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It’s been said some dare not even utter the name David Cronenberg. A man whose work is both unique and profoundly disturbing has been loved and loathed in equal measure; it envisages humanity’s evolution and dark obsessions. He attempts to redefine our attitudes to the human body in ways that are fascinating to behold: never dull and often quite disgusting. He’s created some of cinema’s most notoriously grotesque films in the process from the venereal parasites of Shivers to The Fly and most controversially Crash (1996).
Cronenberg’s obsession with metamorphosis and the human body shows itself from the very beginning in the form of surreal and repulsive forms of body horror. They’re films that may appall but always have a message and meaning hidden deep within the unfolding nightmare. With his remake of The Fly for example we see something remarkable with the creation of a genuinely touching story of love in the face of death and disease. The most famous example though is The Brood, a film where projections of hate become literal flesh. Something the director would go on to claim is that this was merely a tale of divorce (“his version of Kramer vs. Kramer”). For amidst the confusion, madness and violence of Cronenberg’s film lurks a dark parable of rage hatred and insanity acted to perfection and easily equalling the Oscar winner in terms of raw power. Yet it is Videodrome that is perhaps the quintessential early Cronenberg, a dark look at the effects of censorship and watching violence that gave fans the glorious cry of ‘Long live the Flesh.’
Although Cronenberg moved away from body horror in the late eighties, he has always continued his fascination with human development. With films such as A History of Violence providing a fascinating look at characters fighting against their own nature, as well as being about the ability to hide or to fail to hide our true selves (something that’s equally apparent in Eastern Promises). Yet the continuation of themes is best shown in the notorious Crash (1996), a film that passed draconian measures of the 1990s BBFC uncut, but still caused a storm of controversy. It was banned in Westminster (although no one in charge had actually seen it) and reviled by many critics (such as Christopher Tookey) for being dangerous to society. It is undoubtedly an extremely twisted and disturbing piece, but also a brilliant one of remarkable power that looks at a warped and despairing humanity which, crucially, it does not judge.
Composer Howard Shore has created brilliant scores on all but one of Cronenberg’s films (The Dead Zone) since The Brood in 1979. With other frequent collaborators such as cinematographers Mark Irwin (who shot his early films) and Peter Suschitzky (who has photographed those since 1989’s Dead Ringers). More recently, the director has worked with Viggo Mortensen, who gave astounding performances in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises and will hopefully do so again when he stars as Sigmund Freud in their next film, A Dangerous Method.
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