sadly it looks like Carpenter is retired from filmmaking (if you don't count 2010's "The Ward"). I guess Hollywood is more interested in remaking his old films then wanting him to make a new film.
02:30 what movies is this? seems badass!
+Vlad Radulescu It's from Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.
You know...Dracula.
vlad the impailer
hhmmm.. video posted in 2013 same year as when i first watch this movie. i finally found the right explanation. thanks.
This movie and Scanners had people trippin!!
and he is doing the same with videogames in ExistenZ.
Right?
Whatever happened to this dude? His critical analysis is great.
Thanks for the compliment; but I just ran out of steam.
@@SeaTac411 Understandable. Every time I see a film I make sure to check if it's reviewed or analyzed on your channel. I'm def not unsubscribing; even if you never take a deep dive into another film again. Take care!
Excellent take on these films I'd like to see you do a video those movies you mentioned and their symbolism
I've red / scene many analyses of Videodrome and all of them our good including this won.
when you talked about The Manchurian Candidate witch i hadn't seen in a really long time you made me want to re watch it
Also.... have you watched eXistenZ? I think it is the best Cronenberg film.
+Vlad Radulescu
My favorite Cronenberg movie is Naked Lunch (as you can see by my profile picture ;-)
Thanks for this. My brother showed me this movie months ago and I didn't like it. Although I think that Cronenberg's The Fly is a masterpiece and I love it. I guess I didn't follow the story in a Manchurian Candidate type story. I've seen the one with Denzel. Well done video.
Thanks LasPlagas245, I loved The Fly as well and one of these day's I will do a comparison review of the two Manchurian Candidate movies.
You should check out the film Existenz, that's practically a companion piece to Videodrome, only it focuses on getting sucked into virtual reality games rather than TV. Also, see Dead Ringers.
videodrme have changed my faq life.
Good spot on the similarities with The Manchurian Candidate.
very helpful! thanks
+Katastrofa You're welcome Katastrofa.
Nice work.
THANK YOU
"Every new technology necessitates a new war"
I believe we're in 4th generation warfare currently.
0:49 Daft Punk's daddy
When I watched this movie for the first time in the 80's with my date at the time. Being dumb kids we both come out of the theatre clueless and feeling sick to the stomach and asking what the hell did we just watch. Looking at it years later without it being cut to pieces. Cronenberg delivers big time so ahead of its time.
I am glad you made the distinction between watching as a youth and as a more mature adult. A true visionary - David Cronenberg.
I think he did, it's been a long time since I saw that one.
It's the same theme Cronenberg explores in existenz & Cosmopolis. Existenz dealing with videogames and Cosmopolis with money. Hell the ending of Cosmopolis is almost the same as Videodrome
Deep.
Another fear that The Wolfman could represent is the fear of beastiality.
this was great! thank you,i always thought existenz was highly underrated,how do we get cronenberg and j carpenter together to make a film?
The many pops and clicks in the audio are really distracting.
Let me say at the outset that I don't get horror films. I've read where psychologists have said that riding roller coasters is popular because the near death experience makes you feel more alive. Milk and cookies makes me feel alive as well as a good blowjob, but I digress.
You can keep your disgustingly vivid special effects horror movies as well as those damn roller coasters. It's just not for me.
I think it's fun to be scared. Also, on a deeper level, I personally enjoy seeing people on screen dealing with terrible/vile/inexplicable things, as I feel these things reflect many experiences I and others have had in life and in turn help us deal with them. In my experience, the hardships one faces in the real world are rarely sterile and comprehensible; the things we find truly hard to deal with are shocking and disgusting. It brings us catharsis to see these things reflected in art, at least I think. To each their own though
@@ronanm4418 I understand that there are personality types who enjoy things like that, while others are affected by scary things so easily and so deeply that mild things can seem very frightening... or to a greater degree than they might affect others.
subbed.
excellent video - give my videodrome music vid a watch
Making sense yet?
subbed too
Videodrome was supposed to be a horror film?
Cronenberg != Family movie, so yes
Videodrome is the dark web. Face it.
0:00 " " should be “ ” and - should be -
How is Psycho about incest?
I'm basing that on the ending of the film where the psychiatrist breaks down Normans split personalities and his obsession with his mother. Admittedly what the psychiatrist describes is closer to an Oedipus complex. But when he says "Then she met a man, and it seemed to Norman that she threw him over for this man", I think Norman's obsession may have been beyond just Oedipal.
That's obvious
Interesting concept but in my opinion the movie could have been done better on many levels.
It's not a warning it's a laugh all the way to the bank.
"if it was abused" hahaha
Did you know videodrome exists? It's called Fox News
Ram Jam so true
No, Bianca O'Blivion is Fox News, and Videodrome is the garbage liberal news networks that flood all the other channels on television.
It's also called CNN. And MSNBC. All the mainstream media is Videodrome!