Watch unlimited films online for $6.99.
Try MUBI for FREE.
 

Synopsis

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. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father was a journalist, and his mother was a piano player. 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 the University of Toronto with a degree in Literature after switching from the science 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.

Cronenberg gained popularity with the head-exploding, telepathy-based Scanners (1981) after the release of the much underrated, controversial, and autobiographical The Brood (1979). Cronenberg become a sort… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 71 wall posts.
Picture of knozgrul

knozgrul

26Jan12

ever wanna waste a lot of time? you should watch this. i mean, its cool n all, but, coulda been so much more than it is..

Picture of asuraf

asuraf

23Jan12

Cronenberg's savage, funny, and wickedly grotesque think piece about technology and it's hold on the human being, from mass hallucination to violence to wish fulfillment sado-masochism. Replace the video tape with the smart phone and it's still prescient.

Picture of serotoninronin

serotoninronin

14Jan12

cronenberg's best flick, but still pretty much wack.

Picture of movieman369

movieman369

5Jan12

I really enjoyed and loved the creepy concept this film gives out about television and how it can control people's minds, but when the film got onto the final act, the whole tone and feel of the film changed from a provocative, intelligent horror film, to a gory (almost mindless) horror film. Either way, though, in the end, it was definitely a great film experience.

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 3482 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Daily Viewing. Telaroli on Cronenberg

By David Hudson on January 21, 2012

A stunning new look at Dead Ringers (1998).

read article
W184

"Rock Follies," Lou Castel, DVDs, Fests, Lists

By David Hudson on December 7, 2010

In the run-up to their presentation of Head (1968) at 92Y Tribeca on December 18, a screening introduced by Eric Lefcowitz, author

read article
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Venice and Toronto. Videocracy

By David Hudson on September 10, 2009

  "If you wanted to script a cautionary tale about the politics of fame (and the fame of politics), you couldn't come up with anything

read article
W184

The Forgotten: Skeleton Quay

By David Cairns on March 5, 2009

  DR. LIVINGSKELETON, I PRESUME?   The Living Skeleton is a lot of fun, or at least, that was my experience, or I think it was

read article
W184

The Forgotten: The English Assassin Assassinated

By David Cairns on January 22, 2009

"It's much easier to run a hospital with all the patients sleeping." “Easiest way to run the world, for that matter.” The Final Programme

read article

Blu-Ray Review: VIDEODROME

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Many directors have cited Videodrome (1983) as an influence. However, no one who has invoked its name has managed to make a film as good or as interesting.  Only someone like David Cronenberg can come
read on Twitchfilm.com

Lists

Displaying 5 of 481 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 1 of 1

Untitled

By Luis Costa on July 24, 2009

Nos últimos quatro anos, David Cronenberg fez dois filmes (A History of Violence e Eastern Promisses) que foram, tanto a nível crítico, como a nível de bilheteira, grandes sucessos. O mesmo não se…  read review

Forum

Displaying 4 discussion topics.

Remaking Cronenberg's Classics!?

20 posts by 11 people 8 months ago

Favorite DVD menu page

1 post by 1 person about 1 year ago

WTF is this movie about?

42 posts by 15 people over 1 year ago

Please Help Find...

3 posts by 2 people about 2 years ago

DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.