Excerpts In Terror

     

    David Cronenberg

    David Cronenberg Photo   Birthdate: 15 Mar 1943
    Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Dave 'Deprave' Cronenberg, 'King of venereal horror', 'Baron of blood', as he has often been called, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1943, the son of a journalist (father) and a piano player (mother). After showing an inclination for literature at an early age (he wrote and published eerie short stories, thus following his father's path) and for music (playing classical guitar until he was 12), Cronenberg graduated from Toronto University in Literature, after quitting the Scientific Department. He reached the cult status of 'horror meister' with the gore-filled, modern vampire variations of Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977) following an experimental apprenticeship in independent filmmaking and in Canadian television programs. Gained popularity with the 'head-exploding', telepathy-based Scanners (1981) after the release of the much underrated, controversial and autobiographical Brood, The (1979). Cronenberg become a sort of a mass-medial 'guru' with Videodrome (1983), a shocking investigation of the hazards of reality-morphing television and critical extravaganza on contemporary esthetics. The issues of tech-induced mutation of human body and topics of the prominent dichotomy between body and mind are back again in Dead Zone, The (1983) and Fly, The (1986); bright examples of a personal filmmaking identity, even if both films are based on mass-entertainment materials: the first being a rendition of a Stephen King best-seller, the latter a remake of famous genre horror movie.

    With Dead Ringers (1988) and Naked Lunch (1991), the Canadian director, no more a mere genre moviemaker but a fully realized author, gets the unconditioned acclaim of international critics. Such profound statements on modern manhood and ever-changing society survive in the provocative Crash (1996) and in the virtual reality essay of eXistenZ (1999), both well fared at Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals.
     

    Dario Argento | Mario Bava | Tod Browning | John Carl Buechler | John Carpenter | Larry Cohen
    Roger Corman | Wes Craven | David Cronenberg | Sean S. Cunningham | Joe Dante | Terence Fisher
    Mick Garris | Alan Gibson | Anthony Hickox | Tom Holland | Tobe Hooper | Peter Jackson
    John Landis | William Lustig | Steve Miner | Sam Raimi | George A. Romero

    2002     Spider     TBA
    2000     Camera     nr
    1999     eXistenZ     R
    1996     Crash     NC-17
    1993     M. Butterfly     R
    1991     Naked Lunch     R
    1988     Dead Ringers     R
    1988     Friday The 13th: Faith Healer     TV
    1986     The Fly     R
    1983     The Dead Zone     R
    1983     Videodrome     NR
    1980     Scanners     R
    1979     The Brood     R
    1979     Fast Company     NR
    1977     Rabid     R
    1975     Shivers     R
    1971     Jim Ritchie Sculptor     NR
    1970     Crimes Of The Future     NR
    1969     Stereo     NR
    1967     From The Drain     NR
    1966     Transfer     NR

    Ratings Key
    G   GENERAL AUDIENCES: All ages admitted.
    PG   PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED: Some material may not be suitable for children.
    PG-13   PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
    R   RESTRICTED: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
    NC-17   NO ONE 17 YEARS OR YOUNGER ADMITTED.
    NR   NOT RATED: The film has not been rated by the MPAA.
    TBA   TO BE ANNOUNCED: The film is currently in production or planning.
    TV   TV SERIES or MOVIE: Project made for TV. Individual episode titles (if known) will be given in blue.
    SF   STUDENT FILM: The film was a project in college/film school and is not available to the public.

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